“Blue Morning, Blue Day” was co-written by Gramm and Foreigner’s lead guitarist, Mick Jones. The song wasn’t originally intended as a single, said Gramm in a 2018 interview with AXS. “It came about a little later in the sessions,” he said. “It was a dark horse track, and the mood of it was dark, but the story was so cool that it ended up being the third single from the album.”
Jones has said that he was inspired by progressive rock band Procol Harum when he and Gramm cowrote “Blue Morning, Blue Day.” He discussed Procol Harum's influence on the song in a 2021 video interview with AXS TV: “Blue Morning was one of my favorite tracks that we wrote,” Jones said. “I think I was going through a little phase of really digging Procol Harum, kind of almost semi-tragic, sad, blue. Blue morning, blue day.”
During an interview on the radio show In the Studio with Redbeard, Jones further elaborated on Procol Harum's influence on “Blue Morning, Blue Day”:
That was a little Procol Harum coming out in me, the period with the big orchestra and ‘Conquistador.’ It was that mood. I felt very strongly that it was an inspiration in that song. And I was starting to experiment; I was getting clever (composing) on the piano! (chuckles).
“Blue Morning, Blue Day” was released on Atlantic Records in December 1978 in the U.S. and in February 1979 in the U.K. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #45 on the U.K. charts. It climbed to #21 in Canada. It was the third hit from the band’s iconic Double Vision album. The other two singles from the collection, ”Hot Blooded” and “Double Vision,” were even bigger hits, peaking at #3 and #2, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Blue Morning, Blue Day” has been sampled on two songs: “Purple Weed” (2006) by Mondo Marcia and “Steppin On Toes” (2007) by The Away Team. And it was featured on the soundtrack of the documentary film Sound City (2013).
Foreigner was formed in 1976 in New York City. The original lineup consisted of vocalist Lou Gramm, guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Ed Gagliardi, drummer Dennis Elliott, keyboardist Al Greenwood, and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald. This was the band lineup for the Double Vision album.
Foreigner is one of the most successful and best-selling rock bands of all time, with sales of more than 80 million records worldwide and 10 multi-platinum albums. They scored nine top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as 14 top-20 hits and 16 top-30 hits on that chart. Their first eight consecutive singles all cracked the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Beatles were the only other band to achieve this milestone. Foreigner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024.