Huey Lewis

The 80’s icon talks about the years leading up to superstardom, his current battle with the inner ear disorder Ménière's disease, and everything in between.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quest Love Suprema is a production of I Heart Radio.
Supremo Suprema Roll Call, su Prima Supremo roll Call, So
Prema so Premo roll call Frema roll This is the brother. Yeah,

(00:23):
no one asked quest Lover. Yeah and I may Yeah,
roll call so Prema roll calls sugar. Yeah, I want
a new drug Yeah, I want old drugs too. Yeah,

(00:43):
just give me all your drugs. Supremo roll call, so
much roll call. I'm on pay bill and I can't complain.
Don't need no credit card to ride this fucking ain't.
So Prima su Primo roll call Primae Primo roll Call's

(01:09):
my name? Yeah, here's my role call Ryan. Yeah, oh man,
I'm off beat. Yeah, I gotta get back in time.
So Primo roll call some prima primo roll call. It's
likelier Yeah with huet Lewis. Yeah, this is it. Yeah,

(01:30):
I'm cool with it. S Prima roll call, sub Prima
se prima roll call. My name is Hui. Yeah, I'm
six ft tall. Yeah, I'm president accounted for Yeah at
the Roma roll call, s Prima su Primo, roll call,

(01:57):
So Prema sub primo. Yeah that's cool. Looking forward to
this one. Yes, absolutely ladies and gentlemen. Welcome. Oh yeah, welcome,
welcome to another episode of course Supreme. I am your host,

(02:20):
UH couess love, and we thank you for joining us. Uh.
Joining us is UH team Supreme. We got a boss
Bill in the house and uh unpaid build in the house. Yeah,
and we have a sugar Steve correct. Yeah, and we
have a right yeah. Well, I'll never get your name wrong,
that's true. Yeah. Anyway, I will say that our guest

(02:48):
today is one of my personal favorites. UM. He's a
fine singer. It's steeped in the tradition of what I
What I'll say is blue eyed lose with a tinge
of raspy soul on the side. UM, A hell of
blues heart man, definitely hell of UM. He's front at

(03:10):
one of the in my opinion, one of the sharpest
UH units in music. UM over twenty top ten singles,
so plenty a thirty million, a count of thirty million
albums UH in the past thirty plus years. I don't
want to it's just down forty years. It sounds like
a lot um embarrassing me. Now we'd just begun UM

(03:33):
not to mention UH. I'd like to say that. You know,
what can't be ignored is uh their foray into really
effective music videos and and using humor and personality. UH.
During the age of the dawning of MTVS, Rise really
captured our hearts and millions. I'm trying my hardest to

(03:55):
not sound like Patrick a Bateman of UH American Psycho U.
He is front of one of my favorite favorite favorite units. UH.
I'll say that their their live performance kicks, as their
harmonies are bar none. The music everything's in there. Ladies
and gentlemen, please welcome to Quest Left Supreme. Sir Hugh

(04:19):
Anthony Craig the Third as Hugh Lewis Quest le Supreme.
Thank you, Thank you great to be here. How goes it? Good?
Good good. I had a little trouble getting here. You know,
I'm I live in Montana really more cheese, less rats.

(04:39):
So you're you're you're just a lifetime nomad kind of
really well, I've been on the road for you know, forever. Uh. Well,
you know, I have a driver who reminded me that
since you know, I lost my hearing here a year
nine months ago, and I haven't been able to work
because I can't hear music well. And I but so

(05:01):
I've been in one place sometimes more than My driver
reminded me that after forty years of driving me, he
can't ever remember me being in one place for more
than three weeks. I was gonna say, like, I know
of your history of of traveling since your youth. Where
do you I won't say, where do you consider home?

(05:22):
But what's your sentimental that's home? San Francisco? Okay. More importantly,
when all is said and done, where would you like
to rest? Probably Montana? Really probably Montana. It's beautiful, air
is clean, got animals, turns of animals, all kinds of wildlife.

(05:45):
We've got horses. And so you lived on you live
on the ranch. I do a little ranches. So you
and Kanye know something that none of us, none of us.
So this is the thing I never start the show
on at the end, but sell me on Montana, Like,
tell me why, because you know something? Kanye knows something.

(06:08):
I'm hearing a few other celebrities, sort of unspoiled, not
too many people, more critters. You know, it's just out
if you like the outdoors, and I love the outdoors,
it's uh, it's it's a great place. Kanye love the outdoors. Well,
he loves Montana. Okay. I mean we've mentioned Kanye way
too much on this episode. Can and he's Wyoming anyway? Yeah,

(06:33):
oh yeah, Wyoming not Montana. Oh damn, I thought it
was Montana. Either way, they don't want no more select
what I take that back? Okay, Kanye does not different,
A different I don't know, just thinking like a home
on the ranch, deer different down there. It's way different.
Really okay? Really? So where were you born? New York City? Manhattan?

(06:59):
You were born? What part French Hospital? But I mean
what part of Manhattan where you? I don't know, where's
the French Hospital? Midtown? Maybe? I don't know? Okay. How
how long did you stay in Manhattan? About a year? Oh,
it's a baby, and that's tired of the How when

(07:24):
did music enter your life? Real early on? My dad
was a was a drummer. What my dad was a
was a radiologist by trade, but a jazz drummer by
by hobby. Okay, And he loved and he played piano
as well, and he played with a jam man. And
there was a I'm with a jazz band, And there
was always a set of drum set up in our

(07:45):
in our living room, and he taught me played drums.
Initially he would play jazz music that with no singers.
He hated singers. Okay, you know if the singers just
kind of got in the way. Yeah, so I gravitated
toward the vocals slide of things, you know. Okay, okay,
So what did your mom do? My mom was an

(08:07):
artist and she was born in Poland and escaped during
the war, lived in Brazil for about four or five years,
moved to New York City, was a commercial artist here
in New York City. Her parents finally got out of
Poland and arrived in He was a die chemist and
knew about and and they were pretty wealthy and so on.

(08:27):
It moved to Lawrence, mass and then, uh, tragically, my grandparents,
my mother's parents, uh, committed suicide together, which was a
real tough deal on my mom, and she switched and
kind of dropped out at that point. She was an
artist and so she my dad realized he had to
get her out of here when I moved to California,

(08:49):
moved to San Francisco when I was five, and my
mom fell in with the hippies and became like the
very first hippie my mom, So she was part of
that Timothy Leary generation that tune So what does that entail?
Like I always, you know, I hear of like tune in, dropout,
And is it just like stop trying to perform to

(09:09):
what society wants us to do and just like live
by the moment. And I think so, I think that's
initially what it was. Yeah, And there was some LSD involved, okay,
that made everything a little easier, was drugs run. So

(09:33):
in San Francisco fifth Boat between you and Steve for
those that missed that. So in San Francisco, were you
kind of in a commune community? Like no, no, no,
because my my my mom my dad had sort of
resisted all that and they just divorced when I was eleven.
And when I was twelve, I skipped second grade, so

(09:55):
I want to wait to school. And in New Jersey
and the prep school New Jerse, I worry. Even So,
how did that make you feel inside? Like just this
consistent going back and forth? It was a little crazy,
to be honest. My did you met friends easily? Or
I didn't because I was moving so much, you know,

(10:17):
so I had to kind of rely on myself. I
grew up pretty fast that way. I actually went to
prep school in New Jersey with coat and tie, all boys,
and neither one of my parents has ever been there,
so they just kind of set me off, and I was,
I was, Were you the only child? No? I had
a brother, a younger brother, five years younger, and he
stayed with my mom. My mother had custody, but my

(10:40):
father petitioned the court to allow me to go to
this prep school, saying this was a smart kid or something,
you know, whatever whatever he told them. But how long
were you away? Well, I'd go back on summertime, you know,
in Christmas, Christmas and summer, but I was away for
four years for the most part. It sounds like then

(11:04):
it depends he was independent, because what was that like?
As a boy in prep school? You have freedom in
a different way then most kids doing away, because you're like,
it's like college but for kids. I mean, I was
horribly homesick when I first left, obviously, but you know,
you can get used to pretty much anything. And uh
after while, I was fine, And I'm sure it was
a girls school down the street went to. I'm sure

(11:25):
it was a girls school down the street. Like not
everything is dead posts society. Clear, that's a movie. So
what was your describe? Well, wait, before you do that,
do you remember the first record you purchased? Yep, what
was it? Quarter to three? Here are Us? Are Us? Okay?

