Happy Birthday: Mick Jones

Mick Jones may be known as a mainstay of the Foreigner lineup, but he’s made his way out of the band on occasion to do some side projects, and he was keeping plenty busy before he and Lou Gramm got together and started one of the most popular rock bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Since today is Mick’s birthday, we’ve got the official Foreigner playlist cued up and ready for your listening enjoyment, but we thought we’d also include the link to a piece we put together a few years ago which spotlights a six-pack of tracks by other artists which feature Jones either on vocals or guitar, and – having now done that – we thought we’d spotlight a few more such tracks, too.

1. Peter Frampton, “All I Want To Be (Is By Your Side” (1972): As a member of Humble Pie, Frampton was running in the same circles as Jones was with Spooky Tooth, so we’re

reasonably presuming that’s how Jones came to guest on this track. Interestingly, Jones isn’t the only future Foreigner member in the mix: the bassist on the song is Rick Wills!

2. Gary Wright and Wonderwheel, “Goodbye Sunday” (1972): This is probably the least surprising appearance to be found on this list, particularly if you’re a longtime Jones fan. He and Wright had been bandmates in Spooky Tooth, so of course Jones wouldn’t hesitate to appear on this LP.

3. Jerry Lee Lewis, “Memphis” (1973): When Jerry Lee landed in London and settled in the studio for a spell, he wasn’t lacking for guest musicians to join him. In addition to Jones, others involved in the proceedings include Klaus Voormann, Kenny Jones, Albert Lee, Alvin Lee, Peter Frampton, Delaney Bramlett, Gary Wright, Rory Gallagher, and…well, let’s just say that the list goes on and on!

4. The Leslie West Band, “Singapore Sling” (1975): This is far from Jones’s only songwriting contribution on this live album, but we chose it to spotlight because it’s a solo composition.

5. Jean Beauvoir, “Rockin’ In The Street” (1986): Not that he’s not a good get, but it’s particularly high praise that the former Plasmatics member found room for Jones on his solo debut. Virtually everything else on the album – including production – was done by Beauvoir himself!

6. Cheap Trick, “If You Need Me” (1990): Interestingly, Cheap Trick and Foreigner toured together some years later, after Lou Gramm had left the latter band, but Rick Nielsen would not commit to Cheap Trick’s participation until he talked to Mick and got his word that he would be appearing on all of the dates, because – per Eddie Truck’s relating of the story – Nielsen “did not want to be opening for a tribute band.”