Foreigner- Double Vision 45th Anniversary- Mick Jones, Lou Gramm, Kelly Hansen

As we discuss the forty-fifth anniversary of their blockbuster second album Double Vision, one of the most endearing things about Foreigner founder and guiding heart, Mick Jones, is that he has never been coy or clever in trying to hide his inspirations, or aspirations, for the band. Case in point is the song “Blue Morning, Blue Day” from the Summer 1978 second Foreigner album, Double Vision. “That was a little Procol Harum coming out in me, the period with the big orchestra and ‘Conquistador’,” Jones confessed.” It was  that mood. I felt very strongly that it was an inspiration in that song. And I was starting to experiment, I was getting clever (composing) on the piano! (chuckles)”.

  “In the case of ‘Double Vision’, my inspiration came from a hockey game”, writes original Foreigner lead singer/ lyricist Lou Gramm in his book, Juke Box Hero,  who along with Foreigner founder/guitarist/composer Mick Jones are my guests In the Studio   to explore that blockbuster seven million seller second album of the same name. “The New York Rangers were playing the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and during a flurry in front of the net, one of the Flyers elbowed Rangers goalie John Davidson in the head. He was knocked woozy and had to be helped to the locker room. One of the announcers came on with an update…that the goalie had been experiencing some double vision.Voila!”
The song that ignited the immense popularity of the parent album Double Vision   was “Hot Blooded”, which boiled over to reach #3 on Billboard and quickly became Foreigner’s first million selling single. In this classic rock interview, Mick Jones recalls that Foreigner was invited to kick off the massive California Jam 2 festival in March 1978, based purely on the popularity of their debut album, and the band interrupted the recording of Double Vision  to appear. Foreigner ended up playing every song they knew, but were called back repeatedly for encores by the enormous crowd of an estimated 300,000.

“After a few anxious seconds, we decided to go out there and play ‘ Hot Blooded’ even though the song was far from finished.We only had the lyrics for one verse,” continues Lou Gramm in his book. “I wound up singing the first verse twice!” –Redbeard