(11:52):
And then or it might have been Wild One, Bobby
Right Out, a Little Bitty Pretty One. Those are the
first three I remember. So you you're post dwops, early
British rocking start, but immediately became a R and B snob,

(12:15):
and I started playing harmonica and became a blues R
and B snob. Hated contemporary stuff, just all of that
until I joined my first band, which was after prep school.
Uh well, I took a year off and bummed around Europe.
I took my harmonica and my my old man made
me do that. He I graduated from from prep school

(12:37):
year young because i'd skip second grade and he said
to me I was sixteen. He said, look, you're sixteen
years old. As far as I'm concerned, all the decisions
are yours. You do whatever you want, only one more
thing I want to make you do it. So what's
that said? Don't go to college yet? I said, really, well,
I want to go to school and I'm going, you know,
I was accepted at Cornell. I said, I really want
to go to He said, no, no, take a year

(12:58):
off and bum around your up. I said, but dad,
I was gonna play ball, and it's the last thing
I'm like. So I did it. It was like a tester,
like what happened when the father put your son in
the woods, and see if you can survive a little
bit of folks and white kids get sent away to Europe. Yeah,
just throw me away to Europe. Our challenge was just

(13:19):
escaping bullets in college. And if in that a little bit,
you know, oh that I couldn't afford it. So I
just got a record deal. So but to wait sixteen
in Europe? How does that work? Did he mist? It
was nineteen sixty six, sixty seven? There was no So

(13:43):
wasn't that one a big deal? No? No, LSD, no
walk us through this like was it a hostile sit Now?
You didn't stay at a hostile No? No, no, Hughey,
Lewis didn't stay at Well. I stayed. I stayed at
a buddy. I had a paler from prep school English
exchange students. I stayed at his house in London for
a few days, and then I met a guy from

(14:04):
South Africa, Michael Jefferson. Together we had checked all the
way through Europe and all that stuff, and I would
go every night, we'd go to the youth hostel and
I just play harp in the in the Square. Not
all the bustle are rich, not every single one of them.
Some play harp in the Square for money. Okay, So

(14:26):
all right, as a fellow busker, I gotta ask you
what what were the what were the going what were
the going rates for it? I'm assuming this is uh
sixty eight sixty seven? What was a al right for me?
Sixty to eighty dollars? Was like date night? That was

(14:50):
you know, like I mean there's four of us, so
you know, you know you were killing that. No, that's
a sandwich at Wawa and you know the afternoon movie.
That's a date was it? Was it a uh not
do or Die? Um survival? What? Yeah? Like? What for you?
What was like? Okay? I made it through the day?

(15:10):
Or it was it day to day? Like what am
I going to? Like? I remember in Africa, in in Europe, Europe,
but I got to North Africa, went down to North Africa, Italy,
I went, I went to Marrakesh, in Morocco for just
to see it. And then I got so stone I
couldn't leave every month. We're gonna leave every day. But

(15:38):
then we'd wake up and seventeen. Are you how you
let's say I was seventeen, that's right, Oh my god, like, hey,
you want to go? Just was it a boat from
Italy that just right across the water or get there?

(15:59):
Why did you choose Morocco? I flew to London right
and then and that's another long story. But then I
hit checked all the way from London, all the way
through France down through Spain, took the little that's see,
he hits tyke. He didn't have a limousine, hitch hyped.
But there was a stowaway story. Yeah, I wanted to

(16:21):
get back to that. I heard that you stowed away
on a plane to That's an interesting story actually, as
I was seeing how does one do that? That's that's
what I want to know. I didn't really stow away.
I thought I could stow away. But this was remember
nineteen sixty seven or sixty eight, probably sixty seven or six,
yet right in there, and I hit checked across the
country first and to go to Europe and then I

(16:44):
stayed with my buddies and at Harvard who were at
school there for a minute, and then I went back
down to New York here and I went to and
while I was hit check across the country, a guy
picked me up and told me. I said, I'm trying
to get to Europe. He says, well, you know, um,
but you know I don't have that much money I had.

(17:05):
I think I started off with three and then plane
tickets were like two fifty in those days. And so
I said, I don't have that much money. I can't
spend it all on a ticket. And he said, well,
you know, you can still away, and he showed me.
He told me about this idea where you get the
you know, the jacket the ticket goes in. In the
old days, used to take a special silver pen and

(17:27):
right on the jacket, and all they looked at was
the jacket. They never actually took. This is before you know, uh,
computers all that stuff. So he says he or he says,
you can stow away on this freight airline too. So
I had checked back down to then was I Idlewile

(17:50):
Airport which is now Kennedy Airport there, and I went
to the freight place and I couldn't get across. They
couldn't figure it out. So I went back to the terminal,
the t W A place, and I just I lay
there for you know, I just kind of stay there
for till midnight. And I befriended this agent t W

(18:12):
a ticket agent. So you know, buddy I was hitching,
who tells me there's a way you can kind of
sneak in and bow. He said, he what if you
wait till I get off, I'll show you wall collective
jaw dropped in this room right now. Like so he
explained to me that to get the jacket, he got
a jacket, a jacket out of the you know, those

(18:34):
envelopes out of the drawer, and he had a special
silver pen. He says, you need this, and then he says,
you're right on the outside London LHR fight seven oh two.
And then he says, and then go into the gate
real early and just kind of make yourself invisible and
it will fill up. And then when you get on
the airplane, all they're gonna do is look at your

(18:54):
jacket and then go take the seat, middle seat over
the wing. And then he said it and then but
not you're right the middle seat over the wing, and
take another terrible seat in case they say, oh, you're
not in someone else takes your seat, you say, ah,
my seats up there, and then you go. But but
none of these fights were full in these days, so

(19:14):
the middle seat over the wing was like the last
one to go. So he says, I said, wow, that
what happens if I get caught? He said, the only
way you're gonna get caught is at the end of
the deal, she's gonna count all the people on the
airplane and it's not gonna jibe with all the people
they had the check into the podium, he said, But
you're only gonna be one off, and she's gonna They're
not gonna hold the flight up. They're just gonna go,

(19:35):
he says. If you want to be really safe, he says,
you can buy a ticket and then just put it
in the jacket, but don't give him the ticket. And
when you keep keep the ticket and if you if
it works, you get over. When you get to London,
you refund the ticket and if they find you out,
you give him the ticket. And that's what I did,

(19:58):
depends and refund Ticke ship Huey Lewis. Wait wait, I'm
just curious when does this finesse game? Like when what
you do you think it was stopped? Like you couldn't
computers computer computers, Yeah, damn computer stopped everything, ruined everything.
You can't even get the T s A loud a ticket,

(20:19):
nass sucked up. No t s A no, no t
s A. Hey they were not only were there no security,
you just walked right on the airplane, but they gave
you a little packet of cigarettes that you can smoke
on the airplane, little tiny four cigarettes. So cool, like

(20:44):
man smoking on airplanes. Can you imagine every every armrest
had a little ash tray in it. I remember room
it had on the on the wall. What scary to
me is when you get on an airplane now and
you still see the ash plane. Take the hell off
this thing. I embarrassed the living crap. Then my mom

(21:08):
was listening to the story one of my very first
plane trips, went to the bathroom and there were, um,
you know, they would have napkins there and whatnot and
like feminine uh napkins as well, and so I thought pads.
So I took like about tim pads, and I was
in the front row there in the back and said, Mom,

(21:31):
you don't worry about I got you. That's all. You know.
That should be like an advertising camp, like came on,
I got your Ta tam box backlass last, don't worry
I got you. So do you remember the first concert

(21:56):
you went to? That's a good question, that's a really
good question. Might a memorable content. It might be with
Paul Butterfield at uh here in New York at the
Fillmore East. No, it went over away before Fillmore. We're
talking nineteen sixty four, sixty five town Hall. Oh, the

(22:19):
town And it was so it was so crowded that
I got a seat, as I remember it, I mean,
I know I got the seat, and I don't know
how on the stage. They put seats on the stage
and I sat on the stage. I saw Bob Butterfield

(22:40):
with Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Jerome Marninold on base, Sam
Leon drums. They were awesome. They took that was it
And this is pre well sixty four was like kind
of pre probably six psychedelic, might be sixty five like
that pre psychedelic. Yeah, So was that a moment for

(23:01):
you where you like maybe I could do this, Yeah, absolutely,
I want to do this. I don't know if I
can or not, but that's happened. So how did that?
Was already playing Harmonica a little bit, you know, how
did that lead you to Clover go into how Clover
came in? Well? Then, uh, well, I took a year off,
bummed around Europe after after high school, played Harmonica all
the time. I went back, went to Cornell. I was

(23:24):
an engineering student at Cornell. As you do, well, I
had it all before in prep school, so I got
I didn't even hardly have to go to class my
freshman year, and I got a four point. It was
no problem because I literally had it all before. You
were you were a meth with right kind of you know,
perfect school and a kind of like that kind of

(23:46):
Dwayne Wayne, Dwayne Wayne fixing a different world of taxing,
a character that's quit perfect going. Yeah, but I uh
and so after that year off, I went back to
Cornell and I went to engineering school and I went

(24:06):
in and that was not near as much fun as
bumming around Europe with Harmonica, and so I joined the
bands and I didn't really have to go to class much.
So I played in fraternity bands until my sophomore year.
It started catching up with me. You know. So halfway
through the sophomore year, and that was the year at

(24:26):
Cornell where UM the Afri American Student Society took over
the wood Straight Hall and it was all that stuff
sts and all that so you could take pass fail
was the good news. So we took past fail. That
was another semester. I got under my belt and I
was like then I was dead and it was caught

(24:47):
up with me. So I called my own man. I said, bops,
I'm I'm dropping out. I'm gonna be uh, I'm gonna
I'm gonna try and be a musician. He went, whatever
he said, go for it. You know you did what
you did your bum around Europe. I told you I
wasn't gonna tell you what to do. Your life is
your own. Good luck, good parenting, Well it looked like

(25:10):
pretty bad parenting for the first ten years or fifteen years.
Let me tell you, as a parent, good for your
father for just being like, do what you want. During
the formative years before you formed Clover, Uh, did you
have any interaction with any notable uh future singer song right,

(25:33):
like anyone that that's a good question. Let me think,
not really, I mean we can try out. Why why
did that take me so long? No? Running into spring
Steen during the days of bar banding, I didn't see that,

(25:54):
you know. I mean, Butterfield was a was a thing
for me. And then when I when I dropped out,
I went back to San Francisco, and then I started
going to uh, the Film More and and seeing that
stuff and seeing uh, you know Aretha with Ken Curtis
and at the film are Auditorium. Well once one night,

(26:15):
well they eventually since then released all of them eight nights. Yeah,
it was unbelievable. You know this video of that online too, right,
I did not know it was unbelievable. You know that
Film War holds about eight hundred people people, don't the
Film More original film or auditorium, it's like eight hundred
to a thousand people. Oh so the one that I
play at has been expanded and where this one over

(26:38):
here or the one that was that was that was
a huge film winter Land right, Yes, Oh, you're talking
about Film More Easier written on the original Film War
Auditorium in San Francisco. Still there's still a gig still there,
but it only holds eight hundred thousand people. I didn't
know that. In my mind. I thought it was like
a three thousand and seems like that. Go there again.

