Huey Lewis
Encyclopedia
Huey Lewis is an American
musician
, songwriter
and occasional actor
.
Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica
for his band
Huey Lewis and the News
, in addition to writing or co-writing many of the band's songs. The band is perhaps best known for their third album Sports and their contribution to the soundtrack of the 1985 feature film Back to the Future
. Lewis previously played with the band Clover
from 1972 to 1979.
. His father, Hugh Anthony Cregg II, was an Irish American
from Boston
and his mother, Magda, was a Polish
refugee.
Lewis was raised in Marin County, California
, attending Strawberry Point Elementary School (where he skipped second grade) and Edna Maguire Junior High School in Mill Valley
.
When he was 13, his parents divorced and he attended and later graduated from the Lawrenceville School
in New Jersey, in 1967, where he achieved a perfect score of 800 on the math portion of the SAT
.
Lewis applied to and was accepted by Cornell University
in Ithaca, New York
.
In an interview with David Letterman
, Lewis talked about hitchhiking
across the country to New York and how he learned to play the harmonica while waiting for rides.
He talked about hanging out at the airport for three days until he stowed away
on a plane to Europe
. In future interviews Lewis would reveal other encounters while traveling Europe. He claimed to sleeping rough at times. While visiting the Scottish
city of Aberdeen
with no money and nowhere to sleep Lewis claimed that the locals were very hospitable and would often offer him somewhere to stay. In Madrid, Spain, Lewis became an accomplished blues
player and he hitchhiked around and supported himself by busking
with his harmonica. He gave his first concerts in Madrid, earning enough money to buy a plane ticket back to the USA.
Upon his return Lewis entered Cornell University where he entered the engineering program. While there he made friends with Lance and Larry Hoppen who later played with Orleans
and Eddie Tuleja of King Harvest
. Initially an active student and a member of the fraternity Eta Lambda Nu, Lewis soon lost interest in college. He signed up with a band called Slippery Elm
and in December 1969, during his junior year, he dropped out of Cornell and moved back to the San Francisco area.
His aim was to continue playing music though along the way he also tried other fields of work including landscaping, carpentry, wedding and event planning and natural foods. Lewis lives on a ranch near Stevensville, Montana
.
. Around this time he took the stage name "Hughie Louis", the spelling of which he would tinker with for some years after.
Other members of the band (at various points) were John McFee
, Alex Call
, John Ciambotti, Mitch Howie, Sean Hopper, Mickey Shine and Marcus David. Lewis played harmonica and sang lead vocals on a few tunes.
Clover's main rival band (which developed into a friendly rivalry) was Soundhole (Johnny Colla
, Bryan Davis, Ben Miller, Mario Cipollina, and Bill Gibson were band members).
In 1976, after playing in the Bay Area
with limited success, Clover went to Los Angeles
. They had their "big break" in a club there when their act was caught by Nick Lowe
who convinced Clover to travel to Britain
with him. However, Clover arrived in Britain just as their folk-rock sound, known as pub rock
in Britain, was being replaced by punk rock
.
The two Clover albums produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange under the British Phonogram
label were not successful. By this point the spelling of Cregg's stage name had changed to "Huey Louis"; it is under this spelling that he is billed on both of Clover's albums for Phonogram.
Clover—without Lewis—also backed Elvis Costello
on his 1977 debut album My Aim is True
.
In 1978 the band returned to California, McFee joined the Doobie Brothers, and Clover disbanded.
Under the name "Huey Harp" Huey Lewis played harmonica on Thin Lizzy
's 1978 landmark album Live and Dangerous
.
That same year Lewis was playing at Uncle Charlie's, a club in Corte Madera, California
, doing the 'Monday Night Live' spot along with future members of the News.
After recording the song "Exo-Disco" (a disco version of the theme from the film Exodus) as Huey Lewis and the American Express, Huey landed a 'singles contract' from Phonogram Records and Bob Brown became his manager.
The band played a few gigs (including an opening for Van Morrison
), before adding new guitarist Chris Hayes to the line-up. On Brown's advice they changed their name again to Huey Lewis and The News.
After a failed self-titled debut in 1980 the band finally broke through to Top 40 success with the gold album Picture This (1982).
