Huey Lewis & The News

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Huey Lewis & The News is a Grammy winning and Academy Award nominated US rock band based in San Francisco, California. Their greatest success was in the 1980s, when they were one of the most popular music acts of the decade. The band is known for writing simple, light-hearted songs from a working-class perspective and typically appealed to yuppies and baby boomers. Combining a rock (and sometimes, a "blues rock") backing with harmony vocals and Lewis's voice, they reached enormous success and had numerous hit songs during the 1980s and early 1990s.

[edit] Career

[edit] History

In 1972, singer/harmonica player Huey Lewis, and keyboardist Sean Hopper joined the Bay Area jazz-funk band Clover. Clover would record several albums in the 1970s, and in the middle of the decade transplanted themselves to England to become part of the UK pub rock scene for a time. Without Lewis (but with Hopper), they eventually became the original backing band for Elvis Costello's first album My Aim Is True. The band returned to the Bay Area by the end of the 1970s.

Clover's main competition in the Bay Area jazz-funk scene was a band called Soundhole, whose members included drummer Bill Gibson, saxophonist/guitarist Johnny Colla, and bassist Mario Cipollina (younger brother of John Cipollina). Like Clover, Soundhole had spent time backing a famous singer, Van Morrison. After getting a singles contract from Phonogram Records in 1978, Huey Lewis united his former bandmate and three of his former rivals to form a new group, Huey Lewis & The American Express. In 1979 they recorded, and released a single "Exo-Disco" (a disco version of the theme from the film Exodus) that was largely ignored. In 1979, the band would woo guitarist Chris Hayes and move to Chrysalis Records. After the credit card organization American Express complained, in January 1980 they changed their name to Huey Lewis & the News.

Later in 1980, the band issued their first album, a self-titled LP Huey Lewis & the News. It went largely unnoticed. However, in 1982, the band released their second album, the self-produced Picture This. Shortly thereafter the album turned gold, fuelled by the breakout success of hit single "Do You Believe in Love", written by former Clover producer Mutt Lange. Largely because of the single, the album remained on the Billboard charts for 35 weeks and peaked at #13. Several other singles from Picture This followed with only limited success, though the video "Workin' For a Livin'" received considerable airplay on MTV and HBO's Video Jukebox.

Due to record label delays on the release of their third album Sports, Huey Lewis & the News was back to square one in late 1983, touring small clubs in a bus to promote the record. It initially hit #6 in the U.S. when first released. However, the album slowly became a number-one hit in 1984 and multi-platinum success in 1985, thanks to the band's frequent touring and a series of clever, funny videos that received heavy MTV airplay. Four singles from the album would reach the Billboard Top Ten: "Heart and Soul", "I Want a New Drug", "The Heart of Rock & Roll", and "If This Is It".

Their song "The Power Of Love" was a number-one U.S. hit and featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future, with which they also recorded the theme song "Back In Time". Huey Lewis has a cameo appearance in the film as a faculty member who rejects Marty McFly's band's audition for the school's "Battle of the Bands" contest; ironically, the piece the band plays is an instrumental version of "The Power of Love" (Lewis's response: "Sorry, guys... you're just too darn loud"). "The Power of Love" was also nominated for an Academy Award.

Following the success of "The Power of Love" and Back to the Future, Huey Lewis and The News released Fore! in 1986. Fore! was the band's second number-one album on the Billboard 200. The album had widespread success, spawning two number-one singles, namely "Jacob's Ladder" and "Stuck With You". Fore! is also known for the Mainstream Rock number-one hit "Hip To Be Square". All told, the album had five top-ten singles and was certified triple platinum.

The band continued to tour throughout 1987, and released Small World in 1988. After two multi-platinum albums, Small World was a commercial disappointment, stalling at number eleven and going platinum. The album, which was more jazz and less rock than their previous albums, had one hit single, "Perfect World".

By the end of the 1980s it was clear that Huey Lewis and The News were no longer going to have the mainstream success that they enjoyed in the mid-1980s, and in 1991 they released Hard at Play on their new label EMI. The album went back to the rock sound that listeners expected of them, and was able to crank out three singles, two of which had decent success, but didn't receive nearly as much airplay as those from previous albums.

The band, realizing that their chart-topping days were over, released a covers album in 1994 called Four Chords and Several Years Ago featuring doo-wop and rock songs from the 1950s and '60s. This was the last album released with bassist Mario Cipollina, who left the band after the Four Chords and Several Years Ago tour ended.