(26:59):
We just work there. It's it's just tiny, little place,
tiny and you don't realize that at Hendricks in this
place like here, you had cream in this place back here.
It was unbelievable. When did you consider yourself a heart
player or vocalists or we're both at the same time,
or when did you switch to from one to the other,
because you talk a lot about being a harpist, right,

(27:20):
mostly playing her until I did my busting thing, and
then I sang, and then I then I joined the
band when I when I get when I joined Clover,
I sang like a song or two, you know. But
my voice, rough as it is, was not a seventies
hair band, you know, Journey Boston, it wasn't happening. So

(27:43):
I was an R and B guy and so I
just played harmonica in the Clover thing. So vocal wise,
who did you Ray Charles? Okay, I have to get
the question. Do you want to take questions? And Johnny Taylor, Um, yeah,
I'm a castello freak. So everybody knows. Um your connection

(28:05):
to well, Clover's connection to my aim is true. Um
they were the backing band on that album. For those
that don't know, right right, sorry, So yes, Clover was
was umh well, Clover was first discovered by Nick low
in l a right at actually by it's a kind
of a funny story because our Clover had made a

(28:28):
record before I joined them. There was a kind of
vintage uh country rock. In fact, Clover had a record
in the sixties were the on the cover There was
John McPhee had hair down, had he had overalls on
with hair down to his waist, and they and they're
all standing. They all had long hair and they're standing
in front of six ft high marijuana plants. Well, this

(28:50):
was like sixty eight. This is Willie Nelson had a
coat and tie on at this point. Seriously, it was.
It was and the Dolly Borden Border Wagner Show was
on and Willie was on it and there was no
and this was Clover. They were really ahead of their time.
And um so when I joined that band, uh uh
we we we labored for a while and then Jake Rivera,

(29:13):
who managed Elvis and at the time was helping out
with a group called Doctor feel Good and feel Good
was and he was. They asked Jake two road manage
their trip to sit to l A. They were going
to play at the CBS Convention in l A and so,
and they brought Nick Low along as a guitar roadie
just for a free trip. That for a free trip

(29:36):
to America. So it's the Doctor Field Goods, Jake and
Nick Low. So we're playing the Palomino Club in l A.
Clover Is. It's a country club, you know, country western club.
We're playing the Palomino and in want these six guys
in like gray suits and short hair. You know who
were these guys? And turned it was Nick and Jake

(29:56):
because they'd seen that we were there and they knew
about Over his first record, and they were big because
they left Country Rocks. They thought they thought country rock
pub rock was going to be the next big thing.
So they signed us to Phonogram Records and and we
came to we and brought us over to England. We're
gonna do it for the British side from London. Well,

(30:16):
the day we landed, Johnny Rotten spit in the face
of the first enemy reporter and the game was on
and we were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But we did a lot of sessions and the band
the Core BT started and what he needs is punk
rock has just started people listening, and uh, country rock
was not necessarily gonna happen in London right at that

(30:40):
moment um. So then uh so they were starting Stiff Records.
They started Stiff Records, Jake and Dave together they managed
Delvis Costello and Nickelod Graham, Parker, Rats, Gabies, the Damned,
and then they created Stiff Records. And then unfortunately they
had already signed us, so they stuck us. They realized

(31:00):
that we were more kind of an American band, so
they uh they got Langer to produce our records in Wales.
Uh and m all right, this is before he ever
had a hit, Before his mag he was a staff
producer at Phonogram, and he did like some amazing amount
of records a year, some like six or seven records

(31:23):
a year, and and you know City Boy and all
these acts that never happened. And until you know, until
he kind of moved over here, what was his what
were his work habits? Like brilliant still the same, I mean,
was consistent on just an unbelievable work ethic and you
know he's brilliant. I mean, he's just that's all he does.

(31:45):
He's just he's of one mind. He just loves just
lays in the studio. Man loves loves it. Okay, So, um,
just to continue where you where you left off. So
you Clover wasn't on Deff. They were on Clover on
Phonogram Records. Did they moved to Stiff? They didn't because
if Stiff, there was no Stiff when we first signed

(32:07):
a Photograph Ja Davis, and then simultaneously when the punk hit,
they started Stiff Records. They signed all these bands and
we were still on Photograph and then they um, yeah,
so then I guess, and they signed Elvis. They found Elvis. Uh,
Jake gave him his name. I think Decline McManus gave

(32:28):
him Elvis Costello, and they was his name previously Decline McManus.
We've known him forever. How come you were you know
you did a record with the man. You didn't know
what his real name was. I didn't know, I thought, obvious. Still,
let me get this need to know. It's just this

(32:48):
notorious thing with Clover and my name's Trip. So my
question really comes down to, so how did how did
Clover get that gig? And they'll have a follow up question.
So Jake signs Elvis Costell and we got Nick Lowd
to produce it. And Nick used us not me, not
me and not my singer out and not our singer
I was called, but the other four guys as a

(33:11):
rhythm section for that that record. And they cut that
record at path Ley that my amistry was cutting, really cutting,
and the studio was was literally the studio and control
room were as big as this room right here. And
studio and room was like four by four thing with
a board like eight track e or maybe maybe it

(33:32):
was sixteen. I don't even know, but it was. And
they cut that record in In fact, here's a great
story for you because the first thing they did was
rehearse obviously for before they went into cut, and we
were we were living in a place called Nigel Grange
and Surrey down. They rented a house at the same
house that led Zeppelin cut all them big records and

(33:55):
where they make the drums big. So that was our
house called Headley Grange. So they when Elvis rehearsed, we
set up. We are set up in the in the
living room, and Elvis came down, took the train down
and rehearsed with the band for the first time. Well,
I went to London because you know, the harmonica player,
and he was just gonna rehearse with them. And when

(34:16):
I came back that night, we had dinner there and
we all had dinner and Elvis is gone. I just
how was it today? And everybody's kind of it was good?
It was good good. And my keyboard player, Sean Hopper went,
I'm telling you what the this This guy's lyrics are unbelievable.
He's really a genius, I'm telling And Sean Hopper was
the first guy to know how great Elvis Costello was.

(34:37):
I think even before Jake and Dave and all these
before the management was in, Sean was was a fanatic. Okay,
So as you just said, you you you were a
singer and harmonica player, and um, I guess weren't needed.
There's no harmonica on the on the record. When they
got ready to do it, Elvis said to me, I
got a couple of songs that you could play on

(34:58):
if you want to. I said, yeah, it seems like
there's a couple that could have had her, but but
they were cutting this this week and it was we
they had were They had worked us like crazy, the
management because you know, they had to make money, so
we were working at all time. Uh, And so I
took the week off. I said, it's okay, but I
went to Amsterdam. I was okay. My girlfriend flew over

(35:21):
and we we had it. We we we saw it
as a vacation week for the other two of us.
So I didn't play the record, but you were and
you weren't at the sessions. I was one session briefly,
but no, I guess maybe it was a mixed session.
I don't think. I can't remember. I recorded at that
studio a lot and with the band, so I know
what it was like. But okay, Ultimately the question was

(35:42):
I knew you weren't on it. I just want to
set you at the session. I had nothing to do
with it. But you might have been one mix session.
You're saying, oh, yeah, that's the piece of information. I'm
trying to mind. He I'm sure I was there. And
then of course we had the same management, you know,
so we would bump they were happening, and we we

(36:03):
went to a lot of Elvis's early shows when he
played the Nashville Pub and all that stuff, and I
watched him ascend, you know, and he's he's a wonderful
guy and and smart as you can, as you imagine,
and so is Jake by the way, and so is
Nick Low and those three guys were so smart. It
was I have one more question about this. Um was

(36:26):
Clover Uh upset that they didn't get the permanent gig
with him and that he got the attractions starting with
the next album the next year. No, we we were
you know, there's that band thing. We thought we were
going to make it any minute, and just you always
think you're gonna make it any minute. You know. Failure
never breaks up bands. Its success that breaks up right down. Yeah, ship,

(36:56):
all right, So when when we can come back, don't
you know they're very close. I'm a huge you know,
I'm also a huge Huey Lewis fan. Just the band
imploded in you guys broke up. We broke up. It

(37:20):
was amicable or just well kind of we we lost
our record deal and we came back and UH and
then McPhee and Uh joined the Dubie Brothers. Sort of
that's kind of what happened, I mean, but yeah, it
was pretty amicable. So what leads to the development of
Huey Lewis and the news. Well, let's see, I was

(37:43):
so now we had always played Monday Night was a
fun night for us in in in Marin because it
was I don't know, it was just a night that
we always used to have jam sessions and stuff. And
one of the local studios asked me, I want to
local clubs said do you want to resident to some
residency here? So I said, look, give me Monday Nights.
And so I didn't think on Monday Night Live that

(38:05):
I invited all these different musicians and we had a
Monday Night Live band and that we had a theme
song and all that and comedians and and it was
kind of fun. And with the band, we would slowly
I was singing, I got I got to sing all
the songs for the first time. Were either reluctant leader
by this point, I wasn't that reluctant. I had but

(38:31):
I wasn't gonna work, you know what I mean. It
was trying it out a little bit. So but that's that,
and that's what we developed that in Monday Night Live
and this studio owner saw us and made it and
and said, hey, would you like some demo time? Was
it original stuff? And I said, well, we didn't have
mostly covers. We'd written three songs. Uh. And then I

(38:51):
said do you want some free studio time? I said sure,
and they gave us like a day, so I thought,
and we were doing funny stuff in our monday that live.
We didn't a discover it of Exodus extra disco. We
called it that. Actually it was pretty funny and it's
actually not bad. I've heard it. Yeah. And and the
horn player on it we got. We got pee Wee
Yellows to play horns on it. Pee anything after his

(39:17):
James Brownston. He he can play though man pee Wee
can flat play man, and so we we we cut
this disco version of Exus for a laugh and it
was very funny. We had a nice day. Well, now
I get a call from Nick Lowe and saying, look,
I've just written this song and I think I think
I swiped it from you. I said, what you mean?

