Juke Box Hero Explained

Juke Box Hero
Cover:JukeBoxHeroForeignerWin.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Foreigner
Album:4
B-Side:I'm Gonna Win
Released:October 2, 1981 (UK)[1]
  • January 27, 1982 (US)[2]
Genre:
Length:4:18 (album version)
4:05 (single version)
Label:Atlantic
Producer:Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Prev Title:Waiting for a Girl Like You
Prev Year:1981
Next Title:Break It Up
Next Year:1982

"Juke Box Hero" is a song by British-American rock band Foreigner written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones from their 1981 album 4. It first entered the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in July 1981 and eventually reached #3 on that chart.[4] Released as the album's third single in early 1982, it subsequently went to #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[5] [6]

Background

The song focuses on a boy unable to purchase a ticket to a sold-out rock concert. Listening from outside, he hears "one guitar" and has an epiphany, leading him to buy a guitar and learn to play it. He realizes that with the guitar he has a chance to achieve musical stardom. The song then goes on to describe the struggle he has to stay on top of the music charts, which makes him a "Juke Box Hero". He eventually encounters another fan outside the stage door at one of his concerts, who reminds him of himself and how it all began.

Mick Jones told Songfacts that the song was inspired by an actual fan who stood waiting outside an arena for about five hours in the rain. Impressed by his dedication, Jones decided to take him in and give him a glimpse of what happens backstage at a concert. On July 19, 2016, Lou Gramm said on the Brother Wease radio show in Rochester, that the song was about him waiting outside the Rochester War Memorial to see Jimi Hendrix but the show was sold out.[7] [8] Jones has rated it as one his 11 favorite Foreigner songs.[9] According to Gramm, this is his favorite Foreigner song.

The song was developed out of two separate song ideas that were combined with the help of producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. One of the ideas was the "Juke Box Hero" portion that Jones had developed and the other was developed by Gramm and had been called "Take One Guitar".[10]

This song was also re-recorded live at a 2005 Las Vegas concert where it includes portions of the Led Zeppelin song "Whole Lotta Love" (from Led Zeppelin II), and released on Foreigner's Extended Versions album. A live version of "Juke Box Hero" was also released on the 2014 album Best of Foreigner 4 & More.[11] [12]

This song later became the namesake of, and was included in, the coming-of-age jukebox musical Jukebox Hero, based on the songs of Foreigner.[13] The musical premiered in February 2019 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto, Ontario,[14] with a book by Dick Clement and Ian LaFrenais, and an all-Canadian cast led by Nova Scotian actor/singer Geordie Brown.[15]

Reception

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw ranked "Juke Box Hero" as Foreigner's all time greatest song, stating that "for anyone who has ever been on the wrong side of a sold-out concert, "Juke Box Hero" will touch a chord."[16] Billboard called it "a snarling rocker featuring tough guitar breaks and hot vocals."[17] Billboard reviewer Gary Graff rated "Juke Box Hero" to be Foreigner's 5th greatest song.[18]

Although the physical 45 sold fewer than 500,000 copies, "Juke Box Hero" has been certified platinum by the RIAA for over a million digital downloads.[19]

Personnel

Foreigner

Additional personnel

Chart history

Chart (1982)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)53
Canada RPM Top Singles39
Germany 24
South Africa (Springbok)[20] 7
UK (The Official Charts Company)[21] 48
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 26
US Billboard Mainstream Rock3
US Cash Box Top 100 34

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Foreigner singles.
  2. Web site: RIAA certifications for Foreigner. .
  3. Web site: Tom . Breihan . The Number Ones: Foreigner’s "I Want To Know What Love Is. . 18 September 2020 . Foreigner’s sound was a big, loud, unashamed take on ’70s arena-rock...[the band's] style could get exhausting at album length, but it made for some fun singles. (I’m especially fond of 1981’s cinematic, proudly ridiculous “Juke Box Hero"...). 30 July 2023.
  4. Web site: Foreigner Mainstream Rock Songs. Billboard. 2020-06-08.
  5. Web site: Foreigner Hot 100. Billboard. 2020-06-08.
  6. [Joel Whitburn|Whitburn, Joel]
  7. Jones . Mick . Mick Jones (Foreigner) . Carl Wiser . Songfacts.com . Mick Jones of Foreigner . October 23, 2009 . 29 April 2015 .
  8. Web site: Top 100 Classic Rock Songs. Ultimate Classic Rock. 2020-07-10. June 20, 2013.
  9. Web site: Mick Jones' 11 Favourite Foreigner Songs. Louder Sound. Classic Rock. April 26, 2017. 2022-06-17.
  10. Web site: The Strange and True Story of Foreigner 4 . Jeffries, Neil. July 2, 2016 . Classic Rock. 2018-05-04.
  11. Web site: Foreigner revive Juke Box Hero. Classic Rock. December 23, 2014. 2018-05-04.
  12. Web site: Best of Foreigner 4 & More. James Christopher Monger. Allmusic. 2018-05-04.
  13. Browne . David . February 20, 2019 . Inside 'Jukebox Hero,' the New Foreigner Musical . April 10, 2022 . Rolling Stone.
  14. Web site: Mirvish.com: Jukebox Hero The Musical . 2024-05-09 . www.mirvish.com . en.
  15. Web site: Jukebox Hero: The Musical brings the songs of Foreigner to a Toronto stage . 2024-05-09 . www.thestar.com.
  16. Web site: Top 10 Foreigner Songs. Wardlaw, Matt. May 2, 2015. 2020-06-11. Ultimate Classic Rock.
  17. Billboard. February 6, 1982. 2023-01-21. 74. Top Single Picks.
  18. Web site: Foreigner's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks. Graff, Gary. Billboard. 2022-06-17. October 11, 2017.
  19. United States. Foreigner. 2023-01-22.
  20. Web site: SA Charts 1965–March 1989. 5 September 2018.
  21. Web site: Foreigner singles. The Official Chart Company. 2020-06-08.
  22. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 -