40 | JUNE 13 • 2024 
J
N

ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC

W

e catch Michael 
Bluestein today in 
Tulsa, Oklahoma, 
where the keyboardist — best 
known as a member of the 
band Foreigner since 2008 — 
is in the studio working with 
some local musicians. 
On a Christmas album.
What kind of job is that for 
a nice Jewish boy? “It’s a long 
tradition,
” says Bluestein, who 
joins the ranks of Irving Berlin, 
Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow 
and many more in recording 
songs of that season. “Mel 
Torme did OK with himself 
with ‘Chestnuts Roasting on an 
Open Fire’ and all those songs, 
so I’m honored to be part of 
that lineage.
”
Bluestein, 55, is, of course, 

part of another history as part 
of Foreigner. 
Founded during 1976 by 
Mick Jones, the group is head-
ed into the Rock and Roll 
Hall of Fame during October, 
reflecting a legendary run that 
includes worldwide record sales 
of more than 80 million copies, 
nine studio albums — seven 
of them platinum or better 
between 1977-87 — and 14 Top 
20 hits on the Billboard Hot 
100. Songs such as “Feels Like 
the First Time,
” “Cold as Ice,
” 
“Urgent,
” “Juke Box Hero” and 
“I Want to Know What Love 
Is” defined an era and remain 
Classic Rock radio staples.
Like the rest of the current 
Foreigner lineup, Bluestein 
was not around when they 

were recorded, but he feels 
the weight of responsibility to 
maintain the band’s legacy.
“Performing these songs 
well and representing them 
the way we have ... these songs 
are part of people’s lives, and 
they want to come out and 
hear them,
” explains Bluestein, 
who was referred to Foreigner 
by Paul Merkovich, who was 
a short-term fill-in with the 
group at the time. “When 
you play ‘Double Vision’ or 
‘Head Games’ or ‘Cold as Ice,
’ 
‘Jukebox Hero,
’ even after all 
this time, you’re treading on 
hallowed ground. 
“There’s a humility that 
comes with that, wanting to 
do right by the music and 
the songs and how important 

they’ve been to everyone there.
”

FALLING INTO MUSIC
A focus on music “just kind 
of happened” for Bluestein 
while he was growing up in the 
northern suburbs of Boston. 
 “The previous owners had 
left this upright piano behind 
in the house we moved into in 
Haverhill,
” he recalls. “I started 
tinkering with it and had a 
knack for picking out melodies. 
That’s how it started, and I got 
more and more serious about it 
over the years. It just seemed to 
want to come out of me.
”
Bluestein began studying 
classical and jazz had a “sort 
of fusion, pop band in high 
school.
” Uncertain about 
music as a career, he planned 

Foreigner’s Jewish keyboardist 
honored to be part of the band 
headed for the Rock and Roll 
Hall of Fame. 

GARY GRAFF CONTRIBUTING WRITER

a
Upholding

PHOTOS: KARSTEN STAIGER

Michael Bluestein 
rocks out on his 
keytar during a 
Foreigner concert. 