(39:38):
He says, it's called what looks the best on you?
It's me? And I told him that joke, you know,
So I said no, not said, don't worry about. He's no, Seriously,
I feel like I owe you something. I said, no.
I said, tell you what, give me a ticket to
London and back and I'll visit. He says, okay, I'll
do that. Sometimes calls me and says, I got an idea,
come to London and play on my record. And Edmonds

(40:02):
wants to cut Bad is Bad one of one of
my songs, and we'll do both of those things and
we'll do them in Lone. I said great, So he
flew me to London. We went straight to the studio
those days and uh, cut Bad is Bad with Dave
Emmons and rock Pile, and then cut Born Fighter with
Nick Lowe played harmonica on that, and we were done

(40:22):
and it was like two or three in the afternoon.
Now come the record company to hear the tracks. And
they come down. They come to the thing and they
listen to this a couple of songs and they go, oh, man,
that sounds great. And there was a lull in the moment.
I said, you guys want to hear something funny. He
said yeah, and I put on extra Disco. Well they
loved it and they said, man, that could be a hit.
I said, whatever. They said, come come see us tomorrow.

(40:44):
We'll make a deal. And they left. So I said
that Jake, that they leave the room, and I go, Jake,
what do I do? You go in there? Yes, for
thirteen points. You want three thousand pounds advance and and
and there you go. And if they want anything to
be a remix or in that stuff, as long as
they pay for it, that's good. But make sure you

(41:04):
get the three thousand pounds and don't leave without the check.
And I said, So I went there and made a
singles deal. And I came home to San Francisco. I said, boys,
we got a singles deal. And then I cut with
with with a three thousand pounds. I've got studio time.
Actually funny, it's a funnier story because they wanted more
vocal on on on exit disco. It's all I say.

(41:26):
It's come on, bhaby, come on down. You're that kind
of thing, you know. So they wanted me to a
little more vocal on it. I said, no problem, give
me the three thousand. They gave me the check. You
were your own manager and negotiating and everything. So now
now I get back and and and I go to
the studio. I said, man, we got a deal for it.
I gotta put some vocal, some more vocal on it.

(41:46):
We go to the multi track tape and it was
also had tones on that reel and while they align
the machine, they erased thirty seconds of the master tape
that we had recorded extrad Just go on this is
you know. So I went, oh my god, what I said.
That's a great engineer. So now I told him, I said, look,

(42:10):
I'm gonna have to replicate this record. You gotta give
me a week. They said, we'll give you whatever you want.
We're I said, we'll give me five days. Okay, fine, good.
So I took the exit disco, don't sick around. I
took the two track that we had and I put
it on two of the twenty four track, and I
sang on another track, and I mixed it down to
a two track and that took like four hours and

(42:32):
we were done, and then cut these three other songs
with the arresting time. This is the best hustling. Okay.
Those three tunes got us our manager and eventually our record. Louis,
I know there's a guy documenting your every life, but

(42:52):
do you have like a book deal? Will you tell
everybody how to make up in the music business, because
I'm in the music business and I would totally buy
that ship and say, like, I mean ship, So I
kind of want to skip over, not skip over. No, no, no, no, dude,

(43:12):
Like this is education. First of all, Can I assume
that the baddest bad that you come for niccolo is
also the badest? Was Dave Edmonds blue shuffle the way did?
But it's kind of but then what we repriised it
as the acapella thing on sports? Okay, so still the
same song, that same song to know, but a completely

(43:35):
different version. Yeah, okay, okay, So what I do want
to know is how was Bill Snee being a skilly
dan head that I am? How is Bill Snee? Uh?
How did he get involved with the very first Huey
Lewis record? His engineering stuff? We'll see, This is the
thing I wanna because the thing is is that well

(44:00):
Shave has done a lot of stuff, right, yeah, but
most of the like he was the engineer of the
classic steely stuff, and really I feel like his sound
was the proprietor of I don't know if you consider
that the four letter word of the perfection of yacht
rock sounds that that clean. She I see that. So

(44:22):
what was it? Did you have reservations with? Like? What
was your view? Because the thing is, you express a
lot of opinions, especially on sports with bad as bad
and also the heart of rock and roll about what
I assume your criticism of you know what, what is
raw and true to the music versus you know the

(44:43):
shene of whatever is commercial today. So I'm assuming, I'm
assuming that you're coming from a purist standpoint to work
with the sound American Psycho. I know where you're going at,
But I wasn't. Was it the fact that I mean,
what made what? Was he chosen for you? Or yeah,

(45:06):
he was chosen for us because they even though we'd
had you know, we were more experienced than most new bands.
That was twenty but I was twenty nine years old
at that point, which is and so um he was
you know, he'd worked with he did Boss Boss Silk degree,
he ended up and he was down and he's a great,

(45:28):
a famous engineer. He's a great engineer. And so yeah,
we worked with we worked together, and we have this
joke because we worked together a couple of times over
the year and we don't work together well, I mean
what you're talking about, Yes, what was the was there
conflict in musically? It never worked? I love Bill Schnay,

(45:51):
He's a good friend of mine, but it just we
just never I guess our taste maybe didn't match or
I don't know why. And he's a brilliant engineer. It
just we just never could hit it. You know, we
never got Anything we ever did together just didn't happen.
So the second record, now we get a secondment wit it?

(46:11):
And I told h the manager, my manager, I said, look,
we can do this ourselves. You know, by this point
we had we auditioned producers and you know, gone through
a zillion of them, and um, why weren't you using
Nick Low as a producer? Well because what we were
now here blah blah nicka, you know, I don't know

(46:35):
he hadn't he hadn't you were on crystals at this point,
or we're on crystals and just a different label. But
at this point we we felt like we could do
it ourselves. That our manager went to fight, went to
bat for us, and so then we started making our
own records. I also want you to discuss U fil
from Thin Lizzy feel Hill, Yeah, and you played on

(46:59):
Aton Lizzy records as well, Like what was the relationship
there and how well we When I was in Clover,
we toured with Thin Lizzy and Philip was an unbelievable guy,
an unbelievable performer first of all hard rock band with soul,
you know what I mean. They were just great. And
Brian Downey he's back up now, but he could play

(47:21):
and he can shuffle, you know, which he didn't used
to happen in London. In England. You know, there were guys,
there's certain beats that just the British, just British weren't
too cool and blue. You know. He couldn't couldn't swing somehow.
And but but Brian Downey was great and thin As
he were unbelievable, And uh, Philip just kind of took
me under his wing man and said he I played

(47:43):
on a few of his things, and I lived with
him for a minute and he would dress me out
of his closet, you know, and uh, he was just
a He taught me more than anybody how to run
a band and how to you know, just all kinds
of stuff. I learned everything everything nothing the sorry musically,
but everything other than music Okay, so on your second album,

(48:04):
based on where the placement of do You Believe in
Love is on that album, which is like kind of
the middle side too, can I assume that was the
last song recorded for the record Damn, I'm good, you
are good and yeah, because they you know, we needed
a hit kind of thing and they thought this was
a single that said okay, the thing is what makes

(48:27):
that song stand out so much to me. So how
did you guys as well? First of all, as a unit,
how long were you guys together before in the jelling
process and the practice process and to get that good

(48:48):
because you guys play like you like each other. Yeah,
we were, We were. We were inspection moment right now, Okay,
saying maybe for the roots to like each other. We
love each other now because we're old ask men, we
all we got wow, but ship just got real therapy.

(49:15):
I will say that, yes, the chemistry and the jelling
of course comes together on that record. But I based
on the tightness of the harmonies. That's where I feel
like you guys really shine where most groups don't, like
you know, in case, only Eagles with that level too,
soars how we have we have the secret is good singers,

(49:38):
and Johnny Cola are our saxophone guitar bird is a
great singer, and and and also and a great arranger.
And Bill our drummer, sings, and Sean sings bass and
and we have a kind of okay, blend. We're just
lucky that way. You never know, you never know, but
I mean it's a little bit better. It's like a
blend is a blend, you know what. It either works

(50:00):
or a dozen or it is what it is. But uh,
but that's what that is. And Johnny Cole gets most
of the credit for that, for the vocals, arrangements and stuff.
He's great. So how did you wrestle that song from
much without him producing it? Well, how do we get
the song? Or did he demo it perfectly? And you guys,
and I rewrote it a little bit. It was he

(50:22):
had it. We both believe in love. We both believe
it's ours. You really give enough? Yeah, you really make
me see the stars? Wait? Did you just ask him
for a throwaway? Like, do you have anything that you're
not asked for a song? I said, but you got

(50:44):
a song, we got a record. We you know, we
need a song. And this is the post a c
d C because now, oh so now he's on fire
and that sort of thing. Well, yeah, I think it's posted.
Yeah it has to be. Okay, you're right. So how
did you wrestle it from him? How I wrestle it
from him? No, he was he was happy to It

(51:05):
was great. He just sent it right away. He's a
good friend. And he's a brilliant you know, you know,
I mean's a c d C and for foreigner and
so can you tell me? I mean, of course, I
mean Beaver missed to not say that. We have to
announce that. Of course, the rise of MTV was very

(51:26):
instrumental and the millions of records you sold that, you know,
for the Sports album, your third album. But could you
tell me what was the touring environment like before Sports
as opposed to afterwards? As far as what was what
was what was rock? What was touring like for pre MTV?

