Lou Gramm, the original lead singer of Foreigner, is preparing to release his first full-length album of original music in 17 years. Titled 'Released,' the album is scheduled for March 2026 and features a mix of new and unfinished older songs. Gramm, a 75-year-old Rochester native, has described the project as one that 'rocks hard.'
Lou Gramm, known for his powerful vocals on Foreigner's 1970s and 1980s hits such as 'I Want to Know What Love Is,' 'Hot Blooded,' and 'Cold As Ice,' announced his upcoming solo album 'Released.' This marks his first original full-length release since The Lou Gramm Band's self-titled LP in 2009. Gramm, who co-founded Foreigner with guitarist Mick Jones and shares inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame with him, has been developing the album for over two years in collaboration with longtime friend and former Foreigner bassist Bruce Turgon.
The album incorporates songs originally written for Gramm's 1980s solo projects or his 1991 side project Shadow King with Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell, alongside fresh material. 'I’ve been working on this album for over two years, and I have been looking through my backlog of songs that were great songs but were unfinished... So it’s a little conglomerate of past and present,' Gramm explained in a recent interview.
'Released' will hit shelves on March 20, 2026, with vinyl preorders available on Amazon. The first single is slated for early February. Gramm recorded the tracks with his current solo group, including his brother Ben Grammatico on drums, Jeff Jacobs on keyboards, Scott Gilman on saxophone, Tony Franklin on bass, and Gary Hoey on guitar. 'It rocks hard, boy,' he said enthusiastically. 'I’m so excited to release them, because, to me, they sound great.'
Gramm's career highlights include solo albums 'Ready or Not' (1987) and 'Long Hard Look' (1989), as well as work with bands like Black Sheep, Poor Heart, and Shadow King. He left Foreigner in 1990 and again in 2003 to pursue solo endeavors and has issued reissues like 1993's 'A Foreigner in a Strange Land' and 2021's 'Questions and Answers: The Atlantic Anthology 1987-1989.' Recently, the 75-year-old has guested with Foreigner, whose current lineup features singer Luis Maldonado following Kelly Hansen's departure in October after 20 years. Mick Jones remains the only original member but has not performed live since 2022 due to Parkinson's disease.
Looking ahead, Gramm plans to retire sometime next year after the album's release, after over 54 years in the industry. 'I just feel like there’s some other things that I want to do... You know, I think in this business, you just know when it’s time,' he told Ultimate Classic Rock in October.
