Huey Lewis and The News is an American group formed in 1978 in San Francisco and originally composed of Huey Lewis, Sean Hopper, Bill Gibson, Johnny Colla and Mario Cipollina. A group that was originally called Huey Lewis & The American Express, a name that was quickly abandoned because it was too easily attacked by the well-known credit institution of the same name.
A first eponymous album was released two years later in 1980, an album which produced no classified titles and which met with only limited success. So it took the next album, "Picture this", which came out in 1982, to see the group finally rewarded for their efforts with the Single "Do you believe in love". Single which will know its hour of glory mainly in the Anglo-Saxon sphere.
Success amplified a year later in 1983 with the release of the album "Sports". Album that will hit the world and sell more than 10 million copies in the United States alone. Four mega hits will be extracted starting with "Heart and soul" which also came out in 1983. In 1984 followed "I want a new drug", "The heart of Rock & Roll" and "If this is it", three Singles which owe their enormous success to the fact that the clips are almost looped on MTV. An exceptional year 1984 for the group, which saw its notoriety literally explode.
But it was the year 1985 which made them definitively return to the musical legend of the 80s with the release of the enormous Single "The power of love". A title specially produced for the soundtrack of a short film called...Back to the Future. Which will become one of the cult movies of the decade, as will the Single.
New album “Fore!" in 1986, album which will remain as the best classified of all their discography. The album produced 3 new mega hits which are "Stuck with you", "Hip to be square" released in 1986 and "Jaccob's ladder" released in 1987. The group is on a dynamic that nothing and no one seems to be able to stop.
Because the dynamic of success continued in 1988 with the release of the album "Small world". Album which will certainly not know the success of its predecessor but which will still allow the band to record a new major success with the title "Perfect world".
The end of the decade will prove to be more complicated to manage than expected, as will the next decade. The successes will become rarer and the year 1990 will even be an empty year. We will have to wait until 1991 to see them come back in force with the album "Hard at play".
Album which will mainly produce the top hit "Couple days off". Single which will be their last notorious success. Anything that came out later would never match the level of success they enjoyed in the mid-1980s.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
Exo-Disco (American Express) 1979
80s Decade :
Some of my lies are true 1980
Now here's you 1980
Do you believe in love 1982
Hope you love me like you say you do 1982
Tattoo (Giving it all up for love) 1982
Workin' for a livin' 1982
Heart and soul 1983
I want a new drug 1984
The heart of rock & roll 1984
If this is it 1984
Finally found a home 1984
Walking on a thin line 1984
The power of love 1985
Back in time 1985
Stuck with you 1986
Hip to be square 1986
Whole lotta lovin' 1986
Jaccob’s lader 1987
I know what I like 1987
Simple as that 1987
Doing it all for my baby 1987
Perfect world 1988
Small world (Part 1) 1988
Give me the keys (And I'll drive you crazy) 1989
World to me 1989
Walking with the kid 1989
90s Decade :
Couple days off 1991
It hit me like a hammer 1991
He don't know 1991
Build me up 1991
It's alright 1993
(She's) Some kind of wonderful 1994
But it's alright 1994
Little Bitty pretty one 1995
100 years from now 1996
2000s Decade :
Let her go and startd over 2001
I ain't perfect 2001
I'm not in love yet 2001
2010s Decade :
Never found a girl 2010
Soulsville 2010
2020s Decade :
While we're young 2020
Her love is killin' me 2020
I am there for you 2020
Tracks :
1979...who would imagine in this year 1979 that behind this title hides the same Hugh who would become a few years later one of the leading artists of the 80s on the American side...
1980...especially when we see what musical style he will adopt afterwards. Not much to do with the previous title, that's clear...
1980...the group has already found its style and sound which will subsequently become its trademark. Now it remains to extract the best...
1982 ... after a somewhat sluggish start, the group achieved its first notable success here. A deserved recognition when we see the level of talent of the latter. And this is only the beginning !
1982...a sequel which will go much more unnoticed. After all, a career is built over the long term so let's take time...
1982...this one will go completely under the radar. So we shouldn't get too excited about the enormous success of 'Believe in Love'...
1982...they will save the furniture at the last minute with this last title of the year. This relative success will at least have the merit of encouraging them to persevere...
1983 ... after a year 1982 which saw the group appear in a sensational way on the front of the stage, the year 1983 saw them rise in power in a spectacular way. They will only deliver one title this year, but what a title !
1984 ... the rise in power is linear and above all, regular. After laying the foundations in 1982 and consolidating them in 1983, the group reached maturity in 1984. We can therefore expect the best for the future !
1984 ... the best will happen, that's for sure. But not this year at least. The year 1984 will be of quality, of course, but nothing exceptional for the moment...
