Lou Gramm autobiography to publish

 

LOU GRAMM’S

‘JUKE BOX HERO: MY FIVE DECADES IN ROCK ‘N’ ROLL’

DUE OUT MAY 1 FROM TRIUMPH BOOKS

AUTOBIOGRAPHY DETAILS

THE FOREIGNER LEAD SINGER AND CO-WRITER’S CAREER

“Lou Gramm remembers standing outside the Rochester War Memorial in the rain as a teenager in the mid-1960s, ear pressed against the corrugated metal back stage door so he could hear the rock band playing inside. He didn’t have a ticket to the concert, but he did have a dream. One day, he would be on that stage, belting out songs, feeding off the energy of an adoring, raucous crowd.”

Accomplished musician, lead singer and songwriter of the iconic band Foreigner, LOU GRAMM is ready to tell his story.

In JUKE BOX HERO: MY FIVE DECADES IN ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, due out May 1 from Triumph Books, GRAMM details his rise from humble, working-class roots in Rochester, N.Y. to become one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most distinctive and popular voices.  Working with best-selling author Scott Pitoniak (nationally honored newspaper columnist and author of 16 books), GRAMM recounts his extraordinary life in a compelling and candid behind-the-scenes memoir.  The book will be available at www.triumphbooks.com and wherever books are sold.

Throughout JUKE BOX HERO: MY FIVE DECADES IN ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, GRAMM poignantly recounts how he realized his dream.  Sadly, though, like many rock stars,GRAMM would succumb to the trappings of wealth and fame. Foreigner’s remarkable success was due in large part to the song-writing synergy between GRAMM and the band’s founder, Mick Jones. However, creative clashes between the two would become more frequent and the tension would result in GRAMM’s departure, not once but twice, the second time for good.

But GRAMM’s recounting of his life is also is a story of redemption. In the early 1990’s, he finally confronted his demons and checked into a drug rehabilitation center for a month. He came out a changed man and has remained sober ever since. Several years later, GRAMM faced an even bigger challenge when diagnosed with an egg-sized brain tumor. After being given a death sentence by several physicians, he learned of a then-revolutionary laser surgery being done by a doctor in Boston. GRAMM underwent a life-saving operation to remove the tumor and then courageously battled through radiation treatments and several harrowing years of rehab.

Other JUKE BOX HERO: MY FIVE DECADES IN ROCK ‘N’ ROLL highlights include:

• GRAMM’s difficult, courageous comeback from brain surgery. Just several months after his operation, he was contractually required to tour with Foreigner and dealt with memory problems that forced him to keep written lyrics at his feet--lyrics from songs he had helped write and had sung thousands of times before.

• The musical influence of GRAMM’s father, a trumpeter who ran a big band, and his mother, who was a vocalist in the band.

• How much the music industry has changed and how difficult it is for heritage rockers to get their new material out there.