Biography
Huey Lewis & the News started out as a bar band that achieved mainstream success. Their no-frills, direct approach to rock & roll turned the San Francisco outfit into one of the leading pop/rock acts in the United States during the middle of the 1980s. Drawing from British pub rock as well as 1960s R&B and rock & roll, the group delivered an energetic, celebratory vibe that propelled tracks such as "Workin' for a Livin'," "I Want a New Drug," "The Heart of Rock & Roll," "Hip to Be Square," and "The Power of Love" into major chart successes. At heart the ensemble operated as a working unit whose members understood how to reach listeners through tributes to everyday employment and athletics. As the 1980s advanced they refined their production, then paused recording activity by the mid-1990s. Even so the News stayed a reliable live attraction, maintaining a bar-band ethos and surfacing periodically with albums such as Plan B in 2001 and the 2010 Stax Records tribute Soulsville. After Lewis disclosed in 2018 that Ménière's disease was impairing his hearing, the group's prospects appeared unclear, yet they returned in 2020 with Weather, their tenth studio release.
The origins of Huey Lewis & the News trace back to Clover, a San Francisco country-rock outfit from the early 1970s that included Lewis on vocals and harmonica plus keyboardist Sean Hopper. At Nick Lowe's suggestion the band relocated to England in 1976 to join the pub-rock circuit. Within a brief period they built a modest local following. Lowe helmed their debut single "Chicken Funk," which placed Lewis on lead vocals, and the next year the remaining members backed Elvis Costello on My Aim Is True. PolyGram issued two Clover LPs that attracted little notice; once leader John McFee departed for the Doobie Brothers the group disbanded and headed home to California. Before leaving Britain, Lewis contributed harmonica to Lowe's Labour of Lust and Dave Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary, the latter also containing his composition "Bad Is Bad."
Back in the States, Lewis and Hopper began informal sessions at Marin County's Uncle Charlies bar, where they assembled American Express alongside bassist Mario Cipollina, saxophonist and guitarist Johnny Colla, and drummer Bill Gibson—all veterans of Soundhole, a late-1970s backing unit for Van Morrison. The new band cut a disco rendition of "Theme From Exodus" titled "Exodisco," which Mercury released to no response. In 1980 guitarist Chris Hayes joined, and Chrysalis offered a deal on the condition that the name change. The musicians settled on Huey Lewis & the News; their self-titled debut appeared later that year but drew scant attention.
Early in 1982 the second album Picture This arrived and succeeded largely because of the Top Ten single "Do You Believe in Love," penned by former Clover producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Additional modest hits "Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do" and "Workin' for a Livin'" followed, while constant touring strengthened their audience. Sports, the third LP, surfaced in autumn 1983 and gradually achieved multi-platinum status through road work and inventive, humorous videos that gained heavy MTV rotation. "Heart and Soul" (number eight, 1983), "I Want a New Drug" (number six, 1984), "The Heart of Rock & Roll" (number six, 1984), and "If This Is It" (number six, 1984) all reached the Top Ten, lifting Sports to number one in 1984; the set ultimately sold more than seven million copies. Late that year Lewis filed suit against Ray Parker, Jr., alleging that "Ghostbusters" borrowed from "I Want a New Drug," a case resolved privately. The News scored their first number-one single in 1985 with "The Power of Love," featured on the Back to the Future soundtrack.
Huey Lewis & the News delivered their fourth album, Fore!, in 1986. It quickly topped the charts, buoyed by five Top Ten singles: "Stuck with You" (number one, 1986), "Hip to Be Square" (number three, 1986), "Jacob's Ladder" (number one, 1987), "I Know What I Like" (number nine, 1987), and "Doing It All for My Baby" (number six, 1987). At the height of their commercial run they broadened their palette on 1988's Small World by exploring assorted American roots styles. Although the album yielded the Top Ten hit "Perfect World," it underperformed relative to its two predecessors, peaking at number 11 and achieving only platinum certification.