It rose to No. 13 on the Albums chart thanks to the Mutt Lange-penned "Do You Believe in Love
" (No. 7), the band's first hit.
The band's third LP, the No. 1 Sports (1983), is one of the best-selling pop releases of all time. It has sold ten million copies in the US alone. That well received album was followed by Fore!
(1986), another No. 1 multi-platinum smash.
Lewis produced Nick Lowe's 1985 version of "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)
", and later produced several songs (including one where he sang backup and played harmonica) on Bruce Hornsby & The Range's debut album, The Way It Is
. Hornsby thanked him by writing the song "Jacob's Ladder
", a No. 1 single from The News' next album.
Lewis and his bandmates performed on USA for Africa
's 1985 fund-raising single We Are the World
, and spent the remainder of the 1980s and early 1990s recording 14 Top-20 Billboard Hot 100 hits and releasing two more hit albums: Small World (1988) No. 11 and Hard at Play (1991) No. 27. Lewis also performed in the song "Once Upon a Time in New York City" for the 1988 Disney film, Oliver & Company
.
By the time the band released the album of cover songs Four Chords & Several Years Ago (1994) No. 55, their chosen lower profile and lack of promotion from new label Elektra
saw their Top 40 appeal dip.
Huey Lewis has sung with Umphrey's McGee
at several shows beginning with the 2005 Jammys
and is featured on two tracks of their album Safety In Numbers
.
The band, now in self-proclaimed semi-retirement, still plays over 80 dates a year in the U.S., and an occasional European tour. The average fee for Huey Lewis and the News to play a private college-sized show is around $200,000.
On February 13, 2007, Lewis was interviewed on the podcast series "Stuck in the 80s". During the interview he revealed that the band has written several new songs that they planned to record in 2008. He also stated that, given how much the industry has changed since their last album, he was unsure how they would sell the new material.
During a show at the California State Fair on August 21, 2007 Lewis was named Sacramento
's "Musician of the Year" by the fair's General Manager and presented with a gold statue of the California state bear.
Lewis recorded a duet version of "Workin' for a Livin'
" with Garth Brooks
, which was included on Brooks' 3-disc set The Ultimate Hits, in late 2007.
On July 4, 2008, the eve of his 58th birthday, Huey Lewis and the News were the opening act for the annual A Capitol Fourth
celebration on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol
in Washington, D.C.
More than a half million people attended, and was broadcast live on PBS
. The band performed "The Heart of Rock & Roll", "The Power of Love" and "Workin' for a Livin'".
On May 29, 2011, Huey Lewis played the annual Summer Camp Music Festival
in Chillicothe, Illinois, along with Chicago-based progressive jam band Umphrey's Mcgee
. They were billed as Huey Lewis and The Rumors. Together they played covers as well as songs from both their respective catalogs.
On September 17, 2011, Huey Lewis and the News played at the 54th Monterey Jazz Festival.
over similarities between Parker's theme for the 1984 movie Ghostbusters
and Lewis's "I Want a New Drug
". The case was settled out of court with both parties agreeing to keep the settlement secret. In 2001 Parker sued Lewis alleging that in a "VH1 – Behind the Music" Episode Lewis had discussed the settlement in violation of their nondisclosure agreement.
for albums and singles by the band. Below are specific contributions by Huey Lewis as a solo artist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and occasional actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
for his band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...
, in addition to writing or co-writing many of the band's songs. The band is perhaps best known for their third album Sports and their contribution to the soundtrack of the 1985 feature film Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
. Lewis previously played with the band Clover
Clover (band)
Clover was an American country rock band formed in Mill Valley, California in 1967. They are best known as the backup band for Elvis Costello's 1977 debut album My Aim Is True , and for members later forming or joining more successful acts, including Huey Lewis and the News, The Doobie Brothers,...
from 1972 to 1979.
Early life
Huey Lewis was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His father, Hugh Anthony Cregg II, was an Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and his mother, Magda, was a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
refugee.
Lewis was raised in Marin County, California
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
, attending Strawberry Point Elementary School (where he skipped second grade) and Edna Maguire Junior High School in Mill Valley
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay...
.
When he was 13, his parents divorced and he attended and later graduated from the Lawrenceville School
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located on in the historic community of Lawrenceville, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, U.S., five miles southwest of Princeton....
in New Jersey, in 1967, where he achieved a perfect score of 800 on the math portion of the SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
.
