So, you’re humming that "The Power of Love" riff again. Or maybe it’s the "I Want a New Drug" bassline that’s stuck in your head. It’s okay. Most of us have been there. In the mid-1980s, you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a Huey Lewis and the News song on the radio. They were everywhere.
But here’s the thing: people tend to write them off as just another "yuppie" band in polo shirts. That’s a mistake. Honestly, Huey Lewis and the News were a blue-collar, bar-band machine that just happened to get massive. They weren't manufactured. They were a group of guys who’d been playing the Bay Area circuit for years, paying their dues in smoky clubs like Uncle Charlie’s before MTV made them household names.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Hits
Let's talk about the "yuppie" thing. Huey actually hated that label. People see the "Hip to Be Square" video and think he's advocating for corporate conformity. If you actually listen to the lyrics—really listen—it’s more of a personal joke. The song is about a guy who used to be a rebel and now finds himself living a conventional life, and he’s kind of amused by it. It’s a clapback to the media that called them boring.
Then there’s the whole "I Want a New Drug" situation. Everyone knows the melody. And if you’ve seen Ghostbusters, you definitely know the melody.
Huey famously sued Ray Parker Jr. because the Ghostbusters theme sounded, well, nearly identical. They settled out of court. But then Huey went on VH1’s Behind the Music in 2001 and talked about the settlement. Bad move. Ray Parker Jr. then sued him for breaking the confidentiality agreement. It was a legal mess that lasted years, and it's a shame because it overshadows the fact that Huey wrote the original song in just a few minutes while driving to his lawyer's office.
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The Power of the Movie Tie-In
You can't discuss a Huey Lewis and the News song without mentioning Back to the Future. It's impossible. "The Power of Love" was the band’s first Number One hit, but they were actually super reluctant to do it.
The producers wanted the band to be Marty McFly's favorite group. Huey wasn't sure. He didn't want to write a song called "Back to the Future." Can you imagine? Luckily, Robert Zemeckis told him he could write whatever he wanted. The result was a track that didn't just top the charts; it became the sonic DNA of the entire 1980s.
Huey even has a cameo in the movie as the nerdy judge who tells Marty’s band they are "just too darn loud" while they're playing a hard-rock version of—you guessed it—"The Power of Love."
The Gritty Roots of Sports
While the hits are shiny, the band’s breakthrough album Sports was born out of pure desperation. They were basically broke. Their label, Chrysalis, was having financial trouble, so the band decided to produce the record themselves to save money.
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They aimed every single track at the radio. They wanted one R&B tune, one rock tune, one ballad. They were throwing darts at a board, hoping something would stick.
Everything stuck.
- "The Heart of Rock & Roll": Inspired by a show in Cleveland. Huey originally wanted to say the heart of rock and roll was in Cleveland, but he changed it to "still beating" to make it more universal.
- "If This Is It": A pure 50s-style doo-wop throwback. The video of them buried in the sand in Santa Cruz is legendary 80s cheese, but the vocal harmonies are legit.
- "Walking on a Thin Line": This one is actually pretty dark. It’s about Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD. It showed a side of the band that wasn't just about "workin' for a livin'" or having a good time.
Why the Music Stopped
The tragedy of Huey’s story isn't a "where are they now" decline in popularity. It’s a health issue.
In 2018, Huey was diagnosed with Ménière's disease. It’s an inner ear disorder that causes vertigo and, most devastatingly for a singer, fluctuating hearing loss. During a show in Dallas, his hearing just... went. He described it as a roaring tinnitus, like a jet engine in his head.
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He can’t hear music properly anymore. Even with a cochlear implant, music sounds like a distorted mess of noise. He can hear human speech okay, but the frequencies of a band are just gone. Their 2020 album, Weather, was recorded before the loss became permanent. It’s likely the last Huey Lewis and the News song we will ever get.
The Legacy Continues
Even though Huey can't perform, he's been busy. He spent years helping develop The Heart of Rock and Roll, a jukebox musical that hit Broadway in 2024. He’s the final word on the arrangements. He says it’s gratifying to see his songs live a "second life" through new actors and singers.
If you want to dive deeper into their discography, don't just stick to the Greatest Hits. Check out their early stuff like "Some of My Lies Are True" from their self-titled debut. It’s got a New Wave energy that feels totally different from the mid-80s polished sound.
Actionable Insights for Huey Fans:
- Listen to the "Sports" 30th Anniversary Edition: It has live versions that show how tight the band actually was. Chris Hayes on guitar was criminally underrated.
- Watch the "I Want a New Drug" Video: Not for the 80s fashion, but to see a snapshot of 1980s San Francisco, including the ferry and a yellow convertible.
- Support Meniere's Research: If you want to help artists like Huey, look into organizations like the Hearing Health Foundation.
The heart of rock and roll might be barely breathing for Huey personally, but the songs are still out there, and they still sound great at 70 mph on the highway.