Song:Hip To Be Square
Album:Greatest Hits
Huey Lewis & The News were one of the most popular bands of the 80s. They had a total of 13 top ten hits and three number one hits. Hip To Be Square reached #3 in 1986. The band was a merger of two 70s San Francisco bands. Clover had recorded albums since 1967 without much success. They were led by lead singer and guitarist Alex Call. They are best known for backing up Elvis Costello on his 1977 album My Aim Is True while they were living in England. Harmonica player Huey Lewis and keyboard player Sean Hopper were members of Clover before they split up in 1978. Soundhole was another San Francisco band best known for backing up Van Morrison. When Huey Lewis got a record contract with the British label Phonogram, he asked drummer Bill Gibson, guitarist Johnny Colla and bassist Mario Cipollina of Soundhole to join him. At first the band was called Huey Lewis & The American Express. They released one unsuccessful single. When the credit card company objected to the band name, it was changed to Huey Lewis & The News. In 1979, they added guitarist Chris Hayes and signed with Chrysalis Records. Their 1980 debut album went nowhere. But they started to get going with the 1982 album Picture This with the top ten hit Do You Believe In Love. But they really made it with the 1983 album Sports which was certified 7XPlatinum. Among the top ten hits were Heart and Soul, I Want A New Drug, The Heart Of Rock & Roll and If This Is It. The band got a real boost when The Power Of Love appeared in the 1985 film Back To The Future. That song was their first number one hit That led to the huge success of the 1986 album Fore!. Stuck With You and Jacob's Ladder topped the charts and Hip To Be Square reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Lewis, Gibson and Hopper. The song is about when hippies become yuppies. Huey Lewis & The News started to decline. The 1988 album Small World didn't sell as well as the previous two albums. Then they took a break and left Chrysalis for EMI in 1991. You can get all their Chrysalis hits on this budget comp. Huey Lewis & The News have also recorded for Elektra, Silvertone, Rhino and their latest CD Soulsville on their own W.O.W. label released in 2010. They added a horn section and still tour. But I guess Huey Lewis & The News is mostly a nostalgia act today. Here's the video for Hip To Be Square by Huey Lewis & The News.
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