During a recent appearance on Guns N’ Roses-centric Appetite for Distortion podcast, Lou Gramm gave Axl Rose a warning about his voice.
“I thought the music was very good, just sloppy enough to acknowledge that they were very spontaneous in their playing,” the singer replied when asked what he first thought of Rose’s voice when he heard GNR. “And it was very good music, honestly, and I think the songs were good too.”
He continued, “Axl’s voice — he had a great range, but I could tell, because they toured a lot too, I could tell that he was damaging his vocal cords simply by the way he sang. And I know that when I sing, towards the end of the night, some of my high range starts to go a little bit.”
“You kind of have to acknowledge the characteristics of your voice, and when they’re tired, if you keep pushing them at that level, they’re damaged and you shouldn’t be singing for the next six months,” Gramm explained.
The rocker added, “Your nose and throat doctor will tell you that they need rest and time to heal and then get supple again, because a lot of times when you when you sing too often and too hard, there’s something called nodes that develop on your vocal cords, and they’re like little tiny hard calluses. And when you go to sing a note, air will come out, not the note.”
Foreigner’s classic lineup was finally inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame on October 19. Lou, keyboardist Al Greenwood, and bassist Rick Wills attended to accept the award, while Mick Jones and Dennis Elliott missed the event.
Mick’s daughter, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, accepted on his behalf. Ian Mc Donald and Ed Gagliardi had passed away in 2022 and 2014. Sammy Hagar, Slash, Chad Smith, Demi Lovato, and Kelly Clarkson performed Foreigner songs.
Lovato, Slash, Smith, and Foreigner’s touring band played ‘Feels Like The First Time,’ with Hagar joining for ‘Hot Blooded.’ Lovato sang lead on ‘Feels Like The First Time,’ and Hagar led ‘Hot Blooded’ with help from Foreigner’s current singer, Kelly Hansen. Finally, Clarkson and Gramm sang ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ together.