(51:53):
Kind of like what was were you guys Chitland circuit?
You know, you had one top ten hit? Like what
what was the environment like? What? We had one tour
were called working for a Living tour where we had
all of us on one bus, right and the crew
and the thing and we went out for ten weeks.
We held our record back because we were just finished

(52:16):
with sports record and we basically just finished it. And
then uh, the record label we hadn't mixed it yet,
and the record label went belly up. Chris was and
sold out to CBS. Chris was sold out to CHRISS
went shut down their whole distribution and all their stuff

(52:37):
and went with CBS distribution. They fired about most of
their employees and a lot a lot of their independent
stuff they got rid of and just became a label.
And then and and CBS was going to distribute. Well,
we weren't sure how that was gonna work out. So
manager decided we just hit the road and try and
pay for ourselves. So we did a ten week working

(52:58):
for a living tour. We did all the clubs and
all that, all that sort of stuff, you guys, and
with other acts are but one. As soon as the
record hit, well, you know, we got a tour. We
toured with thirty eight Special Turn with Total a little
bit Total Turn With and you could feel the record happening,
you know, are you could just feel people showing up

(53:20):
for the record. Now, I mean there are different types
of audiences for pop music and you know. I mean,
have you ever encountered or a toured with an act
whose fan base was different than what you desired? I mean, Clover,

(53:41):
we opened for Alice Cooper at the Nassau Coliseum, got bombed.
Island representation land here and here and boom and damn.
Step Gordon then protect you guys, ship you said has

(54:04):
been on the show not known for its security. I
mean the thing is is that you know what what
what audience do you feel is specifically your audience as
opposed to like, was it was there any worried, any

(54:26):
worries about pairing with another acting Yeah? Yeah, I mean
we are first, Hue Lewis the news his first store
was with the Doobie Brothers because they were and McPhee,
our Clover's old guitar player was now playing with the Dubies,
so that we we got that tour with the same
agency and all that. So we went out with the

(54:47):
Dubies for a national tour and we got basically booted
off the perfect not quite boot up, because we knew
enough to go from song to song before they could book.
But if you, if would, if you just wait, just
be quiet, I remember where's your all? Right, what's the worst,

(55:09):
let's say, in North America in your mind, what's your
favorite territory where they're open mind? Like I got my spots,
Like I know where they're open minded and where I
can stretch with the stuff, and then I know where
it's going to be a cell even twenty years in
the game, where I gotta hit him with the hits
and get out. For you what are you rolling your

(55:31):
eyes at? Like, oh god, we gotta go back to
like what territories were not to stuff. L A has
always been tough for us to San Francisco band, and
we've always you know, well in the in the I
mean we'd go down there and we you know, there
was X and then there was the who are the
other bands? There's zillion bands who all did great, but

(55:55):
we never they never reckoned us down there. We could
never never get over, never get until and then one
once I remember, um, we find a years later we
played we we played three forms, three l A forums
and you know, now we're back in l A again
and we had three forums. First night. Everybody's there, you know,

(56:16):
all the music, all the total guys, all the all
the musicians are there. Snai's there, you know, all the all,
I'm nervous, you know, I'm I'm you know, yeah, all
that stuff, and then sold out. And so I remember thinking,
be just don't press relax, Just don't press relax, you know.

(56:36):
And it's like, I'm I'm a kind of a veteran now.
So I go out the first night and I play
what I think is a great show. We have a
great show. Finally, I wasn't nervous. I feel great any
time I get before that when I would get a
bad review, when we actually got great reviews starting up,
but whenever I get a bad review, it was always

(56:58):
from a bad show, and I could always think to myself,
you know what, He's right, I could have been better.
That's right, it's no problem. So this time l A
Form first night, I think it's a great show. We
go back to the hotel, we go to bed. I
wake up in the morning. I want to see the paper. Everyone, everyone,

(57:18):
everybody in this room knows where this is going on.
And my managers having breakfast, and he goes, hey, Hugh,
he says, everybody who had a got a great review
in the l A Times, come on down and eat breakfast.
Not so fast, Robert Hilburn had just tore me up.

(57:42):
You damn it. What's that about? Well, here's here's you
guys will appreciate this, I think, I hope. But so
I struggled with that because I know we were good
that night and I wasn't nervous and I knew we
were good, and it just bothered me for years. Now
I'm recording another record at Lucas Uh Lucas's studio, Skywalker

(58:07):
Ranch and George Lucas they just opened it. This is
amazing studio and a and George has given me a
personal tour and we go around. He shows me everything.
It's really great. And he says, now at first the
house and they have this unbelievable where they have lunch
and all this ranch. Now the ranch and all. He says,
now let's go look, let's go. Let me show you
the studio. I said great. He says, Linda's in there now,

(58:29):
Lynda runset. That's when he was dating she was dating George.
I said, oh great, great. So we go in the
studio and there's Linda and then she goes, oh, man, hi,
hi gout. I love your stuff, but it's just funny.
Should be here because Brian Wilson's showing up in a
minute to do some vocals. I said, you're kidding me,
you know. I said, wow, do you mind if I
just hang out? She just no, no problem. Great, So

(58:52):
I finished, I'm hanging around. But like lunch, they're taking
a break. Boom, here's Brian. I said, well, I entered
do some self to my Brian is hughey, Lucy goes,
oh man, Uh, you know there's funny ways. I knew
who you are. I knew you are just I saw
your show. I've seen the show. He's top ten, might
have been top three, top three shows I've ever seen ever,

(59:13):
top three, top three shows. I said, whoa, thank you
really great? You might if I shared that with my guys. Yeah, no,
no problem. I said, wow, that's gonna make our whole day.
You have. I said, where was it? He said, l
A four? I said, I said, I said, which night?
Which night? He says, first night? I said, thank you,

(59:35):
Brian Wilson. Brian true story, look up disgust there's three quarter. No, Well,
it's funny he's mentioned Wilson because I didn't want to
go super quest love of hyper Bowl when I hyper Bowl, Yes,
I am hyper bowl. That's my favorite sport, hyper bawl.

(59:57):
No I happened. I didn't want to go full quest
love hyperbole when I wanted to pair their harmony game
close to that of beach Boys. Like, but that's how
tight and they were, and you can clearly in that
ship you can hear it. That's why you know. I agree. Okay,
I won't embarrass myself, but sorry about Robert Man. But

(01:00:19):
I mean, now that you say it, yeah, l A
has not been kind to a lot of greats. Um
there's the infamous uh Prince Rolling Stone uh show where
he got mercilessly boot. I mean, there's plenty of others.
So that's weird that you say that l A is.

(01:00:39):
I can I can imagine. I can imagine that. I
think it's for you. It's probably easy to do a
spot outside of l A where there's not the pressure.
Here is watching Detroit, Tulsa, Oklahoma. These are good towns
for us. It's collar town. It's like LSD. You can't

(01:01:06):
stop how to with you, Like, what the fun is happening?
Belt We're getting the contact? Yeah, I mean it's magic. No,
I mean it's it's it's like a sports sports towns,
the great sports also great rock and roll towns, and
the towns where you know, I mean, l A is
the worst baseball town in the world to this day.

(01:01:26):
We had heard for years the Cleveland was was the
was the best rock and roll town in America, and
I thought, really, how can Cleveland be? I had no clue.
So we played the Agora there and had this amazing gig.
And afterwards we're driving out of town in the bus

(01:01:47):
and it and it's a gray, kind of a dismal day,
and the skyline of Cleveland is not every pretty rough looking,
and I said, I said to the guys we had this.
I went, wow, guys, you know what the harder rock
and roll really is in Cleveland. I said, oh, my god,
that's a song harder rock and roll in Cleveland, And

(01:02:09):
and my that's the genesis of it, and the harder
rock and rolls in Cleveland. Alright, I'm working on I'll
work on it. And so but that was the too,
because I've been saying the harder rock and roll is
the beating that Initially I just thought it was the beat,

(01:02:34):
still beat, like still beating, still beating. The old boy
might be barely breathing. Okay, harder rock and roll would
still be ok. Thank you. And really what it's about.
It's about you know, the rock and roll business is
in the l A and New York, but you find
good bands everywhere, and good music is everywhere, and that's
what that's That was how vindicated? How vindicated did you

(01:02:57):
feel when they announced in eighty seven and that the
Rocket Hall of Fame was going to be because we
were all like what And then once they gave their reasons,
I was like, okay, okay, So were you at all
shocked at the reception of sports at all? Well? Yeah,

(01:03:17):
I mean, you know the thing is when I listened
to sports right as I realized then we were making
our records and this is eighty We made the record
in eighty two, releasing eighty three. So sorry what studio? Uh?
We cut mostly at the record plant and it uh

(01:03:38):
Fantasy Records and UM and a place called Studio D
and sas Alito did some overdubs air and Bob Clear
Mountain mixed it here at the power station right here
in New York. Um. But if you think about it,
eighty three radio was king, MTV had just started. There
was a big beef about how MTV wasn't playing any

(01:03:58):
diverse artists and all that stuff. But what they were
doing is they were following radio and records this playlist exactly.
That's why some of the tunes which your hits had
those horrible videos that they kept showing over and over again.
And then we have those. But it was a radio
world and there was no internet. There was no you
know none, no radio, no, no computers, no, none of

