Original Foreigner multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, who co-wrote “A Long, Long Way From Home,” was born on June 25th, 1946. McDonald was also an original member of King Crimson.That song was the first song Mick Jones and Lou Gramm wrote together and the first Foreigner worked on as a band. It peaked at number-20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The original Foreigner lineup featured three British expatriates — Mick Jones, Dennis Elliott and Ian McDonald — along with Ed Gagliardi and Al Greenwood from New York City and singer Lou Gramm from Rochester, New York. Jones says that situation directly led to the writing of “Long, Long Way From Home.”
“When Lou came down to New York when we were getting the band together that was sort of the first song that we collaborated together on and wrote. Lou was actually a long way from home, I guess I was, too, and here we were kind of getting something together. And that was the first thing we put together as a band when the final lineup got together. I guess we were all feeling a bit lost — ‘Gosh, what are we doing? What is this?’ — and that sort of summed up the feeling.”