Lewis applied to and was accepted by Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
.
In an interview with David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
, Lewis talked about hitchhiking
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
across the country to New York and how he learned to play the harmonica while waiting for rides.
He talked about hanging out at the airport for three days until he stowed away
Stowaway
A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
on a plane to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In future interviews Lewis would reveal other encounters while traveling Europe. He claimed to sleeping rough at times. While visiting the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
city of Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
with no money and nowhere to sleep Lewis claimed that the locals were very hospitable and would often offer him somewhere to stay. In Madrid, Spain, Lewis became an accomplished blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
player and he hitchhiked around and supported himself by busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
with his harmonica. He gave his first concerts in Madrid, earning enough money to buy a plane ticket back to the USA.
Upon his return Lewis entered Cornell University where he entered the engineering program. While there he made friends with Lance and Larry Hoppen who later played with Orleans
Orleans (band)
Orleans is an American pop-rock band best known for its hits "Dance with Me" , "Still the One", from the album Waking and Dreaming and "Love Takes Time" . The group's name evolved from the music it was playing at the time of their formation, which was inspired by Louisiana artists such as Allen...
and Eddie Tuleja of King Harvest
King Harvest
King Harvest was a 1970s American rock band, best known for their 1973 hit single, "Dancing in the Moonlight".-Background:Formed by a group of four American expatriates in Paris in 1970, King Harvest was best known for its one US hit single, "Dancing In The Moonlight," which was released in 1972...
. Initially an active student and a member of the fraternity Eta Lambda Nu, Lewis soon lost interest in college. He signed up with a band called Slippery Elm
Slippery Elm
Ulmus rubra, the Slippery Elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America...
and in December 1969, during his junior year, he dropped out of Cornell and moved back to the San Francisco area.
His aim was to continue playing music though along the way he also tried other fields of work including landscaping, carpentry, wedding and event planning and natural foods. Lewis lives on a ranch near Stevensville, Montana
Stevensville, Montana
Stevensville is a town in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,553 at the 2000 census.-History:Stevensville is officially recognized as the first permanent settlement in the state of Montana...
.
Music career
In 1971 Lewis joined the Bay Area band CloverClover (band)
Clover was an American country rock band formed in Mill Valley, California in 1967. They are best known as the backup band for Elvis Costello's 1977 debut album My Aim Is True , and for members later forming or joining more successful acts, including Huey Lewis and the News, The Doobie Brothers,...
. Around this time he took the stage name "Hughie Louis", the spelling of which he would tinker with for some years after.
Other members of the band (at various points) were John McFee
John McFee
John McFee is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist, and long time member of the Doobie Brothers.-Biography:...
, Alex Call
Alex Call
Alex Call is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.-Biography:Alex Call was one of the original members of the California rock band Clover. After four albums, the band broke up in 1978 and Call went solo. His first solo album was released in 1983 for Arista Records. One of the songs from...
, John Ciambotti, Mitch Howie, Sean Hopper, Mickey Shine and Marcus David. Lewis played harmonica and sang lead vocals on a few tunes.
Clover's main rival band (which developed into a friendly rivalry) was Soundhole (Johnny Colla
Johnny Colla
Johnny Colla is one of the founding members of the American rock band, Huey Lewis and the News. He is the guitarist and saxophonist. He has been heavily involved in the San Francisco Bay Area music scene for more than 25 years.-Brief history:The first bands that Colla was involved with were the...
, Bryan Davis, Ben Miller, Mario Cipollina, and Bill Gibson were band members).
In 1976, after playing in the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
with limited success, Clover went to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. They had their "big break" in a club there when their act was caught by Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
who convinced Clover to travel to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with him. However, Clover arrived in Britain just as their folk-rock sound, known as pub rock
Pub rock (UK)
Pub rock was a rock music genre that developed in the mid 1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, pub rock was a reaction against progressive and glam rock. Although short-lived, pub rock was notable for rejecting stadium venues and for returning live rock to the small pubs and...
in Britain, was being replaced by punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
.
The two Clover albums produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange under the British Phonogram
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records was started in 1962 as a joint venture between Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with Polydor Records into PolyGram....
label were not successful. By this point the spelling of Cregg's stage name had changed to "Huey Louis"; it is under this spelling that he is billed on both of Clover's albums for Phonogram.