(01:04:20):
that stuff. So um, you we had and by then
c HR radio was the only format. You know. Radio
Top forty started with a guy in Fresno with the
advent of push button radio, a programmer, and Fesno figured
out that if with push button radios, if people heard
something they didn't like, they'd switched the channel. So the

(01:04:41):
idea was narrow your playlist Top forty, play the hits
over and over again so they never leave and and
and then FM came as an alternative to that with
all the the album cuts. But but within eight years
it was programmed and c HR was the or Matt
Contemporary at radio on Fever Radio, and so we all

(01:05:03):
competed for that format, which was a hit single and
if you did not have a hit single. You didn't exist.
So our job making our record was to have a hit,
and so we named six. Well that's it. We aimed everything.
We are looking at the but we animed every song
at radio and different. One was kind of a rocker,

(01:05:23):
one was kind of not a rocker. One was kind
of a little more R and B. But we knew
we needed a hit. We didn't know we're gonna have
six of them, but we knew we needed one. And
what's the beginning? What did you aim for, Like, let's
just have three top ten hits and a single a hit.
I tried to make everything I hit and and now
that I listened back to sports, it is an album
of its time. It's a collection of singles. It's one

(01:05:48):
song doesn't have anything to do with the other song.
I mean, finally found a home and bad is bad?
These are these are like different genres of music entirely
in a way. Our subsequent albums hold together much better
as albums. And you didn't, clearly you didn't think about
that as you were making this. It was just like
it was just a hit. It was just make a hit.
It wasn't like make I'll go one above MTV and

(01:06:14):
ask you, did you ever uh fathom in your life
that one day your song, uh specifically the harder rock
and roll would ever be utilized in a Soul Train
dance line? Are you even where the fact that you

(01:06:39):
guys have rotation on Soul Train for one year? We
really would? So here's the deal had taste, here's so
confirmed the deal four Okay, So Black People's relationship with
MTVS rather strange because of course, you know, Rick Rick
James had legitimate b was like, well, I've sold out stadiums. No, no,

(01:07:02):
I'm not on TV. So the thing is too watch
Michael Jackson videos. Um. Especially that most cable uh networks
weren't in the actual inner city. They were more of
a suburbia thing. So we would have to plan weekends.
So I would spend like a weekend. I just remembered,

(01:07:24):
like going to my aunt's house in in in Kentucky
and she had MTV. Yeah, and that's the thing most
of my weekends in eight four yo. Can I kest
been to night on Ontar and Uncle Juny's house, So
I would go to the suburbs was a suburb and
I would sit in front of MTV seventeen hours now, Yes,

(01:07:46):
to wait for those five rotations of beat It to
come on and Billy Jean. However, all that other stuff
is coming to me too. You guys are coming to
remember the pet Benet one where the Nazis are doing this. Yes,
Hells for Children. Yeah, so literally, like all this time

(01:08:07):
is Dolby and Nina, Yes, everybody, everything that defines MTV.
I'm I'm absorbing just so I can wait for the
Michael Jackson videos. But I'm after nine nine rotations of
this now I'm fans of them too. And the thing
was moments a Mirror. I just want to think the
whole audience is wait, That's why I know all this ship. Yeah,

(01:08:29):
we were waiting for Beata to come on every hour
and a half. So the thing is is that in
eighty four, I think Don Cornelius saw the paradigm shift.
So the first sign of it was during the during
the Tina Marie episode of eighty four, he showed everyone

(01:08:51):
remembers where they were before. It was like that time, no, no, no, well,
I'm saying they showed the wrap around your finger thing
and that was weird to say. And now from the
video world, one of the rock grades the police are
wrapped around your finger. We're like, we look at each
other like, huh, white people like this. So during the

(01:09:12):
run DMC episode of you Know, they were I mean
breathing breathing people. I get it. So the point is
that during the run DMC Dads Band episode they showed
the hard rock videos have been awkward. No, it was.

(01:09:36):
I mean then it was like, you know, I realized
that Don realized he had to play the game of
the day, and the thing was you had to amalgamate
modern pop inside your format. I mean some things were weird,
like I think once he tried to make Genesis Illegal
Alien work. But the song is like onm it's too

(01:10:01):
song to dance, it's too fast to dance to can't
do the whole line thing with that ship. So no
harder rock and roll got three for you guys to
be placed on the souldiering and dance line, which is like,
not that's prime real estate spot. That is some major ship.
You know about the dance lin did? I said, do

(01:10:22):
you know about the dancing? So you know, that's like
about it. I never saw a harder rock and roll
on soul. It is, but it's a thing. Trust me,
it's a major thing. It's crazy. Can you describe the

(01:10:43):
night of the USA for Africa? Jesus? Was it just
a routine stop for you? Wasn't? It was unbelievable. I
mean you mean we are the world right, Yes? Yeah,
it was unbelievable. I mean, you know, you can imagine
just you don't get to meet all those people in
in a lifetime or a career. And I mean, and

(01:11:04):
Ray Charles was there. I couldn't. I couldn't. I couldn't
even introduce myself to Ray Charles. Really, I just I
just hung back and watched him a lot of times.
I totally understand it was I was just I'm just
totally you know, Ray Charles. And then did you bond
with anyone there? Like, yeah, Paul Simon was crazy. Was

(01:11:28):
there anybody you were nervous to be around? Besides Ray Charles? Everybody? Well,
Bruce we hung out with. Bruce told jokes for a
long time. It was they letting nobody in there but
the artist for a long time, and it was really amazing.
So all your people had to stay in a green
room or agree room there with the things, and then
we're just it was just us and man, it was.
It was an amazing evening. How long did general background

(01:11:49):
vocals take to do for that session, because I know
you that you're one of the leads, but all the
background not long. How long did it take the record
in general? Oh? Yeah, we started after to the American
Music Awards, so that was probably eleven, well early in
l A, so six to nine. So we're there at
ten o'clock and we went all night and then the

(01:12:13):
Dylan's thing that he sang was in the morning, was
like six seven in the morning. We can tell it
looks he looks, so he looks like six am. So okay,
here's the thing. I mean, background votes probably done, tan,

(01:12:34):
I bet they were done by midnight or twelve thirty.
Were all saying the same part. He did all the parts,
and then we all sang the same part unison, and
then they put them together. So I would almost say
that your your A game has to be on point
because I would assume that it could be very timidating

(01:12:56):
to sing in front of all these people. So was
there it ways were like, look, okay, you got me
singing right after Michael Jackson. Can I just punch in
like punch it in or like it was funny because I,
you know, I'm nervous. My legs, my leg was shaking
my kiss I couldn't I couldn't stop my leg from shaking.
I was so nervous. And and of course we start

(01:13:18):
and Amburdo uh Gatica was the was the engineer, and
so they start boom, and they wanted to go one
full pass all the way around because they had to
bleed the microphones one down, one up and like that,
and with the ambiance and everything, so they didn't want
to punch and all that. They want to get one
full performance. So they started with Lionel and Stevie Wonder,

(01:13:41):
and Stevie's messed this thing up kind of almost on purpose,
just being cute and funny. So they stopped the tape
and then they go back and they started again and
again about halfway and al Jarole messes up. They stop
and they go back and and now he comes out
to adjust if like I said him, can you run
the whole piece so we can have a shot at her.

(01:14:04):
You know, I just Quincy just sang me the line. No,
he had Michael sing me the line. Quincy says, sing
it for me. I sang it he says, great again,
So I want to try it right, and and he
keeps stopping, and he keeps stubbing. But funny, we went
all the way through and uh then we finished and
and now Quincy says, Chrit's good. But I'll tell you,

(01:14:27):
let's do one more and Hughey, why don't you sing
a harmony with with uh? Cindy, He comes in, I'm
staying together. Okay, okay, well that's a creative choice. Yeah,
sing a harmony with what am I and I got? Look,
I'm looking at it, Stevie Wonder and you know what
I'm forget about. I'm gonna make up this thing. And

(01:14:48):
you know, so you know it worked out. I don't
even know what I did. I was so that vocal
wasn't concurrent, no pun, all the way through and when
we cut it, you know, Michael was right next to me,
and and he was he didn't miss a trick, man,
I mean, he, in his kind of little spacey way,
did not miss a trick. He knew exactly what was

(01:15:09):
going on. And so when I asked, humburdle, I said,
can you let it run? It throw so we can
run our lives. You went good, idea. That's good. So
now and finally we do this one past that's really good.
And now he goes and and Quincy goes, all right, good,
let's do one more. And we go one back to
one more, and he goes, and Michael urgently grabs they're

(01:15:32):
gonna save that, aren't they. I said, yeah, they're gonna
say that when he goes. That was one, I said,
I know it, it was one. Yeah. I got anxiety
just listening to Michael did not miss a trick man.
He was on it. How did you get how were
you picked as one of the solo people? I got

(01:15:54):
got than I got Princes line? Oh sorry, I did Siren. Well,

(01:16:14):
you know, I gotta imagine Print singing right before Michael,
that little dirty Prince. Michael tried to set Prints up
like remember, I'm gonna go first, and then you you
follow me upside Wow. Yeah, Remember Prince didn't show the
whole deal. I think he was just too nervous to
be around all those people. And plus he's the type

(01:16:36):
of person that has to have a complete control over
everything when he records. Yeah, so he wasn't about to
Michael had way too much. But the last minute, I
didn't know. I thought it was done and I'm over there.
Well we finished the vote. Great, come guy, gonna give
us this. Quincy wants to see it. And I came
walking back into the studio. He goes, smell he singing