1984 ... there is the quantity, that's for sure. But it's missing the hint of awesome inspiration that makes all the difference. Let's be patient, it won't be long ...
1984...the 'little' hit of the year. After 3 previous titles which were certainly popular with the public, this one will seem somewhat pale next to them...
1984...how often with them the last titles of the year allow the situation to be turned to their advantage if it was not previously...
1985 ... then comes THIS title. The brilliant inspiration that was somewhat lacking this time is indeed there. The group will sign here one of the biggest dance hits of the decade and at the same time of all its discography. A title specially written for a short film called...'Back to the Future'. Cult soundtrack for cult film. MO-NU-MEN-TAL !
1985...how can we compete with the previous enormous steamroller ? Mission impossible and therefore success in the Charts moderate to say the least...
1986 ... after a year 1985 which saw the release of only one major title but what a title, 1986, it, will be a year rather provided in titles. With a somewhat fluctuating quality. We start with the high level, even the very high level with this title which offers a new global mega hit to the group. MAS-TER-FUL !
1986 ... this will be a little notch below but the level is still particularly high. The group is on a dynamic that does not weaken and it is set to last !
1986...a title that will struggle to exist compared to the 2 other titles that preceded it. Nothing to worry about at this stage anyway...
1987...return in force at the start of 1987 with this title of certain quality and which allows the group to easily stay in the leading pack...
1987...not all titles will experience such a favorable fate but it is clear that they cannot all end up at the top of the Charts either...
1987...a title which will only be released in England and Japan, hence its influence is necessarily very limited. This explains that...
1987 ... no mega hit in this year 1987 but titles that hold up and it's always better than nothing. The group unrolls quietly with an alternation of great years and others a little less inspired. It's like that...
1988 ... business resumes in this new year with a new top hit on the clock. Once again, nothing exceptional but a level of quality largely sufficient to appear at the top of the Charts. And it has been going on for 6 years !
1988...the level of inspiration remains sufficient in any case to allow the group to continue its adventure in a calm manner, to say the least...
1989...almost 10 years at the top of the mountain, a more than flattering record. Now they'll have to make it last and that's another story...
1989...an end of the decade which will see them struggle somewhat. They will therefore have to be careful as they move into the next decade...
1989...it now remains to be seen whether they will be able to ask the right questions regarding the sequence of events..
1991...we find them in this year 1991, a year which sees the group return in certain form. Form which allows him to get back into the race and at the same time score a nice top hit...
1991 ... a particularly inspired year which saw the group return to his best form. Not sure that it lasts but what is taken is no longer to be taken !
1991 ... in any case, for the moment, it lasts. A BIG year 1991 with a plethora of titles and quality across the board. A renaissance that we can only welcome !
1991...for the moment everything is going perfectly well for the group. We are therefore impatiently awaiting the sequel...
1993...nothing in 1992 and return in relative form in this new year 1993. Slight air hole or more worrying underlying trend, good question...
1994 ... the last notorious hit. This time, the adventure is getting closer and closer to its epilogue. The group has lost none of its ardor and its desire but it is true that on the inspiration side, the group no longer plays in the court of the Very Great ...
1994 ... of course, they no longer meet the top of the Charts but the average quality of the titles remains all the same at a good level. Once again the proof with this title which works very well !
1995...their revisited version of Bobby Day's title from 1957 is nice but it won't be enough to bring them back into the race unfortunately...
1996 ... a great adventure which ends with this title. An adventure which will have lasted all the same for more than 15 years and delivered several titles of very very big caliber including one of anthology. Good job !
2001 ... come on, the adventure is not quite over. He will attempt the transition to the next decade even if it will not be really successful ...
2001 ... of course he will never regain the level of success achieved in previous decades, but what he continues to offer is far from being ridiculous. It's already that...
2001 ... the problem is that he doesn't really stick to the latest musical trends anymore. It's not easy in these conditions to keep your head above water even when he plays it as a duo of shock and charm...
2010 ... how to make something new with old ? Well, quite simply by bringing old titles up to date, mostly from the Stax Records label. And it works !
2010 ... at least that allows him to continue to exist a little at the highest level and thus spend a new decade. A will to believe in it always and again which necessarily commands respect ...
2020 ... he will disappear from the radar for nearly 10 years and here he is again in this new decade of 2020. To do what, we do not really know but he does in any case ...
2020 ... what is certain is that he is there to continue to have fun, it is clear. And who would blame him for continuing the adventure for this reason my faith very laudable...
2020 ... which artist at the planetary level will not have released his special 'COVID' song in this year 2020. A year that will have marked contemporary history as much for good as for bad, that's for sure...
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :