Inspired by earlier pop and rhythm & blues artists, Huey Lewis and the News were all about giving their fans a good time with their own take on rock & roll and blue-eyed soul. Founded in San Francisco, California in the late 1970s, the band had a run of hits during the 1980s and early 1990s, which led to 19 top ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, and Mainstream Rock charts.
The 1980 debut album from Huey Lewis and the News had more of a New Wave/Elvis Costello sound. Our starting point for this edition of the Throwback Threesome comes a couple of years later. The group found a wider audience with the release of 1982’s Picture This, which included their first U.S. and UK top ten single, “Do You Believe in Love.”
Their most successful album, Sports, was released in 1983. That album spawned four top ten singles in the U.S., including “Heart and Soul,” “I Want a New Drug,” “The Heart of Rock & Roll,” and “If This Is It.” The videos for those songs helped Huey Lewis and the News achieve worldwide fame. And that’s when Hollywood came calling.
Huey Lewis And The News Go To Hollywood…And Broadway
Huey Lewis and the News made headlines again when their song “The Power of Love” was featured in the 1985 blockbuster Back to the Future. It became their first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar at the 58th Academy Awards.
In 2024, the music of Huey Lewis and the News takes center stage again in the Broadway show, The Heart of Rock and Roll. According to the official website, this musical comedy is set in 1987 and follows the story of a couple of twenty-something who get a second shot at their dreams. Previews begin on March 29th and the show opens on April 22nd at the James Earl Jones Theater in New York City.
