I-95 Drive Home Mystery Artist [VIDEO]

Tonight’s mystery artist early in his career decided to hire a band only after he had written a few songs he thought were good. So much for the chicken and egg scenario, think you know who he might be??

I am thinking the norm is to know the band and then write the songs but not so according to Mick Jones from the Foreigner webpage. He tells the story this way:

Mick Jones: So I was stuck in New York and I thought, I’d better do something here, otherwise I’m just going to head back to England and see what I could piece together as a career. It was then, that maybe out of desperation, I’d started to write songs and feel really creative. I started writing by myself. Before I knew it, I had two or three songs, and I wondered what to do with them. One of those songs was “Feels Like The First Time.”

Interviewer Dale Kawashima: Is that when you put the band together?

Jones: Yes, I held auditions in New York. My manager (Bud Prager) had a studio in his office, and it was like a very homegrown type of situation. We’d turn up every day at his office, with a stream of different people coming through. But it was fun days. I had a list of people that I wanted to work with—(drummer) Dennis Elliott was the first member when it came to rehearsing my songs. Also, (keyboard player) Al Greenwood joined.

We didn’t have a singer until we were nine months into it. I think I auditioned at least 50 different guys. I knew what kind of voice I needed (for the band). Having come up in England, and having toured with Steve Winwood & Traffic when I was with Spooky Tooth, I was so blown away with Steve Winwood. He was the benchmark—he was such a great soul vocalist for a white guy (laughs), and he still is a wonderful singer.

Here they are with tonight's featured song: