They are known for such rock anthems as Juke Box Hero, Cold As Ice and Waiting For A Girl Like You.
But, on Saturday night, Foreigner will be on stage at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver in Coquitlam to perform their number 1 smash hit, I Want To Know What Love Is, with a Coquitlam high school choir.
The American band that shot to fame in the 1980s — currently made up Mick Jones, Kelly Hansen, Jeff Pilson, Tom Gimbel, Mike Bluestein, Bruce Watson and Chris Frazier — recently tapped the vocal jazz ensemble at Dr. Charles Best secondary to help sing the tune.
Teacher Brent Hughes said the invite came after a parent of a Best student who works at Hard Rock contacted him to see if his 24-member group would be interested in singing the backup to the ballad.
Since then, the ensemble has been practising the harmonies on their own and watching YouTube videos of other choirs who have sung with Foreigner; Best will join the band Feb. 23 without any rehearsal, Hughes said.
Speaking from Las Vegas last week, band marketer John Lappen said Foreigner often asks local vocal groups to help them sing the song while it’s on tour (for the Feb. 22 show at Hard Rock, the Show Stoppers Choir from Richmond takes the stage).
In exchange, Foreigner donates $500 to their choir, and funds raised from CD sales the choirs sell at the concert support The Grammy Foundation for music education.
“Foreigner wants to keep music as part of the curriculum,” Lappen said. “So far, they’ve given more than $1 million to the foundation and the choirs benefit, too. They can spend it on new instruments or trips.”
• For tickets to the Foreigner concerts this weekend, visit hardrockcasinovancouver.com.
