 Hi, this is Lou Graham and you're watching The Metal Voice. Hello everyone, this is Neil Turbin with The Metal Voice and you're looking at the one and only amazing Lou Graham, original singer from Farner, Black Sheep, and also today he'll be inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame. Congratulations Lou. Thank you, I think that's awesome. I think it's so well deserved. I mean, honestly I was really stunned when I heard about it. I tried to make sense of it but it actually does make sense, doesn't it? I know that it makes sense because for one, I do know that Black Sheep was a band that of course you were in and you can tell us about it in terms of, you guys were a heavy rock band. Heavy rock band, definitely. So you weren't Farner, you were in Black Sheep. Yes. I mean, Farner, you were in after. Yes. And I noticed something about Black Sheep that I thought was kind of interesting. I don't know if this is something that is consistent with your thoughts but I saw this photograph on YouTube and it was like just the cover photo of maybe one of the albums or a back cover of Black Sheep and it looked to me like the first Farner album, the image that you guys had, you guys were there in height, it started off with the smallest guy to the tallest guy so I just wonder if that was an influence for you. Well, you know who the smallest guy was. Oh, really? Okay. Well, I don't think it was, it was, not intentional, nothing intentional. I mean, I'm going to look at it and I'll tell you my thoughts about it again later. I had never thought about that but boy wouldn't that be something. Well there's that and also some of the songs I thought were, you know, like Halfway Home and A Little, A Little Hot. I love that song. That's an awesome song. And I thought when I heard that song like wait a second, you know Lou Graham was singing in the same kind of time frame, that was what, 74? Was it? 74. And it was in the same time frame as Deep Purple. Yep. And that would have been probably, I'm thinking David Coverdale was in the band then. I'm thinking. Yes he was. And then also, you know, Paul Rogers. Yeah, in free. Out of free, yeah. Or maybe still in free. Still in free, I think. Or that might have been the beginning of Bad Company, I'm not sure. Yeah, so you guys were kind of in that same element of sorts. You know, not exactly the same, but I mean, your voice is unmistakable. I mean, it's kind of like, you know, you hear that voice and it's like, well, that's Farner. No, that's Lou Graham. It's like, but your voice to me is Farner. It is, it's that, I mean, I appreciate that. I mean, when they got you in Farner, I mean, that was like the money. You know, that was like, they hear your voice. It's like they see dollar bills, you know, I mean, that's for the radio. Well, someone had the vision. That was Mick, obviously, you know, and, you know, I was always proud to be in Farner, you know, for the most part. Well, you commanded a lot of hit songs. I mean, there's, there's, you know, I wrote it on a social media the other day when someone was saying, why is, you know, why is Lou Graham in the Metal Hall of Fame is just like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? He's like, no, this is totally different. This is not based on, you know, popularity trends and social engineering. This is based on actual earning, you know, belonging and people making a decision that said Lou deserves to be here. And I'm totally behind you on that. And I think, you know, you're a huge influence on my singing background. And I feel like, you know, you told me about your singing background. We had a chance to talk before 2012. You told me that one of your favorite singers was Aretha Franklin. Yes, it was. Is there any other singers that you might, you know, kind of add to that in terms of Marvin Gaye? Yes. What about in the rock genre? Is there anyone that was kind of a John Lennon, for sure? Okay, yep. What about some of the guys like the Rockabilly guys or any of the Buddy Holley? Buddy Holley? Absolutely Buddy Holley. The benefactor is a song on four on the floor called Lou Ann. Do you ever hear it? Yes. You know what? I have heard it, but I can't remember how I heard it. And it's just a slight takeoff on not a particular Buddy Holley song, but his style. Well, thanks for sharing that Lou. We love those little tidbits of information. Yeah, check it out. So what are you up to these days? I know you're playing with Tony Franklin in your band. Yes. I was hoping he would be here, but he told me he wasn't. I guess he wasn't able to make it tonight. But you're here, so that's amazing. Yeah, I was looking forward to seeing Tony, but I'll be seeing him soon. I like playing with him. We have a strong band. Yes. And we're working on some new songs right now. So there's a possibility there might be some new material released before the end of this conference. New material. That's amazing. Yes. I'm sure somehow that's going to end up on the radio, in my opinion. Let's hope, you know. Because there still is a radio these days with the internet, with the streaming services and all that. It's pretty homogenized. Yeah, and so you're still out there touring too. You're out there playing shows. Yeah, you've got a lot of shows to show. A lot of shows. Congratulations. Yep, thanks. I'm excited about the new band and new music. That's what it takes, a good creative band and new music. And suddenly, your life blood is surging again, you know.