Musical Notes – Foreigner

Voiceover by Lawrence Standifer Stevens

Written by Joseph E. Casanova

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Having scored three multi-platinum albums in the ‘70s, British-American rock band Foreigner. . . finally earned mass critical acclaim with their 1981 release, simply titled 4.

Hits like “Hot Blooded,” “Cold as Ice” and “Double Vision” dominated both AM and FM radio.

But it was a Junior Walker sax-driven bulldozer known as “Urgent” that proved the quartet was more than guitars and synthesizers. 

Tracks like “Waiting for a Girl like You” made every girl swoon while “Jukebox Hero” turned every teenage boy into air guitar fanatics.

We were no different as we anxiously awaited Foreigner’s return to the Alamo City in early ’82. The concert was on a Tuesday night, and we had exams early the next day.

“Turn that off!”    

“You have no business going to a show in San Antonio on a school night. What’s the matter with you?”

Ha! That was my dad. 

Our hometown was only 45 minutes away so I didn’t know what the big deal was. Why didn’t my parents say something two months earlier when my friends and I bought the tickets?

Of course, Mom put in her two cents, too. 

“You got tests in the morning, Josecito. You’re gonna be all groggy and you’re not gonna pass.

“Mom, give me a break! I’m a straight-A student.”

“M’ijo, at this rate, you’ll never get into a good college and you’ll live at home forever. . . like your primos.”

Needless to say, it was the last time I went to a concert on a school night. The same thing held true for my sister when she wanted to see metal gods Metallica her senior year.

Foreigner hits the road this summer with tank-top wearing Kid Rock with scheduled stops in Houston and Dallas.

I aced those exams, but it didn’t change anything. I should’ve said the band tutored students before the show. The folks probably would’ve believed that. I doubt it but. . . . you never know.