(01:16:57):
the line. He called Michael, just singing the line. It's
Michael sings a line. I sing it. He goes, good,
you got it. And it was Prince's line that I got.
But also that line, it's fairly high in your range,
if I'm not mistaken. Were you afraid of that line
or were you just you felt it? What's that? Were
you afraid of the line because it's it's higher in
your range? I think I just went forward. Yeah, he

(01:17:18):
sang it. I sang it back. That's all you know.
I was so I mean, that is kind of like
a fog for me. I was so nervous. You can imagine. Yeah, yeah,
I mean there's your was Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, under Ray,
Charles dan Ackroyd, forget about it? Yeah? Wait? Was this

(01:17:40):
Stephen Bishop there too? No, it was someone somebody like
really odd was just like dan Ackroyd. He was the
odd one out because it was USA for Africa and
he's Canadian Waylon Jens Jennings. He did not have a
good time, really, he was he was upset. He was upset,
and he and he walked in the middle of the deal.
He split. Oh wow, serious, Stevie. At some point I

(01:18:03):
wanted to the background vocals to be in Swahili. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I hearing about that. So we we got we sent
out for two African gals who knew speak Swahili, who
could translate the background vocals. And when they came into
the studio and they and we're all stating around, they
stand there, Okay, now what does this say? This in
Swahi anyway? Something like that. At this point, at this point,

(01:18:30):
Ray raise over here, riggles ring the bell, Quincy, Is
that any good? You know? There was a break that's
sucking awesome. There was a break. There was a break
in the action. And now we're taking a break and

(01:18:53):
I'm just shadowing Ray Charles. This is what I did, right,
I just staying three ft away from just checking them out,
talking shadow But he now sits down at the piano
and starts playing this kind of blues thing and he
goes a Q remember this one. And he's playing like that,

(01:19:15):
and Quincy looks at me and he goes, you know, Lanta,
Richie wasn't even born when we cut that song. You
know they did in Seattle. It's pretty cool. Now I'm
now I'm talking to Willie Nelson over there, and he's
going He's going, hey, I hear you play golf. I said, yeah,
I just started. It's fun to do on the road.

(01:19:38):
He goes, yeah, that's what we do. I said, I
just you put your clubs on the bus. I said, yeah,
we put our clubs on the bus and we play.
Said yeah, that's what we're doing too. And we're talking
and Bob Dylan comes over, walks over and he goes,
are you guys talking about golf? He said yeah. He goes, wow,
that's outrageous. I said, no, no, Bob, now us Phil

(01:20:00):
Skyline was outrageous. This is just golf. Is this officially
the first time that you're meeting your peers or so?
Was there any bonding in your career to that point
with notable celebs like you weren't bff with or I mean,

(01:20:22):
you know, but Dylan wrote me a really nice note.
Man at the end of the deal wrote me, sent
me and he sent me a song. Really, he sent
me a song that I didn't cut, which is a
complete mistake. Dylan sends you a song you it did

(01:20:42):
somebody else end up cutting it? No, I never heard it.
I never heard it. So but he also sent me
a Junior Parker song. He was great. He wont me
a really nice note. He's smart, you know, Bob, Bob
Dylan is smart. So okay, I have a question now,
having joined uh Columbia House. Always always say that. Also

(01:21:08):
my education comes from the fact that I never sent
the records back when I got them at Columbia House.
So it's like, you know what, Combia, you want something,
you have thirty days, you have thirty days, and if
just never pay for them, that's what that's what. Oh
that the scamp. No, I didn't have hustle with me.

(01:21:28):
So that said, and having having all all of your
your your your records, I'm now noticing that with the
massive amount of units sold for sports, usually people figure out, Okay,
I'm gonna do the departure record like the opposite of it,

(01:21:48):
which I'm gonna safe for a small world. But you
guys actually decided to keep up the stamina with four
So how hard. Was it too live up to that pressure?
Like okay, now we're in the machine, like I feel
like breaking in his heart, but staying there is even harder.
Very very perceptive, man, you're very perceptive. Really, I actually

(01:22:11):
told him to ask you that, Steve, that might be true.
It isn't, and it is stop continue no, because it's rare.
It's I can name a few instances. I mean, so Richie,

(01:22:33):
try to follow with we cancelo down and dancing on
the ceiling with thriller and bad Sports for anyone else
does the departure record next? So what what was your
mind state of Okay, we gotta come back the same
or well this is because this is economics here because

(01:22:55):
in back in those days, you know, it wasn't it
was what an Internet and all that stuff. So if
you sold a big if you got a big record
at your next record was gonna ship you know, a
million units right out of the box. So the idea was,
hit them while they're hot, make your next record as
soon as you can, and no matter what, and and

(01:23:16):
that's and that's how you make it. But you know
we so we sold you know, ten million copies of Sports.
Well four was was already gonna go four million, no
matter what it was like. So that was a problem,
you know, because we we had and they were honest
for deadline one of them, and you know, you gotta
write the songs. It's hard to write, and so that

(01:23:37):
was a tough record to make for us. We were struggling,
and we wound up over here and in the power station,
finished fishing off under deadlines with two studios going and
singing in one and playing guitar the other and mixing
in a third. And it wasn't wasn't a fun record
to make, because you're right, we did it really too.

(01:23:58):
Just capitalize on our success, you whole. But I think
there's an art to not overthinking it. And that's why.
Now the thing is do you with with the with
the words that Brett Ellis wrote for American Psycho, did
you feel as though they were being sarcastic or do
you feel I feel as though he wrote that in truth?

(01:24:22):
As far as for being your most accomplished records in
the in the I thought he did it was amazing
what I read I heard about it. I read the book,
and he had these little dissertations not only on us,
but Phil Collins and Teena and he nailed it. I thought,
I mean, he was clearly a fan, and he was
he understood, you know, I mean I thought he did
a pretty critical job. And then they asked us for

(01:24:45):
the film, would would he uh, would we go to
use the tune? And I knew the book, I knew
the story and all that. I said, sure, what's William Dafoe? Right? Yeah,
I love William Dafoe and it's an art Christians male
And I said, no problem, you got it, and they
paid us and they got the song. Then what happened
was maybe a month before the song, before the movie

(01:25:08):
was released, they said to the manager, said they want
to do a soundtrack, and he said, well, great, what
that's gonna what's that gonna look like? And it was
it was hip to be square. I think there was
a Phil Collins tune and the rest was like source music.
It was like a kind of a crappy record. You know.
It wasn't gonna be a great album. The album, and
so my managers just to buy your record too, Huh.

(01:25:31):
It's probably best to just buy your album. So my
manager said to me, says, what do you think about this?
They want to do a soundtrack albums. I said, well,
that's not gonna be fair to our fan. I mean,
fans are gonna buy that for what for one song?
I mean, that's just do we have to do. They said, no, no,
well it's not a part of the deal. They just
they just mentioned it. I said, yeah, let's politely decline

(01:25:52):
what you did. So now, on the eve of the
release of the movie, literally, they send out a press
release that says that Huey Lewis has pulled his tune
from the soundtrack because the movie is too violent, trying
to gin up attention for the movie. Really, and I thought,
come on, fellas, please not cool? You know, not cool. Well,

(01:26:21):
let's go back to Back to the Future. Um, which,
by the way, can I say that I did not
realize that you had a cameo in that movie until
like a week ago. You don't know he was I
did not realize that was you. That was the idea. Really,
that just kind of disguised me. And that was the
mega sis. It worked. It took thirty years for me
to realize that. Because it worked. This guy was pretty good,

(01:26:42):
so well, I just wasn't expecting it to be you,
you know, with with how you treated music videos and
your your Hollywood looks, you could have been the Cluney
of videos. Well why did you not explore acting for
are In? Or? Were you loyal to the guys? And

(01:27:03):
I don't want to leave them out there? And we
were doing what we wanted to do. We were writing
our songs and selling out venues everywhere. Everything was great,
you know. And the video thing is funny you because
we actually did our own We did it. There was
an outfit called Video West in San Francisco. First video camera, ever, videotape.
This is brand new. This was brand new, and so

(01:27:28):
she said, we'll video a couple of year songs are
a song if we can show it on our Video
West program that and on cable. Cable was all this
stuff was new. I said, sure, so we and you
can have the video. So we shot the video. They
showed it, and the video helped us get a record deal.
And when we got the record deal and we had
do You Believe in Love? Was our second single and

(01:27:51):
now the record label decided im was the first single
off the that record of the second album. The we
and were by this point we were making our own rep.
We're producing our Records. We produced their second record, Picture
This ourselves and so, but they decided that we needed
a professional video, and so they hired an ad agency
guy to do the do You Believe in Love? Video?

(01:28:13):
And the set was all in pastels and Matt we
had kind of pastel shirts that we were kind of
matching with makeup, you know, and a little rouge on
our cheeks and stuff. This is the video where the
five of us are in bed with the girl and
all that stuff. And so they shot this video all
day and night. And now we go home. And now
two weeks later we go back for the playback, and

(01:28:34):
we go back into and at Christmas Records, and a
bunch of people from the record company, a bunch of
people from the video company, my band, a bunch of
our guys are probably thirty people in the room. And
so they say, okay, here's the new video, and they
share off lights and they play the video and my
I just sank. My heart just said I was so terrible.

(01:28:55):
It was just horrible. I just there was no direction.
The guy wasn't singing to the amorros he lose, he
singing to what's going on here? The whole thing was
a mess, I thought, and we look silly with a
rouge on our cheeks and all that stuff. I said,
this is horrible. Almost at Billy Squire out and I
remember thinking this is this is terrible. This is horrible.

