Mick
IE: I think Hallyday is still around, too.
MJ: Yeah, he is. I just saw him two weeks
ago, and unfortunately, he’s a little sick at
the moment. He’s got a little battle going
on, actually. But he was like my big broth-
er, my mentor, and he was crazy. His life
was like James Dean and Marlon Brando,
all rolled into one. And he was supposed
to be on tour this summer.
favorite subject at school. So we started an
affair while traveling in the back of an IE: Then you ended up with Gary Wright
and Mike Harrison in Spooky Tooth, a
American station wagon, thinking we
weren’t being observed. But we were. So
we both got kicked off the tour because
she was Dick Rivers; fiancée, unfortunate-
ly. Wrong move. But that was the reason I
stayed. We were together for over two
years, and it was the first love of my life,
and it was great. And I loved France, so I
stayed on and gradually got to play with
bigger and bigger artists, until I ended up
with Johnny Hallyday. And that’s when I
started writing quite a lot. I was getting
my act together by quietly paying my
dues, not in the States or in England, but in
France. I was learning a lot about studio
work, and there was a lot of good stuff
going on there, in addition to the food and
the women and the booze. band that can claim one of the most non-
PC album titles, ever – You Broke My
Heart So I Busted Your Jaw.
MJ: That’s the one. I was on it, too. And I
think Gary came up with that title, and he
was the only American in the band, so I
guess we figured, “Okay – we’ll let him
have his way.” But the interesting thing is,
the cover of that album – with all its elon-
gated figures – was done by Klaus
Voorman, and that was the highlight for
me of that album. And there were a few
good songs on there, I thought. But that
was a big learning curve for me, joining
Spooky Tooth. They encompassed not
only rock, but a fresh kind of feel and a
unique style, and there were hints of R&B
in it. And it was almost like a Righteous
08•2017
Foreigner, 1977
Brothers ebb and flow with Gary and Mike
– one high voice and one low. So I learned
a lot about songwriting and I spent a lot of
time in the studio, working with great pro-
ducers.
IE: It must have been gratifying to – along
with your original Foreigner frontman
Lou Gramm – finally be inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame recently.
MJ: Yeah it was very gratifying. Very scary,
too, to be performing in front of all hese
incredible musicians and songwriters.
mean, Billy Joel inducted us. And Sting
was there, Smokey Robinson – you know
just a few lightweights! It was a very, very
special event for me, and it really brings i
home a bit – your songs matter.
IE: Full disclosure? For my own amuse
ment, a few years ago I changed the lyrics
to “Hot Blooded” to reflect a cultural phe
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12 illinoisentertainer.com august 2017