WEBSTER, N.Y. — Lou Gramm, the original lead singer of Foreigner and a native of Rochester, New York, will release his first solo album of original material in 17 years. The album, titled “Released,” is scheduled to come out March 20, 2026, with preorders available on vinyl via Amazon.
Gramm, 75, revealed in a recent interview that he has been working on the album for more than two years with longtime collaborator Bruce Turgon, who previously played bass in Foreigner and in Gramm’s solo bands. Some tracks on “Released” were originally written for other solo projects in the 1980s or for Gramm’s side project Shadow King in 1991 but were never finished, according to Blabbermouth.
“I’ve been working on this album for over two years,” Gramm said. “I have been looking through my backlog of songs—great songs that were unfinished and didn’t make it onto my records. I went back and finished some of them, and they’re awesome songs. So I’m taking some new songs that were written and some of the older songs that deserve to be on the album. I finished them up, polished them up, and they’re on the album. So it’s a little conglomerate of past and present.”
The album’s first single is expected to be released in early February. Gramm said, “It rocks hard. I’m so excited to release them, because to me, they sound great.”
According to American Songwriter, Gramm recorded the new songs with his current solo group, which includes his brother Ben Grammatico on drums, Jeff Jacobs on keyboards, Scott Gilman on saxophone, Tony Franklin on bass, and Gary Hoey on guitar.
Gramm was Foreigner’s lead singer during the band’s rise to fame in the 1970s and ’80s, co-founding the group with guitarist Mick Jones. Foreigner is known for hits such as “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Hot Blooded,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” and “Cold As Ice.” Gramm and Jones were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame together.
After initially leaving Foreigner in 1990 and again in 2003, Gramm pursued a solo career, releasing “Ready or Not” in 1987 and “Long Hard Look” in 1989, which featured songs such as “Midnight Blue” and “Just Between You and Me.” He also performed with Black Sheep and Poor Heart, released an album with Shadow King in 1991, and issued The Lou Gramm Band’s self-titled LP in 2009. His discography includes compilations such as “A Foreigner in a Strange Land (The Early Years)” in 1993 and “Questions and Answers: The Atlantic Anthology 1987-1989” in 2021.
Over the past year, Gramm has reunited with Foreigner as a guest vocalist at select concerts, including events promoting a reissue of the band’s 1981 album “4” and celebrating Foreigner’s upcoming 50th anniversary. The current lineup features singer Luis Maldonado, bassist Jeff Pilson, keyboardist Michael Bluestein, guitarist Bruce Watson and drummer Chris Frazier. Former lead singer Kelly Hansen stepped down in October after two decades with the band. Jones is the only original member still officially in Foreigner but has not performed live since 2022 due to Parkinson’s disease.
In an October interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Gramm said he plans to retire sometime after the release of his new album.
“I’ve been doing this over 54 years,” Gramm said. “I just feel like there’s some other things that I want to do. I want to spend more time with my children—my older children and my younger child—and spend more time playing with my cars while I’m still capable of driving.”
He added, “I’d like to just stay off the road and enjoy my home, the surroundings and my family and friends, something that I’ve had to sacrifice for over 50 years. I’ve done all there is to do, I feel. And being in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are huge milestones for me. In this business, you just know when it’s time.”