Three years passed before Hard at Play appeared on the new EMI label. That release missed the Top 20 and generated just one hit, "Couple Days Off." With their peak popularity behind them, the band eased activity through the remainder of the 1990s, playing occasional concerts and issuing the covers collection Four Chords & Several Years Ago in 1994. Their first Elektra album, it produced the adult-contemporary single "But It's Alright" yet failed to reach gold status. More than six years elapsed before Plan B emerged on Silvertone in 2001. Nine years after that, Soulsville, a tribute to Stax Records and Memphis soul, arrived in 2010. While preparing new original material, the group marked the 30th anniversary of Sports in 2013 with a deluxe two-disc edition, a supporting tour, and extensive promotional efforts. In 2018 all upcoming concerts were canceled after Lewis was diagnosed with significant hearing loss from Ménière's disease. Despite the challenge the band secured a deal with BMG Rights Management for their tenth album, Weather, issued in early 2020 and drawn from recordings made before the diagnosis.
The origins of Huey Lewis & the News trace back to Clover, a San Francisco country-rock outfit from the early 1970s that included Lewis on vocals and harmonica plus keyboardist Sean Hopper. At Nick Lowe's suggestion the band relocated to England in 1976 to join the pub-rock circuit. Within a brief period they built a modest local following. Lowe helmed their debut single "Chicken Funk," which placed Lewis on lead vocals, and the next year the remaining members backed Elvis Costello on My Aim Is True. PolyGram issued two Clover LPs that attracted little notice; once leader John McFee departed for the Doobie Brothers the group disbanded and headed home to California. Before leaving Britain, Lewis contributed harmonica to Lowe's Labour of Lust and Dave Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary, the latter also containing his composition "Bad Is Bad."
Back in the States, Lewis and Hopper began informal sessions at Marin County's Uncle Charlies bar, where they assembled American Express alongside bassist Mario Cipollina, saxophonist and guitarist Johnny Colla, and drummer Bill Gibson—all veterans of Soundhole, a late-1970s backing unit for Van Morrison. The new band cut a disco rendition of "Theme From Exodus" titled "Exodisco," which Mercury released to no response. In 1980 guitarist Chris Hayes joined, and Chrysalis offered a deal on the condition that the name change. The musicians settled on Huey Lewis & the News; their self-titled debut appeared later that year but drew scant attention.
Early in 1982 the second album Picture This arrived and succeeded largely because of the Top Ten single "Do You Believe in Love," penned by former Clover producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Additional modest hits "Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do" and "Workin' for a Livin'" followed, while constant touring strengthened their audience. Sports, the third LP, surfaced in autumn 1983 and gradually achieved multi-platinum status through road work and inventive, humorous videos that gained heavy MTV rotation. "Heart and Soul" (number eight, 1983), "I Want a New Drug" (number six, 1984), "The Heart of Rock & Roll" (number six, 1984), and "If This Is It" (number six, 1984) all reached the Top Ten, lifting Sports to number one in 1984; the set ultimately sold more than seven million copies. Late that year Lewis filed suit against Ray Parker, Jr., alleging that "Ghostbusters" borrowed from "I Want a New Drug," a case resolved privately. The News scored their first number-one single in 1985 with "The Power of Love," featured on the Back to the Future soundtrack.
Huey Lewis & the News delivered their fourth album, Fore!, in 1986. It quickly topped the charts, buoyed by five Top Ten singles: "Stuck with You" (number one, 1986), "Hip to Be Square" (number three, 1986), "Jacob's Ladder" (number one, 1987), "I Know What I Like" (number nine, 1987), and "Doing It All for My Baby" (number six, 1987). At the height of their commercial run they broadened their palette on 1988's Small World by exploring assorted American roots styles. Although the album yielded the Top Ten hit "Perfect World," it underperformed relative to its two predecessors, peaking at number 11 and achieving only platinum certification.
Three years passed before Hard at Play appeared on the new EMI label. That release missed the Top 20 and generated just one hit, "Couple Days Off." With their peak popularity behind them, the band eased activity through the remainder of the 1990s, playing occasional concerts and issuing the covers collection Four Chords & Several Years Ago in 1994. Their first Elektra album, it produced the adult-contemporary single "But It's Alright" yet failed to reach gold status. More than six years elapsed before Plan B emerged on Silvertone in 2001. Nine years after that, Soulsville, a tribute to Stax Records and Memphis soul, arrived in 2010. While preparing new original material, the group marked the 30th anniversary of Sports in 2013 with a deluxe two-disc edition, a supporting tour, and extensive promotional efforts. In 2018 all upcoming concerts were canceled after Lewis was diagnosed with significant hearing loss from Ménière's disease. Despite the challenge the band secured a deal with BMG Rights Management for their tenth album, Weather, issued in early 2020 and drawn from recordings made before the diagnosis.
Singles