The band's next album with all new material didn't come until 2001, with Plan B, which was the last album with guitarist Chris Hayes on it. The album was a collection of songs which the band enjoyed playing and didn't focus on trying to hit the charts, however a couple of singles from the album were able to make the Adult Contemporary charts. Since 2001 no new-material albums have been released, and the band continues to tour. In 2007, Huey Lewis released a duet with Garth Brooks, reproducing a past hit "Working For a Living" that was released on Garth Brooks Ultimate Hit's set.

• On December 31st 1989, Huey Lewis and the News brought in the New Year playing the, "Tokyo Dome." Michael Monroe, Bryan Adams, and Don Henley opened for them. All of the bands joined onstage to bring in the new year singing, "Shake Rattle & Roll."

[edit] Ghostbusters

In 1984, Huey Lewis & the News were contacted by the producers of Ghostbusters in regards to developing the theme song for the film. The band decided not to, and Ray Parker Jr. was instead signed to develop the theme. Later that year, the band sued Parker, citing the similarities between the Ghostbusters theme song and their earlier hit "I Want a New Drug". According to Huey Lewis and the News, this was especially damaging to them since the Ghostbusters theme song was so popular, rising to #1 on the charts for three weeks. Parker and Lewis later settled out of court.^[2] Huey Lewis has stated that his experiences with the producers of Ghostbusters may have been indirectly responsible for getting his band involved with the movie Back to the Future.

On his 2001 Behind the Music special, Huey Lewis stated: "The offensive part was not so much that Ray Parker Jr. had ripped this song off, it was kind of symbolic of an industry that wants something — they wanted our wave, and they wanted to buy it. ... [I]t's not for sale. ... In the end, I suppose they were right. I suppose it was for sale, because, basically, they bought it."^[3] As a result of this statement, Ray Parker Jr. has filed a suit against Huey Lewis, claiming he violated the lawsuit's confidentiality agreement and seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorney fees. The lawsuit is ongoing.

[edit] Current

Huey Lewis & the News continues to tour to this day; however, the lineup has changed significantly since the band's heyday. Mario Cipollina left the band shortly after 1994's Four Chords and Several Years Ago album and tour. His replacement since that time has been bassist John Pierce. The Tower of Power, which served as the band's horn section from the early 80's, also ceased their work with the band in 1994. Marvin McFadden, Ron Stallings, and Rob Sudduth have joined the group in their place. In early 2000, Chris Hayes decided to leave "The News" to spend more time with his growing family, though he performed on their 2001 album "Plan B," as much of it had been laid out before he left. Afterwards, Stef Burns replaced him, although guitarists Tal Morris and James Harrah have also filled in when Stef has had to leave due to other commitments. Chris has occasionally appeared with the band when playing in the San Francisco Bay Area and is known to play some shows with other performers and friends in the San Francisco area.

The most recent album of Huey Lewis & the News is 2005's Live At 25, a live recording of a December 2004 concert at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California. Drummer Bill Gibson (on the band's message board) and Huey Lewis (in 2006 interviews) have both stated that a new album is in the works, but there's been no mention of a potential release date. Work was expected to begin in early 2006, after Lewis finished his performance in the stage musical Chicago.

In 2005, the band performed at the July 4th music event in Dublin, Ohio. In the summer of 2006, the band co-headlined a US tour with Chicago. Highlights of the tour included Chicago's Bill Champlin playing with the band, and members of Huey Lewis & the News playing on Chicago's percussion-laden hit, "I'm A Man." Huey Lewis also sang the lead on Chicago's "Colour My World."

On February 13, 2007, Huey was interviewed on the podcast series "Stuck in the 80s," during which he revealed that the band has written several new songs that they plan to record next year, though he states that, given how much the industry has changed since their last album, he's unsure at this point how they will sell the new material.^[4]

On August 21, 2007, the band played a show at the California State Fair. The show was notable because original bassist Mario Cipollina made a special appearance to play with the band during the four-song encore, his first on stage performance with the group in over ten years. It was an emotional reunion as Mario shared many hugs with his band mates.

The hit single The Power Of Love has recently been covered by UK guitar indie band The Pigeon Detectives. The track has been included on the BBC Radio One compilation CD 'Radio 1, Est. 1967.'

