Foghat

Foghat built a reputation around straightforward, high-energy blues-infused hard rock and issued multiple commercially successful albums throughout the mid-1970s. Even while remaining faithful to their core boogie approach, the group sustained a broad following through 1978, packing arenas across the United States and collecting several gold or platinum certifications. After the original lineup disbanded in 1984, drummer Roger Earl relaunched Foghat in 1993 and kept the band on tour for the following three decades, issuing new recordings from time to time, among them the 2023 album Sonic Mojo.

Although their direct, three-chord workouts originated in American traditions, every member came from England. Guitarist and vocalist “Lonesome” Dave Peverett, bassist Tony Stevens, and drummer Roger Earl had all played in the British blues outfit Savoy Brown before departing in the early 1970s; they formed Foghat after recruiting guitarist Rod Price. The new band relocated to the United States and signed with Bearsville Records, the fledgling label founded by Albert Grossman. Their self-titled debut appeared in summer 1972 and performed strongly on album-rock radio; a cover of Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want to Make Love to You” even reached the lower reaches of the singles chart.

The follow-up album adhered strictly to the same blueprint and retained the same title, though its cover featured an image of a rock and a roll. That second Foghat became the band’s first gold record and solidified their status as a major arena attraction. The next six releases—Energized (1974), Rock and Roll Outlaws (1974), Fool for the City (1975), Night Shift (1976), Foghat Live (1977), and Stone Blue (1978)—all achieved best-seller status and at least gold certification. “Slow Ride,” drawn from Fool for the City, rose to number 20 and remains their highest-charting single, while Foghat Live ultimately surpassed two million copies sold. After 1975 the lineup experienced several bass changes; Rod Price exited in 1981 and was succeeded by Erik Cartwright.

Commercial momentum faded sharply in the early 1980s, and the final album of that era, 1983’s Zig-Zag Walk, barely registered on the charts. The group dissolved soon afterward, with Peverett stepping away from touring. Roger Earl, Erik Cartwright, and Craig MacGregor continued briefly as the Kneetremblers before reverting to the Foghat name. They maintained a touring schedule through the rest of the decade and into the early 1990s. In 1990 Lonesome Dave launched his own Foghat project and returned to the road; the original members—Peverett, Price, Stevens, and Earl—reunited in 1993 for further tours that yielded Return of the Boogie Men in 1994 and Road Cases in 1998.

Peverett’s death from cancer on February 7, 2000, at age 56 ended that configuration. Following a period of mourning, the band resumed with vocalist Charlie Huhn and, after two years of road work, issued Family Joules in 2002. Additional touring produced live documents such as The Official Bootleg DVD, Vol. 1 in 2004 and Foghat Live II in 2007. Guitarist Rod Price died at 57 in March 2005 after suffering a heart attack and fall; later that year original bassist Tony Stevens departed and Craig MacGregor rejoined.

Operating on their own imprint, Foghat revisited their blues foundation in 2010 with Last Train Home, which mixed new originals and favored blues covers and included several tracks cut with longtime friend Eddie Kirkland. Extensive touring continued over the next five years before the entirely fan-funded seventeenth studio album, Under the Influence, appeared in 2016 on Foghat Records. Bassist Craig MacGregor, after a prolonged battle with lung cancer, died in February 2018 at age 68.

Foghat returned in 2023 with Sonic Mojo, their first set of original material in two decades.