You might never have heard Mick Jones' name, but if you've spent any time near a radio since the late 1970s, you've probably heard plenty of his music. Because the founder and guitarist of the rock group Foreigner rarely sings lead vocals and also because the band touts its brand name rather than its individual members, the UK native has never become particularly well known in his own right. But he and his cohorts have sold lots of records-70 million of them, in fact.
The group scored five consecutive top-10 albums between 1977 and 1984 and produced a long list of singles that became radio staples-"Feels Like the First Time," "Cold As Ice," "Hot Blooded," "Double Vision" and "Waiting for a Girl Like You," to name a few. Last year's two-disc No End In Sight: The Very Best of Foreigner includes 32 tracks, many of which were major hits.
Jones-who wrote or cowrote every one of those songs and coproduced all the group's studio albums-developed Foreigner's signature sound early on and has never strayed far from it. The band's frequently guitar-driven music, which he has described as "powerful but sentimental," employs high-energy vocals, arena-shaking percussion, indelible melodies and hooks, and lyrics that almost inevitably talk about love or lust. Jones also has a habit of embellishing tracks with surprises, most notably the legendary Junior Walker's sax solo on "Urgent" and the gospel choir that enlivens "I Want to Know What Love Is," the group's chart-topping biggest single.
Such hits stopped coming after 1987, however, and by the time lead vocalist Lou Gramm quit the group in 2003, he was just one of many players in a big game of musical chairs. The band counts 30 present and former members, including four lead vocalists and seven drummers. Today, Jones is Foreigner's sole original member and the only musician to have played on all of its albums.
)