Clover—without Lewis—also backed Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
on his 1977 debut album My Aim is True
My Aim Is True
My Aim Is True is the debut album by Elvis Costello.The album was recorded at Pathway Studios in Holloway, London Borough of Islington, over the course of 1976 during late-night studio sessions, in a total of twenty-four hours...
.
In 1978 the band returned to California, McFee joined the Doobie Brothers, and Clover disbanded.
Under the name "Huey Harp" Huey Lewis played harmonica on Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
's 1978 landmark album Live and Dangerous
Live and Dangerous
Live and Dangerous is a live double LP by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1978. It was recorded in Philadelphia, London and Toronto in 1977, during the tours accompanying the albums Johnny the Fox and Bad Reputation....
.
That same year Lewis was playing at Uncle Charlie's, a club in Corte Madera, California
Corte Madera, California
Corte Madera is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. Corte Madera is located south of San Rafael, at an elevation of 39 feet . The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census...
, doing the 'Monday Night Live' spot along with future members of the News.
After recording the song "Exo-Disco" (a disco version of the theme from the film Exodus) as Huey Lewis and the American Express, Huey landed a 'singles contract' from Phonogram Records and Bob Brown became his manager.
The band played a few gigs (including an opening for Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
), before adding new guitarist Chris Hayes to the line-up. On Brown's advice they changed their name again to Huey Lewis and The News.
After a failed self-titled debut in 1980 the band finally broke through to Top 40 success with the gold album Picture This (1982).
It rose to No. 13 on the Albums chart thanks to the Mutt Lange-penned "Do You Believe in Love
Do You Believe in Love
"Do You Believe in Love" is the first top-ten hit for the American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, peaking at number seven in May 1982, off their second album Picture This. It was written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange.-History:...
" (No. 7), the band's first hit.
The band's third LP, the No. 1 Sports (1983), is one of the best-selling pop releases of all time. It has sold ten million copies in the US alone. That well received album was followed by Fore!
Fore!
Fore! is the fourth album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, released in 1986 . The album hit number one on the Billboard 200 album chart and contained five top-ten Billboard Hot 100 singles, including the number-one hits: "Stuck with You" and "Jacob's Ladder."- Album cover :The wall...
(1986), another No. 1 multi-platinum smash.
Lewis produced Nick Lowe's 1985 version of "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)
I Knew the Bride
"I Knew the Bride " is a song written by Nick Lowe and first popularized by Dave Edmunds. It was released on Edmunds's 1977 album Get It and a year later in a live version by Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop for a compilation released by Stiff Records.Lowe performed the song during a Stiff...
", and later produced several songs (including one where he sang backup and played harmonica) on Bruce Hornsby & The Range's debut album, The Way It Is
The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby album)
The Way It Is is Bruce Hornsby and the Range's debut album, released in 1986. Led by its hit title track, the album went on to achieve multi-platinum status and helped the group to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Other hits from the album include "Mandolin Rain" and "Every Little Kiss"...
. Hornsby thanked him by writing the song "Jacob's Ladder
Jacob's Ladder (Huey Lewis and the News song)
"Jacob's Ladder" is a 1986 song, written by Bruce Hornsby and his brother John Hornsby, that was recorded by Huey Lewis and the News and became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987....
", a No. 1 single from The News' next album.
Lewis and his bandmates performed on USA for Africa
USA for Africa
USA for Africa was the name under which forty-seven predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a US and UK Number One for the collective in April of that year...
's 1985 fund-raising single We Are the World
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...
, and spent the remainder of the 1980s and early 1990s recording 14 Top-20 Billboard Hot 100 hits and releasing two more hit albums: Small World (1988) No. 11 and Hard at Play (1991) No. 27. Lewis also performed in the song "Once Upon a Time in New York City" for the 1988 Disney film, Oliver & Company
Oliver & Company
Oliver & Company is a 1988 American animated film in which a homeless kitten named Oliver joins a gang of dogs to survive on the 1980s New York City streets. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and became the twenty-seventh animated feature released in the Walt Disney Animated...
.
By the time the band released the album of cover songs Four Chords & Several Years Ago (1994) No. 55, their chosen lower profile and lack of promotion from new label Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
saw their Top 40 appeal dip.
