In 1976, Dennis Elliott became the original drummer for a new rock band called Foreigner. Within a year, the group was rocketing up the charts with songs including “Feels Like the First Time” and “Cold as Ice,” beginning a run that would make Foreigner one of the biggest rock bands of its era.
Now, Elliott is celebrating another milestone. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer turns 76 on Aug. 18.
But long after helping power Foreigner hits including “Hot Blooded,” “Double Vision,” “Urgent” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” Elliott traded his drumsticks for an entirely different creative pursuit: sculpture.
Dennis Elliott Was Foreigner’s Original Drummer
Born in London on Aug. 18, 1950, Elliott started playing drums remarkably young, performing with his family’s band when he was just 5 years old.
By 16, he was playing professionally with The Shevelles. He later joined the Ferris Wheel and, at 19, became a member of jazz-rock band If, recording several albums with the group.
Another important opportunity arrived when Elliott played on former Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter’s self-titled debut solo album, including “Once Bitten Twice Shy.”
But after that recording, Elliott found himself unemployed in New York and took a job as a mechanic to make ends meet. At a jam session, he met guitarist Mick Jones, who was also in New York following the dissolution of the Leslie West Band.
“A few weeks later,” Elliott recalled to Modern Drummer in 2018, “I got a call from Mick saying that he was forming a new band, and would I care to come down to Manhattan to play some songs and see what happens.”
What happened was Foreigner.
Elliott remembered playing “Feels Like the First Time” at his audition and immediately sensing that something was different.
“The songs were so good that I just felt comfortable with them,” he said. “It felt like we’d been playing together for years.”
Foreigner’s self-titled debut arrived in 1977 and climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The band’s follow-up, 1978’s Double Vision, went even higher, reaching No. 3.
Elliott remained behind the drums as Foreigner’s success continued through albums including Head Games, 4, Agent Provocateur and Inside Information. He also played on some of the band’s most enduring hits, from “Hot Blooded” and “Double Vision” to “Urgent” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You.”
Dennis Elliott Left Foreigner and Became a Sculptor
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After 17 years with Foreigner, Elliott left the band in 1993.
“All in all, it was a wonderful time, but very hectic,” he told Modern Drummer of his years with the group. “It takes a toll. I just felt I’d had enough, and it was best for me to stay home.”
By then, however, Elliott had already developed another artistic passion.
He began working with wood in 1972 and taught himself the craft, eventually focusing on large burl wood vessels, wall sculptures and interactive orbital pieces. His work has incorporated carving, burning and sandblasting, along with materials including alabaster, metal, exotic woods and semi-precious stones.
Elliott’s sculptures have ultimately found their way into 21 museum collections across the United States, according to his official website.
For Elliott, the transition from musician to sculptor wasn’t necessarily as dramatic as it might appear. Both allowed him to create, but he saw an important distinction between the two art forms.
“In creating music, you’re creating out of thin air,” Elliott explained on his website. “When you’re working with a solid object like a piece of a tree, you can only do it once.”
Elliott hasn’t completely left Foreigner behind, either. He has reunited with his former bandmates for performances over the years, including Foreigner’s 40th anniversary reunion shows in 2017.
And in 2024, Elliott’s place in the band’s history received its biggest recognition when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Foreigner.
From pounding out the beat behind some of the biggest rock songs of the late ’70s and ’80s to creating works of art held by museums decades later, Elliott has now spent more than half a century creating in one form or another.
Related: Retiring Original Lead Singer Rejoins ’70s Rock Icons for New Version of Iconic Hit
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