its career. Last year, Foreigner celebrated its long-awaited induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

And later this week, Foreigner will add another accolade to its illustrious resume: headliner of the Grand Prix of Long Beach’s free Saturday night concert.

The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, dubbed Southern California’s 200-mph beach party and one of the largest events in the region, will celebrate its own golden anniversary when it returns to the coast from Friday to Sunday.

To mark the iconic street race’s 50th anniversary, Grand Prix organizers have sought to add plenty of special offerings to this year’s event, and to nab a big-name headliner for Saturday’s concert.

Enter Foreigner and its catalog of classics.

“We’ll be performing a lot of the hits, that’s for sure,” said keyboardist Michael Bluestein, who joined Foreigner in 2008.

The band certainly has no shortage of hits.

Foreigner, a blend of American and British musicians, was formed in 1976 by Lou Gramm, on vocals; Mick Jones, on guitar; Ian McDonald, on guitar and keyboards; Al Greenwood, on keyboards; Ed Gagliardi, on bass; and Dennis Elliott, on drums.

The band’s self-titled debut album, from Atlantic Records, was released in 1977 and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard charts. It included the Top 10 hits and eventual rock anthems “Feels Like the First Time” and “Cold as Ice.”

The “Double Vision” album was released the following year, reaching No. 3 on the charts. Singles “Hot Blooded” reached No. 3 on the Billboard singles charts, followed by “Double Vision,” which almost became the band’s first No. 1 single, topping out at No. 2.

Foreigner’s hot streak continued with “Head Games,” which was released in 1979 and reached No. 5 on the charts. The album featured the hits “Dirty White Boy” and “Head Games.”

Their fourth album, aptly named “4,” came out in 1981 and was one of the band’s biggest successes.

Not only did the album spend 10 weeks at No. 1, but it also featured the hit singles “Urgent,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and “Juke Box Hero.”

Written by Jones, with lead vocals by Gramm, the power ballad “I Want to Know What Love Is” is the band’s only No. 1 single in the U.S. It was the signature hit on 1984’s “Agent Provocateur,” which hit No. 4 on the charts and also featured the classic “That Was Yesterday.”

Multiple band incarnations have followed. And while three studio albums in recent decades — “Unusual Heat” in 1991, “Mr. Moonlight” in 1994 and “Can’t Slow Down” in 2009 — have failed to match the multiplatinum success of the band’s early albums, Foreigner’s legacy remains intact.

Bassist Jeff Pilson, who joined Foreigner in 2004, was a young musician playing in cover bands when the group first hit the charts with its 1977 debut.

“I just thought Foreigner was amazing,” he said. “It was hard rock, it was real melodic.

“I love the Beatles (and) I love Led Zeppelin, so I wanted it heavy — but I wanted to hear melody,” Pilson added. “It was amazing how Foreigner did that and I was an instant fan.”

Pilson was previously in the Los Angeles rock band Dokken, which had several successful albums and singles, including power ballad “Alone Again” in the 1980s, which he said was influenced by Foreigner.

He also worked with iconic metal band Dio, among many other groups, and has dabbled in the acting world, which is what led him to joining Foreigner.

Pilson was in the 2001 film “Rock Star,” which featured Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston. That flick, which received middling reviews, also included drummer Jason Bonham, the son of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. The younger Bonham knew Jones and connected Pilson to Foreigner while it was revamping.

“I think Jason is the one that kind of talked Mick into completely revamping Foreigner,” Pilson said, “so they called me up.”

And he’s been with the band ever since.

Bluestein, like Pilson, was a youngster — about 8 years old — when Foreigner hit it big.

“I grew up with these tunes,” he said, “and knew them all when I came on board.”

Bluestein was recommended by a colleague of his, Paul Mirkovich, who played keyboards for Foreigner and is now the musical director for NBC’s “The Voice.”

“He (Mirkovich) was playing (with) Foreigner at the time, but was kind of just a temporary member for them,” Bluestein said. “He wasn’t going to be able to stay, and had told them that he would help find somebody when he had to leave. So I just sort of ran into him at a serendipitous time, and he asked if I wanted to audition, and that’s how it happened.”

Bluestein is still with Foreigner, but that wasn’t always guaranteed.

In 2012, four years after joining Foreigner, Bluestein was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

“I had to undergo treatment, chemotherapy, radiation, some surgeries and stuff,” Bluestein said. “So it was kind of a rough year there.”

But the treatments worked. Bluestein has been cancer free for nearly 13 years.

Even with those challenges, Foreigner’s music has continued to persist in the cultural zeitgeist.

Jones and Gramm, for example, were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.

But it took about another decade for Foreigner itself to finally be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, despite having sold 80 million albums worldwide and having 16 Top 10 hits, according to the band’s website.

Foreigner was inducted in 2024 alongside Mary J. Blige, Cher, the Dave Matthews Band, Peter Frampton, Kool & The Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest.

Writer and musician Robert Burke Warren discussed Foreigner’s appeal in an essay for the band’s Hall of Fame induction.

“Foreigner’s infectious, hooky tunes,” he wrote, “wrapped in meticulously crafted sound — crunching riffs, melodic leads, stratospheric vocals, sly synthesizers, and a driving groove — set the airwaves afire.”

Gramm, former Foreigner bassist Rick Wills and original member Greenwood joined the ceremony. But Jones, who has Parkinson’s disease, did not attend.

“It was a blast, really,” Bluestein said. “It was a lot of fun and definitely an honor.”

The Hall of Fame induction, Pilson said, also led to a reunion, with Gramm rejoining with the band to sing four songs when Foreigner toured South America.

“I think the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame kind of gave us all the pause to really think and realize that Foreigner is bigger than all of us,” Pilson said. “So for Lou (to come) down to join us (is) incredible, and he’s been so supportive. We just feel very, very fortunate.”

Pilson also said he feels fortunate to be part of the Foreigner legacy, which has become part of the “social fabric.”

“What more can you ask for than the legacy of their songs being part of the cultural fabric?” Pilson said. “It’s absolutely the songs that are the legacy, and music is the legacy, and we’re just really happy to be part of it and happy to take it around the world.”

People still tune in to Foreigner’s music, Bluestein said, because it’s “really well written, well performed, well sung.”

“You take that incredible lead vocal of Lou Gramm and you add it to very tightly constructed songs that were built to stand the test of time, with great guitar hooks and great harmonies, great grooves,” Bluestein said, “it was a winning formula. And it was during an era where that kind of music was ruling airwaves.”

And on Saturday, Foreigner will rule the Grand Prix stage.

The Saturday night concert, which is free to Grand Prix ticket holders, will begin around 6:30 p.m. at the Terrace Plaza, at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center.

Foreigner will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, bands to headline the Saturday night concert in recent years. In 2022, Royal Machines headlined, followed in 2023 by rock supergroup Kings of Chaos. Last year, the concert went country, with Eddie Montgomery, Gretchen Wilson, David Lee Murphy and the band Sixwire headlining.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Foreigner to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach for our 50th anniversary,” Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, said in a February statement when the band was announced as the headliner. “Their music has defined generations, and their performance will bring an electrifying energy to our Saturday night festivities. It’s the perfect way to celebrate our 50 years of racing here in Long Beach.”