Hot Blooded – Foreigner | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#3); 1978

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

Foreigner, named for its mix of American and British members, was formed by Mick Jones (ex-Spooky Tooth and Leslie West Band) and Ian McDonald (ex-King Crimson), after they met at a recording session for Ian Lloyd, formerly of Stories (Brother Louie).

Lead singer Lou Gramm was brought in from Black Sheep, a cover band specializing in Free/Bad Company material. With the addition of three more musicians, Foreigner was ready to rock. Foreigner, the debut album, entered the LP chart within a month of its release, reached #4 – as did the initial single, Feels Like The First Time – and ultimately sold over five million copies.

The follow-up, Double Vision, did Foreigner one better by rising to #3 and moving over six million units. Once again the first single, Hot Blooded, matched the album’s peak performance. Penned by Jones and Gramm, Hot Blooded became the band’s third single to reach the Top 10 and earned them their first gold record.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

• Ian McDonald
• Keith Olsen
• Mick Jones

Lyrics Written by:

• Lou Gramm
• Mick Jones

Awards:

• Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for one million units sold
• RIAA Gold Sales Award for the 45 rpm single
• RIAA Gold Sales Award for the song