Original Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm sang the national anthem at the Rochester Red Wings game at Frontier Field on Friday, and video of the performance has surfaced online.
Gramm was also on hand to sign copies of his new book, "Juke Box Hero: My Five Decades In Rock 'N' Roll", as the Red Wings played host to the Norfolk Tides in Triple-A baseball action.
The memoir details Gramm’s rise from humble, working-class roots in Rochester, New York to become one of rock 'n' roll's most distinctive and popular voices.
Throughout the bio, Gramm poignantly recounts how he realized his dream. Foreigner's remarkable success was due in large part to the songwriting 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 the singer's recounting of his life is also is a story of redemption. In the early 1990s, 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.
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