"One of the best groups of all-time."
"Fantastic band, great entertainers."
"One of my favorite Rock bands of all-time."
"Huey Lewis and the News' biggest gift was their ability to make music fun. Such a simple thing, but so difficult to capture."
"This band is absolutely awesome."
"Their songs make me happy like no other music."
"Great vocals and harmonies."
"Timeless music by this talented group."
"Great band, classic songs."
"They're one of the best."
This great Bay Area band had its origins when Huey Louis (vocals and harmonica) and keyboardist Sean Hopper were in the jazz-funk group Clover. After his parents divorced when he was 12, Lewis was sent to the exclusive Lawrenceville (New Jersey) School on a scholarship for underprivleged kids and was on tract to be an engineer. But he forged a boarding pass to fly to Europe and learned to sing and play folk harmonica.
Lewis made it to Cornell University but dropped out after six months to return to the Bay Area. Lewis started his own landscaping company and also worked at carpentry and operating a natural foods business before joining Clover.
Clover recorded several albums in the 1970's and relocated to England to play pubs. Louis played harmonica for Thin Lizzy on the live album Live and Dangerous, while the Clovers (minus Louis) were the backing band for Elvis Costello's debut album. By the end of the decade, the Clovers returned to the Bay Area.
Another local group, Sound Hole, had a similar sound to the Clovers, and included bassist Mario Cipollina, saxophonist and guitarist Johnny Colla and drummer Bill Gibson. Sound Hole also had recording credits, backing Van Morrison and Colla also played saxophone for Sly & the Family Stone in later years. Clover and Sound Hole played the same clubs before the same audiences and were both trying to make it big.
Now promoted as Huey Lewis, Lewis secured a singles contract from Phonogram Records in 1978 and recruited Cippolina, Colla, Gibson and Hopper to form the group Huey Lewis & the American Express.
In 1979, the group recorded a Disco version of the theme to the movie Exodus called "Exodisco". The band's demo tape was heard by Bob Brown, manager for another local group, Pablo Cruise. Brown helped the band land a recording contract with Chrysalis and they changed their name to Huey Lewis & the News at that time, figuring the credit card company that goes by that name may not like a Rock band named after them.
"One of my favorite Rock bands of all-time."
"Huey Lewis and the News' biggest gift was their ability to make music fun. Such a simple thing, but so difficult to capture."
"This band is absolutely awesome."
"Their songs make me happy like no other music."
"Great vocals and harmonies."
"Timeless music by this talented group."
"Great band, classic songs."
"They're one of the best."
Lewis made it to Cornell University but dropped out after six months to return to the Bay Area. Lewis started his own landscaping company and also worked at carpentry and operating a natural foods business before joining Clover.
(Hopper, left, Huey Louis, right, above)
Clover recorded several albums in the 1970's and relocated to England to play pubs. Louis played harmonica for Thin Lizzy on the live album Live and Dangerous, while the Clovers (minus Louis) were the backing band for Elvis Costello's debut album. By the end of the decade, the Clovers returned to the Bay Area.
(Gibson, second from left, Colla and Cipollina, second and third from right, respectively)
In 1979, the group recorded a Disco version of the theme to the movie Exodus called "Exodisco". The band's demo tape was heard by Bob Brown, manager for another local group, Pablo Cruise. Brown helped the band land a recording contract with Chrysalis and they changed their name to Huey Lewis & the News at that time, figuring the credit card company that goes by that name may not like a Rock band named after them.
In 1980, the group released their self-titled album, which was mostly ignored. But in 1982, the album Picture This had what it took to get Huey Lewis and the News off the ground. A song written years earlier by Robert "Mutt" Lange, who had produced for Clover, took off as "Do You Believe In Love" rose to #7.
The album went Gold and gave us the highly underrated song "Workin' For A Livin'".
In late 1983, the group released the best album of their career and one of the most successful of 1984, Sports. The lead single, "Heart And Soul", jumped to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #8 overall.
The band followed up with "I Want A New Drug", underrated even at #6 in the U.S. and #10 overall, evidenced by sales of over one million copies.
Huey and the group released the single "The Heart Of Rock & Roll", another #6 smash.
They pulled another big hit from the album when "If This Is It" rose to #5 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #6 overall.
Sports continued to ride the momentum of singles to #1. "Walking On A Thin Line" was also a minor hit. Sports has now sold over seven million copies in the United States alone.
In 1985, Lewis & the News recorded a song for the great movie Back to the Future. "The Power Of Love" went to #1 in the U.S. and Australia and #3 in New Zealand. The group won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form and were nominated for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special for their role in the movie soundtrack. "The Power Of Love" was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture. It also sold over one million copies.
The group released another strong album, Fore! in 1986. It too went to #1 and generated five Top 10 hits. The single "Stuck With You" led the way on both the Adult Contemporary and Popular charts in the United States and finished a strong #2 in both Australia and New Zealand.
Huey Lewis & the News scored another big hit with "Hip To Be Square", #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #3 overall in the U.S. and #9 in New Zealand.
Fore! has now sold over three million copies and yielded the #1 smash "Jacob's Ladder".
While drawing unfair criticism in comparison to Sports, Fore! is an outstanding album in its own right. The single "I Know What I Like" reached #9.
The single "Doing It All For My Baby" raced to #2 on the AC chart and #6 overall, giving the group five Top 10 hits on the album.
Huey & The News are known for doing amazing performances of the U.S. national anthem a cappella. It is another of the great skills this band has mastered! Check out "Naturally" from the album.
The albums Sports and Fore! represented the group in their heyday as they were one of the top acts around. The album Small World in 1988 went Platinum and featured "Perfect World", a #3 smash that also rose to #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Lewis & the News switched to EMI Records and released the album Hard at Play in 1991. The band went on a world tour to promote the album, which was certified Gold, thanks largely to the single "Couple Days Off", a #3 Mainstream Rock chart that stopped at #11 overall.
That would be the last album the group recorded for 10 years, although they achieved a #7 Adult Contemporary hit with "It's Alright" from the album People Get Ready: A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield by various artists.
Another label switch to Elektra ensued in 1994, when the group recorded cover songs from the 1950's and '60s called Four Chords & Several Years Ago. Cipollina left after another world tour.
Another label switch to Elektra ensued in 1994, when the group recorded cover songs from the 1950's and '60s called Four Chords & Several Years Ago. Cipollina left after another world tour.
Hayes left the group after their 2001 album Plan B, and the band has undergone several other personnel changes. They continue to tour on a regular basis, and recorded the album Soulsville in 2010.
Lewis equates stardom in Rock music to rodeoing in this way: "It's an eight-second ride with about two weeks of healing up, and then it's another eight-second ride."
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