Foreigner's 'I Want to Know What Love Is', Which Sparked Bitter Credit Dispute, Became A No. 1 Hit

Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" remains one of the most popular rock tracks of the 1980s, but many fans may not know that it triggered a bitter dispute between two of the band's most prominent members.

Originally written in 1984 and released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, Agent Provocateur, the song propelled Foreigner to a whole new level of fame that they'd never experienced before. The song went to No. 1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom, marking their biggest success by far.

Foreigner were already well known at this point from hit singles like "Urgent" and "Waiting For a Girl Like You", but it wasn't until "I Want to Know What Love Is" that they finally broke onto the global stage. The track dominated the radio for years after its release, and still receives considerable airplay today.

However, the song also ended up being a point of contention for Foreigner. While it was credited solely to guitarist Mick Jones (who wrote much of the band's material), frontman Lou Gramm later claimed to have written much of the song himself.

Though Gramm never formally contested the credit (or lack thereof), it caused somewhat of a rivalry between the two songwriters. As the frontman and lead vocalist, Gramm was arguably the most famous member of the band-and this influence was a major factor in the credit dispute.

Gramm asserts that he wrote about 35% of the song, while Jones claims that the frontman's contributions were no more than 5%. Instead, Jones claims that he came up with the song in the middle of the night during a random strike of inspiration.

"I always worked late at night, when everybody left, and the phone stopped ringing. "I Want to Know What Love Is" came up at three in the morning sometime in 1984. I don't know where it came from. I consider it a gift that was sent through me. I think there was something bigger than me behind it. I'd say it was probably written entirely by a higher force," he said.

Bassist Rick Wills later added to the dispute on Jones' side, agreeing that he was the only person who contributed to the song. Although Gramm continued to assert his influence, he admitted that the idea had come exclusively from the guitarist, suggesting the song "...represented things in his own life that [Jones] hadn't been able to resolve, and he wasn't too sure he wanted to have millions of people hear about it."

Despite this conflict, "I Want to Know What Love Is" remains Foreigner's most successful track, and one of the most popular songs ever written. It has appeared on Rolling Stone's famous list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in two iterations.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 8:39 AM.