Songfacts®:

• "Feels Like The First Time" was Foreigner's debut single and their first hit in both the US and UK, despite originally flopping on its initial British release. Mick Jones, who is the British founder of Foreigner (named for the bi-nationality of the band - three members were American and three were British), wrote the song himself. He told Songfacts: "'Feels Like The First Time' was written about a bit of a change in my life. I was coming out of a previous marriage with somebody I'd met in France. I'd gone back to England and then finally made the journey to America while I was in the band Spooky Tooth. And to me it was this challenge of really going for a new start in my life. And that just came naturally out of the blue. People probably thought, Well, this is a song that he's written specifically for this album. In hindsight I guess that's a natural feeling, but to me it was signifying a new start. I'd met somebody, I got re-married and moved with her to America, and that was the song that described that experience."
• The song features the vocals of Lou Gramm, who was added to the band by Mick Jones after auditioning about 50 singers. Jones told Billboard magazine that he first came across Gramm's voice while he was writing this song: "When I heard his voice on an album that I'd been given of his band, Black Sheep, I was actually in the midst of writing 'Feels Like the First Time.' I'd had a few demos from people who'd sent stuff in, and I was listening to them. The moment I heard Lou's voice, it clicked."
• Mick Jones' music career started in France, where he spent six years learning to write, produce and perform songs. In his early 20s he returned to England with the goal of eventually becoming a successful musician in America. Spending time in the band Spooky Tooth with Gary Wright of "Dream Weaver" fame, he made it to the States as an A&R scout before joining the Leslie West Band and forming Foreigner.
  
  Said Jones: "'Feels Like The First Time' was the first song I wrote for the new chapter. And that lead subsequently to putting a band together. There I was, finally the primary writer, and that song set the ball rolling for me. When that first album came out, it was just a question of, Well, we've set a huge precedent, where do I go from here? So I had to work pretty hard at those songs and try to hone my craft again. There was definitely a lot of pressure in those early years, and there still is. It's a challenge to write songs that are accepted by a large audience and to retain integrity about what you do. I've been fortunate that a lot of those songs have stood the test of time, they still get a lot of radio play, there's still a lot of popularity attached to them. And to me that means a lot, that I have a worldwide audience, and pretty much anywhere we go in the world, they're aware of the body of work that I've been able to achieve." (Check out our interview with Mick Jones.)
• This was the first song penned by Mick Jones that he ever heard played on the radio. He described his feelings to Lords of Metal on hearing it for the first time: "I was driving to Long Island to go to the sea when this song came on. I was on the bridge and in my mirror you could see the big city. On the radio they said, there is a new band and they have a great song which we will play now and that was my song. I turned the car window down and I started to drive very fast. I will never forget that moment!"
• This was song that got Foreigner a record deal in America. They were known as Trigger when they sent a tape with this track to Atlantic Records, which was home to Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Yes. A young executive named John Kalodner liked the song, saw them perform, and signed them to a deal. Kalodner would later become famous for signing Aerosmith to Geffen Records in the '80s and engineering their comeback.
• Daughtry recorded this in 2008 in support of the League of First Time Voters, which is an organization established by CNN to encourage people to vote - especially those who will be voting for the first time. A video was produced with Daughtry to drive home the point. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Bertrand - Paris, France
• "Feels Like The First Time" was used in the trailer for the 2007 film Superbad.
• By the time Foreigner finally got inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2024, Mick Jones was battling Parkinson's disease and Lou Gramm was also dealing with health issues. Gramm attended but sang just one song: "I Want to Know What Love Is," where he was joined by Kelly Clarkson. "Feels Like the First Time" kicked off the set in what we essentially a cover version, with Demi Lovato singing, Slash on guitar and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers on drums. Foreigner was still touring at this time, and members of that touring band also joined in but were relegated to the background.