Juke Box Hero

This song was written by Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones and lead singer Lou Gramm. In our interview with Mick Jones, he said: "That stemmed from an experience that we had, I think it was in Cincinnati. We'd gone to the arena for a sound check, and it was pouring down rain, and there were a bunch of fans waiting at the door when we went in. When we came back for the show later on, all that was left was one lonely fan, a young guy waiting out there in the rain, soaked to the skin. I thought, well, he's waiting like five hours here, maybe we'll take him in and give him a glimpse of what happens backstage at a show. And this kid was just mesmerized with everything. I saw this look in his eyes, and I thought, he's seeing this for the first time, he's having this experience. And I just imagined what was going through his mind. And I'd been toying with this title, 'Juke Box Hero,' I thought it was almost a satire on what we did and how it was perceived from an audience level, and public. That's how it originated."

Mutt Lange produced the 4 album with Mick Jones. Lange is one of the most successful producers in Rock, with AC/DC's Back In Black and Def Leppard's Pyromania to his credit. Jones has some impressive credentials as well, co-producing Van Halen's 5150 and Billy Joel's Storm Front. Regarding his work with Lange on 4, Jones said: "We spent a lot of time in the studio making that album. Probably more than we needed, to be truthful. But those were the days of excessive studio experiences (laughing). These days, I draw on that experience every time I try to produce or co-produce, because I always felt that I could benefit from somebody else's ears."

Lou Gramm has a strong connection with this song - he named his 2013 autobiography Juke Box Hero: My Five Decades in Rock n' Roll. In 2015, he told us that it is one of his favorite songs to perform, but also the hardest to sing live.