"Juke Box Hero" is a song written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones and performed by their band Foreigner, from their 1981 album 4. It first entered the BillboardHot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in July 1981 and eventually reached #3 on that chart. Released as the album's third single in early 1982, it subsequently went to #26 on the BillboardHot 100 chart
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 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. The song was developed out of two separate song ideas that were combined with the help of producerRobert 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". 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", 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.
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." 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.
The song appears as background music in at least three sport documentaries or videos: once in 2004 about American professional snowboarder and skateboarder Shaun White, to differentiate Aaron Feinberg's part in MindGame's rollerblading video "Brain Fear Gone", and lastly in the late Shane McConkey's "Claim" video. In addition, the song has been employed commercially. It appeared in a commercial for the product launch in late 2007 of the Samsung Juke cellphone. It is a downloadable track for the video game and the music video game series Rock Band. A mash-up based on the song is featured in DJ Hero, composed and performed by DJ Z-Trip. The song was used in a mashup with "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" in the 2012 film adaptation of the Broadway musicalRock of Ages. The song was featured episode "The Dim Knight", an episode of the 2010 television seriesThe Good Guys. The phrase Juke Box Hero is used by Grace Kelly in the 1956 film musical High Society, in reference to Bing Crosby's character.