Huey Lewis has sung with Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam band based in Chicago whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" ....
at several shows beginning with the 2005 Jammys
Jammys
The Jammy Award are an awards show for bands typically called jam bands and other artists associated with live, improvisational music. The Jammys are sponsored by Relix magazine, Jambands.com, and promoter Peter Shapiro...
and is featured on two tracks of their album Safety In Numbers
Safety In Numbers (Umphrey's McGee Album)
Safety In Numbers is Umphrey's McGee's fourth studio album , released on April 4, 2006. Huey Lewis and Joshua Redman both make appearances. The album contains many slower, acoustic songs and a simpler, stripped down approach with little jamming or progressive rock elements...
.
The band, now in self-proclaimed semi-retirement, still plays over 80 dates a year in the U.S., and an occasional European tour. The average fee for Huey Lewis and the News to play a private college-sized show is around $200,000.
On February 13, 2007, Lewis was interviewed on the podcast series "Stuck in the 80s". During the interview he revealed that the band has written several new songs that they planned to record in 2008. He also stated that, given how much the industry has changed since their last album, he was unsure how they would sell the new material.
During a show at the California State Fair on August 21, 2007 Lewis was named Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
's "Musician of the Year" by the fair's General Manager and presented with a gold statue of the California state bear.
Lewis recorded a duet version of "Workin' for a Livin'
Workin' for a Livin'
"Workin' for a Livin" is a single by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, released in 1982. Included on their 1982 album Picture This, the song peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, and number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.In 2007, Huey Lewis himself recorded the...
" with Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
, which was included on Brooks' 3-disc set The Ultimate Hits, in late 2007.
On July 4, 2008, the eve of his 58th birthday, Huey Lewis and the News were the opening act for the annual A Capitol Fourth
A Capitol Fourth
A Capitol Fourth is a free annual concert performed on the west lawn of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., in celebration of the Independence Day. Broadcast live on PBS and NPR, the concert is viewed and heard by millions across The United States and the world, as well as...
celebration on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
More than a half million people attended, and was broadcast live on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. The band performed "The Heart of Rock & Roll", "The Power of Love" and "Workin' for a Livin'".
On May 29, 2011, Huey Lewis played the annual Summer Camp Music Festival
Summer Camp Music Festival
Summer Camp Music Festival is a jam music festival held each Memorial Day weekend at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, Illinois. Developed by concert producer Ian Goldberg of Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment, the first year of the festival was 2001...
in Chillicothe, Illinois, along with Chicago-based progressive jam band Umphrey's Mcgee
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam band based in Chicago whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" ....
. They were billed as Huey Lewis and The Rumors. Together they played covers as well as songs from both their respective catalogs.
On September 17, 2011, Huey Lewis and the News played at the 54th Monterey Jazz Festival.
Ghostbusters lawsuit
In 1985 Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker, Jr.Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. , is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer and recording artist. Parker is known for writing and performing the theme song to the motion picture Ghostbusters, for his solo hits, and performing with his band Raydio as well as the late Barry White.-Early life and...
over similarities between Parker's theme for the 1984 movie Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
and Lewis's "I Want a New Drug
I Want a New Drug
"I Want a New Drug" is a song by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News from their third album Sports. It was released as the second single from the album, following the top-ten hit "Heart and Soul" in January 1984. The single reached number six on the U.S...
". The case was settled out of court with both parties agreeing to keep the settlement secret. In 2001 Parker sued Lewis alleging that in a "VH1 – Behind the Music" Episode Lewis had discussed the settlement in violation of their nondisclosure agreement.
Recordings
See Huey Lewis and the News discographyHuey Lewis and the News discography
This article presents the discography for the American band Huey Lewis and the News. Huey Lewis and the News have sold over 30 million albums worldwide and are ranked in the top 200 selling groups of all time by the Recording Industry Association of America.Three of their albums, Sports, Fore!, and...
for albums and singles by the band. Below are specific contributions by Huey Lewis as a solo artist.
Albums
- Oliver & Company Soundtrack (1988)
- Come Together: America Salutes The BeatlesCome Together: America Salutes The BeatlesCome Together: America Salutes The Beatles is a tribute album to The Beatles. Released in 1995 on Liberty Records, the album features covers of various Beatles songs, as performed by country music artists. The album cover features artwork by John Lennon.-Track listing:-Chart performance:...