[edit] Huey Lewis & The News members

[edit] Original News

• Huey Lewis - (born Hugh Anthony Cregg, III on July 5, 1950 Marin County, California) (1979 - present day) vocals, harmonica
• Sean Hopper - (born Sean Thomas Hopper, 31 March 1953, in San Francisco, California) - keyboards, vocals (1979 - present day)
• Bill Gibson - (born William Scott Gibson, 13 November 1951, in Sacramento, California) - drums, percussion, vocals (1979 - present day)
• Johnny Colla - (born John Victor Colla, 2 July 1952, in Sacramento, California) - saxophone, guitar, vocals (1979 - present day)
• Mario Cipollina - (born 10 November 1954, in San Rafael, California) - bass guitar (1979 - 1995)
• Chris Hayes - (born Christopher John Hayes, 24 November 1957, in Sacramento, California) - guitar, vocals (1980 - 2001)
• The Tower of Power - horn section (1982 - 1994)

[edit] Newer News

• John Pierce - bass guitar (1996-)
• Stef Burns - guitar, vocals (2001-)
• Tal Morris - guitar, vocals (occasional fill-in)
• Marvin McFadden - trumpet, vocals (1994-)
• Ron Stallings - saxophone (1994-)
• Rob Sudduth - saxophone, vocals (1994-)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• Huey Lewis & the News (1980)
• Picture This (1982) #13 US Gold
• Sports (1983) #1 US 7x Platinum
• Back to the Future Soundtrack (1985) Gold
• Fore! (1986) #1 US 3x Platinum
• Small World (1988) #11 US Platinum
• Hard at Play (1991) #27 US Gold
• The Heart Of Rock & Roll - The Best Of Huey Lewis And The News (1992)
• Four Chords & Several Years Ago (1994) #55 US
• Time Flies: The Best of Huey Lewis and the News (1996) #185 US
• Plan B (2001) #165 US
• Live at 25 (2005)
• Greatest Hits & Videos (2006) #70 US

[edit] Singles

All told Huey Lewis & The News has scored 19 top ten hits over Billboards Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock Charts:

• "Some of My Lies are True (Sooner or Later)" (1980)
• "Now Here's You" (1980)
• "Don't Ever Tell Me That You Love Me" (1980)
• "Do You Believe In Love" (1982) #7 US
• "Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do" (1982) #36 US
• "Workin' for a Livin'" (1982) #41 US
• "Heart and Soul" (1983) #8 US, #61 UK
• "I Want a New Drug" (1984) #6 US
• "The Heart of Rock 'N Roll" (1984) #6 US, #78 UK, #49 UK (re-release)
• "If This Is It" (1984) #6 US, #39 UK
• "Walking on a Thin Line" (1984) #18 US
• "The Power of Love" (1985) #1 US - 2 weeks, #9 UK
• "Back in Time" (1985) #3 US Mainstream Rock Chart only
• "Stuck with You" (1986) #1 US - 3 weeks, #12 UK
• "Hip to Be Square" (1986) #3 US, #41 UK
• "Jacob's Ladder" (1987) #1 US - 1 week
• "Simple as That" (1987) #47 UK
• "I Know What I Like" (1987) #9 US
• "Doin' It (All for My Baby)" (1987) #6 US, #93 UK
• "Perfect World" (1988) #3 US, #48 UK
• "Small World" (1988) #25 US
• "World to Me" (1988) #84 UK
• "Give Me the Keys and I'll Drive You Crazy" (1989) #47 US
• "Walking With the Kid" (1989) #98 UK
• "Couple Days Off" (1991) #11 US
• "It Hit Me Like a Hammer" (1991) #21 US
• "He Don't Know" (1991)
• "It's Alright"(acapella) (1993) #6 US Adult Contemporary Chart only
• "Some Kind of Wonderful" (1994) #44 US
• "But It's Alright" (1994) #54 US
• "100 Years from Now" (1996) #10 US Adult Contemporary Chart only
• "Let Her Go and Start Over (2001) #23 US Adult Contemporary Chart only
• "I'm Not In love Yet (But I'm Working On It)" (2001)

[edit] Trivia

• The single "Hip to Be Square" was covered and altered by the long-running children's program Sesame Street. The chorus ran "Hip to Be a Square" and taught the children about different basic shapes.

• The single "Hip To Be Square" was featured in a scene from the film American Psycho (2000) in which the character Patrick Bateman, played by Christian Bale, plays the song while rambling on about the band and murders a business acquaintance at the same time, whereas in the novel, a whole chapter is devoted to Huey Lewis & The News, where Bateman gives his opinion on the band in very great detail. In the film, he mistakenly says that Fore! was released in 1987.

• The song "I Want a New Drug" was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "I Want a New Duck".

• Borat Sagdiyev, the fictional comedy character created by Sacha Baron Cohen, has a 13 year old son called Hooey Lewis.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

[edit] External links

• HLN Today- The official website of Huey Lewis and the News
• Website dedicated to Clover - a band Huey and Sean belonged to
• A Huey Lewis biography
• BTTF.com Back to the Futurede:Huey Lewis & the News

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