Huey Lewis on the song that changed his life

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

NPR

Society & Culture

4.7 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 14 February 2020

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Song That Changed My Life is a segment that gives us the chance to talk with some of our favorite artists about the music that made them who they are today. This time around, we're joined by a true legend – Huey Lewis. In an era dominated by new wave, glam rock and hair metal Huey Lewis stood out with his bluesy pub-rock. He helped define pop music in the 80's. Huey Lewis and the News had a run of hit singles during the 80's and early 90's. Their most successful album, Sports, was released in 1983. It's one of our favorites here at Bullseye. Huey Lewis explains how Count Basie and Joe Williams' Alright, Okay, You Win helped him visualize his career as a singer. Huey Lewis and the News are back with their first album in nearly a decade. Their latest release Weather is out now.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.
0:12.8	I'm Jesse Thorn, it's Bullseye.
0:22.3	Time now for the song that changed my life, where we talk with some of our favorite
0:26.1	artists about the music that made them who they are.
0:30.0	This next one, I know I am very excited about.
0:33.7	He's an important artist from my own youth.
0:36.3	He is a hero to all of us native to the San Francisco Bay area.
0:40.3	He was a favorite of my best friend Pete's dad, Mark.
0:44.2	I'm talking, of course, that last clue probably gave it away, about Huey Lewis.
0:56.1	Huey Lewis and specifically his 1983 album, Sports, helped define pop music in the 1980s.
1:19.5	Defining pop music wasn't the goal though.
1:22.5	When Huey Lewis came home from a stint playing pub rock in England in the 70s, he just wanted
1:27.7	to start a local R&B group with his pals, a party band.
1:32.3	And for 40 years, that's what Huey Lewis and the news have been.
1:36.4	Close to the apotheosis of something for everyone good time music, whether they're playing
1:41.7	in stadiums with six figure crowds or sweaty rock clubs or state fairs.
1:47.2	A couple years ago, Huey Lewis's life changed dramatically.
1:52.6	He'd only been able to hear in one ear for quite some time, but one day backstage of
1:57.9	the show, he realized that all he could hear was crazy noise, like a construction site
2:04.9	that never quit.
2:06.5	He found out he had something called Manier's disease, an untreatable disorder of the inner
2:11.5	ear.
	...

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