Black Sheep-Black Sheep (1975)

Black Sheep was a short-lived American hard rock and blues rock band from the mid-1970s, based in Rochester, near New York City. They are known for being one of the first bands to feature vocalist Lou Gramm, who would later front one of the greatest melodic rock bands, Foreigner, for the next two decades. But before that, Black Sheep had already released the hit single "Stick Around" in 1974, and a year later their self-titled album, "Black Sheep". They then released the band's epilogue, "Encouraging Words", in late 1975. Lou Gramm did not appear on this last album, having left after being recruited by guitarist Mick Jones to join Foreigner in mid-1976. At that time, Black Sheep consisted of Donald Mancuso (guitar), Larry Crozie (keyboards), Ron Rocco (drums), and Bruce Turgon (bass), in addition to Lou Gramm on vocals. It was in this band that Lou Gramm honed the impressive vocal skills that would later make him one of the greatest vocalists in AOR, as demonstrated on Foreigner's first two multi-platinum albums. In this debut with Black Sheep, Gramm displays evident and impeccable vocal mastery on tracks like "Piano Interlude / Let Me Stay", which helped Black Sheep begin to gain some notoriety in the clubs of Rochester and New York. But in addition to this magnificent piece, the band showcases its talent with high-caliber tracks such as the blues-rock anthems "Payin' Yer Dues", "A Little or a Lot", and "Freight Train", or the melodic "Broken Promises" and "Far Side of the Sun", while the sublime "Woman" is a nod to the powerful sound of the enduring Free. After their second album, Black Sheep disbanded, with Don Mancuso and Ron Rocco joining Cheater, an obscure local hard rock band. Cheater released an album titled "Ten Cent Love Affair" in 1980, which received little media attention. Later, bassist Bruce Turgon played on Lou Gramm's solo albums, "Ready Or Not" (1987), which also featured Don Mancuso, and "Long Hard Look" (1989). In the mid-1990s, Turgon officially joined Foreigner, replacing bassist Rick Willis, and recorded the band's eighth album, "Mr. Moonlight".