Original FOREIGNER Singer LOU GRAMM Says He 'Had To Re-Learn How To Talk' Shortly After His Brain Surgery

On a recent episode of the Rock & Roll High School podcast, hosted by two-time Grammy Award-winning producer and music executive Pete Ganbarg, original FOREIGNER singer Lou Gramm reflected on being diagnosed with a type of brain tumor called a craniopharyngioma nearly 30 years ago. Although the tumor was benign, the resulting surgery severely damaged Gramm's pituitary gland, leading to a massive weight gain and keeping him off the stage for a year. Lou said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[It was] not a cancerous brain tumor, but a large brain tumor that had tentacles that were wrapped around my optic nerve and pituitary gland and made my adrenals defunct."

After Ganbarg said that he heard that Lou had to re-learn how to sing after the surgery, Gramm clarified: "I had to re-learn how to talk. My surgeon told me, he says, 'Lou,' he says, 'do you know the operation took 19 hours?' And he said, 'Lou,' he says, 'I'd like you to, to take a year and a half off to make sure everything is as good as we hope it is. 'That way,' he says, 'you'll be near enough. If there's any problems, you come back right away and we'll work on it.' So FOREIGNER's management had to cancel the first leg of our tour so that I could have my operation. Strangely enough, they rescheduled the tour about three weeks after I got outta surgery. And the doctor wanted me to not perform or travel for at least a year and a half because traveling with the air pressure in an airplane and just exerting myself when I've been through such a traumatic experience, he wanted to make sure everything was in order and running smoothly before I started performing again. But FOREIGNER's management had had booked the shows all over again about a month after I got outta the hospital."

Ganbarg then said that it "must have been very challenging" to perform like that, to which Gramm responded: "Challenging? I couldn't remember the words to the songs. I used to dance around a lot on stage. I planted my mic stand in one place and had the beginnings of the first three or four words of every verse written out in a semicircle around me. And we toured the world like that."

Gramm previously talked about his brain tumor diagnosis last October during an interview with LifeMinute.tv. Regarding his recovery, Lou said: "I went to three brain surgeons and they all did MRIs and they sent me home to put my affairs in order because they didn't think I had a chance of surviving the operation. The last one that sent me home, that night, I watched '60 Minutes' on TV, and there was a segment about a brain surgeon in Boston who used laser surgery to operate on inoperable tumors. And at the end of the segment, they gave his phone number. So eight o'clock the next morning I was on the phone with his secretary, and that was on a Tuesday, and they brought me in Thursday and I did some more tests. And Friday morning at four in the morning, they were wheeling me into the operating room. [It was a] 19-hour operation."

He continued: "Although the operation was a success, he told me that I was gonna be going through some struggles, my equilibrium would be off, I might not be able to find all the words I wanna find in a conversation right away. And he told me he didn't want me touring for at least a year and a half, and two months later I was on the road. And I couldn't remember the words of the songs. I had them written out in a semicircle around my mic stand. And every time I'd come to a verse I couldn't remember, I'd look down and see the words. I'd read the first three words, and then the rest of it would come to me."

Gramm also discussed his brain tumor diagnosis in a November 2023 interview with Chicago's 97.1 FM The Drive. Regarding how his tumor was diagnosed, Lou said: "I just started having bad headaches and short-term memory loss. I [initially] couldn't get anybody to operate on it, because of where it was and how complicated it was that normal surgery would've been just a death sentence. So I went to about two or three doctors and had MRIs, and they all told me that I should get my affairs in order. I kind of went into shock. So I went back from New York City to Rochester to put my affairs in order."

Gramm said that he played a few gigs with FOREIGNER within a few weeks of his surgery.

"My surgeon told me because of the length and breadth of the operation, he didn't want me touring for at least a year to a year and a half," he said. "Now, when I in the hospital, FOREIGNER had to cancel a number of shows. So our manager rebooked the shows for two months after my surgery. The doctor wanted me not to perform for a year to a year and a half…. I wanted to do what the doctor wanted me to do, but FOREIGNER's manager said, 'Look, we had to cancel a number of shows because of your surgery and we have to make them up now or we're gonna be sued.' … But I did the shows. But listen to this: I couldn't remember any of the words. I had to have the first two or three words of each verse written out and taped to the floor in a semi-circle for all the songs that we did. I used to move around a lot when I was on stage [and after the surgery] I had to plant myself and keep looking over at the words to make sure I'd remember everything. I was on massive steroids and within six months, my weight doubled. I was 145 pounds at that time of my life, and I had been for 10, 12 years. Within a year, my weight doubled…. [When I got off the steroids, my weight] went back down. It didn't go back down all the way, but it's gone back down a lot. I had to throw every stitch of clothes that I had been wearing to that point. I just donated them to Salvation Army. I was wearing size 42 waist."

In his book "Juke Box Hero: My Five Decades In Rock 'N' Roll", Gramm wrote about his brain tumor: "It was a non-cancerous tumor, but it was the size of a large egg and it was in my frontal lobe and it had tentacles wrapped around my pituitary and optic nerve."

He revealed that he became aware of the tumor in his 40s after experiencing "incredible headaches — worse than any hangover I'd ever had," as well as issues with memory.

He added: "My long and short-term memory started to become spotty, and my eyes would cross once in a while.

"I went for an MRI and they said it was a large tumor, the size of an egg and that it had been there since birth, growing."

When he returned home after his 1997 diagnosis, Gramm happened to come across a television program about a hospital in Boston where they were operating on brain tumors.

Gramm recalled: "At the end of the segment, it gave his office number and I called it early the next morning and his secretary suggested I get my MRIs, get on a plane and come immediately."

Gramm was the voice on FOREIGNER's biggest hits, including "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice" from the band's eponymous debut in 1977, and later songs like "Hot Blooded" and "I Want to Know What Love Is".

FOREIGNER replaced Gramm with Kelly Hansen in 2005. Guitarist Mick Jones, the only remaining original member of FOREIGNER, suffered from some health issues beginning in 2011, eventually resulting in heart surgery in 2012.

In February 2024, Jones revealed on social media that he was battling Parkinson's disease, which explained his absence from FOREIGNER's live shows since 2022.

At some of FOREIGNER's recent shows, Gramm guested on some of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame group's biggest hits. Gramm shared the stage with Luis Maldonado, who replaced Hansen on lead vocals last October.