URGENT: Beaumont High Choir To Sing With Pop-Rock Icons Foreigner

The Beaumont High School Choir has been invited to sing backup on the 1984 chart-topping ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is" with British-American rock band Foreigner at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa on Friday night.

"We can't believe it," Beaumont High's music director Greg Taylor, 47, said Thursday morning in a phone interview. "We are so excited. Foreigner is just a huge band, with such an impact on rock-and-roll and popular music."

Taylor described the invitation to sing with Foreigner during a live concert as "a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Beaumont students to sing with one of the greatest and most successful bands in the history of rock music."

"This is no joke," Foreignerʼs marketing and promotions manager John Lappen told Taylor in a phone message and a subsequent conversation, Taylor said.

“When we spoke, I thought....what a  fantastic opportunity for our kids. How many studentʼs can say they've performed with such a famous group!” Taylor said. “This concert performance represents a real and viable learning experience for our talented students.”

The invitation to the Beaumont High singers is part of Foreigner's efforts to connect with communities they perform in, Lappen told Banning-Beaumont Patch.

"We needed a choir for that piece in the show," Lappen said in a phone interview Thursday morning. "We do this in every market we play in, to raise money for charities."

The 25 members of Beaumont High's choir learned of the invitation a few days ago and have been practicing "I Want to Know What Love Is" since, Taylor said.

The 1984 hit topped UK Singles in Britain and the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., and is billed by Foreigner as one of its most popular songs.

Foreigner formed in 1976 and made on impact on popular music charts with "Feels Like the First Time" and "Cold As Ice" off their first, self-titled album "Foreigner" in 1977.

The following year Foreigner released the album "Double Vision," which included the hits "Hot Blooded" and "Double Vision." In 1979 the band released "Head Games," with the hits "Dirty White Boy" and "Love on the Telephone."

In 1981, Foreigner released the album "4" with popular songs "Juke Box Hero," "Waiting For a Girl Like You," and "Urgent."

Foreigner has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide, according to the band and music trade publications.

On Friday at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa,, the band will be selling copies of their
latest album and donating proceeds to the local Habitat for Humanity charity, Taylor said. A raffle ticket along with each CD will give concert attendees the chance to win an autographed guitar from Foreigner, Taylor said.

The British-American rock group has also partnered with VH1 in a "Save The Music" program which provides money to help support music classes across America, Taylor said.

The concert is scheduled at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, at 9 p.m., Friday evening
and tickets are available through Ticketmaster ranging in price from $55-75.