(1995) - Duets Soundtrack (2000) #102 US (#16 Billboard Top Soundtracks)
Singles
The following table denotes singles that Lewis has charted with solo credits.| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US AC Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | |||
| 2000 | "Cruisin' Cruisin' (song) "Cruisin" is a 1979 single written, produced, and recorded by Smokey Robinson for Motown Records' Tamla label. One of Robinson's most successful singles outside of his work with The Miracles, "Cruisin'" was a Top 10 Billboard Pop hit, peaking at number four not only on the Billboard Hot 100 but on... " (w/ Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma... ) |
109 | 1 | Duets Duets An original motion picture soundtrack CD was released on September 12, 2000 by Hollywood Records. The CD contained twelve tracks including the original music composed for the film by David Newman.... (soundtrack) |
||
| 2008 | "Workin' for a Livin' Workin' for a Livin' "Workin' for a Livin" is a single by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, released in 1982. Included on their 1982 album Picture This, the song peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, and number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.In 2007, Huey Lewis himself recorded the... " (w/ Garth Brooks Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart... ) |
115 | 19 | 19 | The Ultimate Hits The Ultimate Hits The Ultimate Hits is an album from country music artist Garth Brooks, released on November 6, 2007, comprising 34 songs over two compact discs, as well as a DVD containing his music videos.... (Garth Brooks album) |
|
Filmography
In the acting world, Lewis' debut was a cameo in the 1985 film Back to the Future—which featured several Huey Lewis and the News songs in the soundtrack. His character is one of the teachers auditioning acts for the high school talent show early in the film.| Year | Title | Role | | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Back to the Future Back to the Future Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of... |
Band audition judge | Cameo Cameo appearance A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television... ; also wrote and sang 2 songs for the soundtrack |
| 1992 | "Is There Life Out There Is There Life Out There "Is There Life Out There" is the title of a country music song written by Susan Longacre and Rick Giles. It was recorded by American singer Reba McEntire on her 1991 album For My Broken Heart, from which it was released in early 1992 as the album's second single... " |
Reba McEntire Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma... 's husband |
Music video |
| 1993 | Short Cuts Short Cuts Short Cuts is a 1993 American drama film directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Robert Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver... |
Vern Miller | |
| 1998 | Sphere Sphere (film) Sphere is a 1998 science fiction psychological thriller film, starring Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson. Sphere was based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park and The Lost World... |
helicopter pilot | |
| 1998 | Shadow of a Doubt Shadow of a Doubt Shadow of a Doubt is a 1943 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story for Gordon McDonell... |
Al Gordon | Showtime movie |
| 1998 | Dead Husbands Dead Husbands Dead Husbands is a 1998 romance comedy thriller starring Nicollette Sheridan, John Ritter, Sonja Smits, Donna Pescow, Amy Yasbeck and Sheila McCarthy. It was directed by Paul Shapiro and written by Bob Randall and Warren Taylor.-Cast:... |
Dalton Phillips | TV movie; uncredited |
| 2000 | Duets Duets An original motion picture soundtrack CD was released on September 12, 2000 by Hollywood Records. The CD contained twelve tracks including the original music composed for the film by David Newman.... |
Ricky Dean | Sang the #1 hit song "Cruisin'" |
| 2002 | .com for Murder .com for Murder .com for Murder is a 2001 science fiction crime drama film written by Nico Mastorakis and Phill Marr and directed by Mastorakis, starring Nastassja Kinski, Nicollette Sheridan, Roger Daltrey, and Huey Lewis... |
Matheson | |
| 2002 | Just Shoot Me! Just Shoot Me! Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.-Description:... |
Gary Rosenberg | Episode: "The Boys in the Band" |
| 2004 | One Tree Hill One Tree Hill (TV series) One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster... |
Jim James | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | King of Queens | Himself | Episode: "Hartford Wailer" |
| 2010 | Hot in Cleveland Hot in Cleveland Hot in Cleveland is an American sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White. The series, which is TV Land's first original scripted series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's highest rated telecast in the cable network's 14-year history. The... |
Johnny Revere | 2 episodes |