(01:29:15):
And the video ends and everybody stands up and applause.
Gotta standing. So I thought to myself, anybody can do this.
We're doing our own records. We need to do our
own videos. So from then on we did our own videos.
And the idea was, don't ape the song, don't have
anything to do with the song. If the song ziggs,

(01:29:36):
make the videos agg don't tell, don't retell the story
and and just goof. And we did him in San
Francisco on different sides of Patrol Hill, almost just to
let the let the seagulls and the ocean, Let that
be the be the production stuff. Let let show the scenery,
and that was the theory. And we did a bunch
of them that way. We did one new drug if

(01:29:58):
this is it, uh, stuck with you? That is bad.
All these were done in the same manner, in the
same place. I got to interrupt you because I just
thought about something I can't I can't count the amount
of times I filled the kitchen sink with water, and
that is one of the opening scenes. If I want

(01:30:24):
a new drug, is you know, filling up the sink
with water and ice water, And I swipe that right,
I sti't wear Paul Newman Harper. The opening scene of
Harper and Paul Newman, he wakes up hungover with ice
in the sinks, his head in the ice. I never
was it cold, unbelievably cold, And this is what people

(01:30:52):
want to fucking not trust me. It was unbelievably cold.
It really was. It was cold. Um. I really wish
I knew you back early in my career, because this
is the second thing that I never thought about until
right now, that sometimes you should just make a video
for a song that has nothing to do. I never

(01:31:13):
thought of that. Whatsoever, we want to stay out of
the way of the song. I was always where I
always thought of, you know, why do we have to
retell this story? Songs tell a story? And I always
say much in the way a good book is better
than the movie, A good song is always better than
the video for the same reason. Damn never thought of that,
and it's now way too late, so can I can

(01:31:34):
why Aerosmith oar videos. We just never appear in our videos. Now,
so can I follow up? Yes? Um? So Nick love
with that back to your Future? So so with with um,
with with that theory of yours with the videos, and
now you're supplying songs to a movie. Did you use

(01:31:56):
that same theory like power of love is not necessarily
telling the same story exactly? Yeah, Steve. What happened was, uh,
Steve Spielberg, Bob Zamerica's and Bob Gayle asked to take
a meeting with us at Ambling at Ambling in l A.
We went there and took a meeting and Zamega said, look,
we've just written this film, uh called Back to the Future,

(01:32:20):
and our hero are lead characters, a guy called Marty
McFly and his favorite band would be Huey Lewis in
the news. So we thought, how would you like to
write a song for the film? And I said, wow,
I'm flattered. I don't know, I don't know how what
writing for film means. And I said, you know, I've
never written for film. Don't have any idea, I said him, besides,

(01:32:41):
I'm not too keen on writing a song called back
to the Future. And they said, oh, we don't care
what you call it, do. We just want one of
your songs. So I said, okay, I'll send you the
next thing we write, which was it was literally the
next thing he wrote after that phone call. That was
the next thing we wrote. Wow, really put them back
in time was written specifically they wanted another song for

(01:33:02):
the credits, and by then i'd seen the film. I
hadn't seen it, and so I wrote that, as you know,
specifically for that. All right, So my my over riding
question with regards to those songs that was elm there.
I mean, so we we understand that that they they

(01:33:25):
You got the cameo in the movie based on your
probably your video acting and your Hollywood good looks, as
quest Love pointed out, is attractive dude, And and you
can correct me if I'm wrong, but probably got the
gig for the songs because you were like the biggest
band happening at that moment. And and yes, I guess

(01:33:48):
Marty McFly would be a fan. Um. But but there's
something else going on, is something that makes you like
super perfect, and those songs like it seems like that
it's meshing in a way that's more than just a
regular match like it seems like like Verte the song
for the film but didn't not. Just like the combination

(01:34:09):
of you and Michael J. Fox and whatever they did
in that movie, it just seems like it's perfect. You know.
I have a theory about that, and I'm not I'm not. Uh.
It's interesting in that, you know. And Zamacha's always said
that he he always credited you know, power Love. The
song was released before the film, and they released the

(01:34:30):
song and it went to number one. It took it
takes like nine weeks or something to get to number one,
and then and so they released the movie when Power
Love was number one, and Zamacha's already uh, to this day,
we have a reunion sort of every five years, and
he says it was the best marketing come out ever.
You know, you got a number one song. But and

(01:34:50):
the interesting part about it is for me is that
the fact that it had when I when I wrote
the song, when we wrote the song and I sent
it to Zamacha's, I didn't think it was gonna work
for them because there was no love object in the film.
By that point. I read the script, at least I
hadn't seen it, but I read the script and there
was no I didn't think it was gonna work, but

(01:35:10):
they used it in the chase scene. And I think,
and i've I've I've thought about this subsequently. When when
a song is it's not when you don't retell the story,
it's it's a it's its own story, and it only
it only is relevant tangentially to the thing. Yet it

(01:35:32):
it becomes another leg for that whole thing to stand on.
In other words, it's better to have a song that
stands on its own. That's not exactly about the film.
It's better for the film because it gives us. You
get a good, strong song out of it. So many
times we write songs just for the film and they're
not that's all they do. The knowledge he's dropping it

(01:35:54):
it makes no sense, but all the sense it makes perfect.
It makes perfect sense to me. I've learned three I've learned.
It's like from this episode question of Supreme, like, what
do I have any other what he just said? It
almost it seems so obvious that you just kind of
like want to ignore it because it just seems obvious
that it can't be right. But you've proven that it's
because it's another contrast it's another leg of that, if

(01:36:18):
you know what I mean. There's it makes perfect sense.
So if someone asked you to write a song for
a film, now, what would you do if I had
to write a song for a film? Now, well, I
probably do the same thing. Just write him a song.
We have we have a musical that we're trying to
get to Broadway. We we just put it up in
San Diego and I wrote a new song for that,
and um, it was really kind of fun because it's

(01:36:42):
really fun to write for other situations than your own
right another voice. It's it's it's really creative and and
easy as opposed to writing for something that you want
to say. But speaking of musicals, how do you feel
watching people taking your songs that they're more or less
the same songs but in a totally different genre, and

(01:37:05):
watching like this, what if doesn't make you feel as
a songwriter? Very interesting? Good question. I I, Um, that's
why I that's why I engaged in this music musical.
I had a friend of mine, long story, they they
wrote the script and uh, and we got it all
up and then and I'm just I was worried about

(01:37:25):
how the songs are going to be handled and so
you know, I was very careful about that because but
our our musical director is a guy called Brian Yuseffer
who worked on Kiki Boots and a bunch of other stuff.
He's absolutely brilliant. He again went against type with a
song when the song was like like um uh you know, uh,

(01:37:48):
well hit me like a hammer, which is a man.
He had a girl's girls girls sing it and all this,
so how they're handled is super important, right, and uh,
and you gotta be careful that because it can be
a little silly sometimes. Sure, so you do you worry
about Do you worry about that? Because I'm coming from
I just got back from London two days ago, but

(01:38:09):
working on a jukebox musical of similar ilk and you
worry about songs that were totally masculine based, are totally
male based, switching them over or a song that was
a fast I think that's a good idea to be honest, right,
is to totally avoid whatever the zig when when the
when the original zagged. Seriously, I here's what I learned
from Peter Lewis zig fuck it go zag. That's a

(01:38:33):
lesson number two. Okay, keep going, Sorry, that's on the show.
You talk infiltratee then double gross that's Mike dropping. Okay,
so I know how how attached you were uh to
based on your press the Small World album, right, did

(01:38:56):
you feel by the way Rolling Stones worst album of
the year, Small World, worst album of the year. I
read that Rolling Stone? How does that sound? Did you?
Did you feel as though it was like is there

(01:39:17):
a fear of riding too high? And you wonder, okay,
is this overkill? Is this overkill? Is this overkill? No? No,
you know, honestly be four You're called you got me
on four? You know four was an economic thing. We
just rushed it out and tried to get capitalized on
our momentum. But the win is a win. They're still

(01:39:38):
hit at least, but because we had a couple we
had left or but after that we honestly and even
that even forward to a certain extent, since that time,
I have never done anything for commercial reasons period. That's
the deal I've made with myself. I said, look, you know,

(01:40:01):
you gotta stay pure to your just do stuff that
matters to you and that and then you can't go
wrong just you know, integrity. And so that's what Small
World was, what we were trying to do expand and
do some other stuff. And you know the best part
of that one is stand gets his soul. Yeah, I
mean he just killed that thing. And that's a kind
of a funny story because my dad was a jazzer,

(01:40:22):
you know, and so, uh, Zoot Sims died and and
so they had a tribute to him at at Kimball's
I think, or somewhere in San Francisco, and wouldn't Kimball's.
It was the old Jazz Cup. I can't remember it,
but now it was three yeah, maybe maybe. Anyway, my

(01:40:43):
old man loved all that stuff. So I secretly I
got tickets for for him, and I said, Pops, I
got two tickets for the for the Zoot Sims benefit
and stand gats and and uh, they had all these guys.
So now, Jimmy Jones, what do you So? Now we
go and we and they showed me too, and I

(01:41:04):
go and they go, oh my god. And my dad,
you know, he didn't know anything from me. He hardcore jazzer.
You know. He thought what I'd do is comic book stuff.
I love the house, though, didn't he at first he
paid no attention. And now we go and we get

(01:41:25):
the two seats and they put us down the right
on the island. Who's sitting right next next next to
where I'm sitting is Phil Elwood, the critic from the
from the San Francisco Examiner, who's a jazz critic. And
my old man knows all kinds of I mean, he knows,
he can tell you Jimmy Lunsford's band. He knows every
musician in chick Webs band. I mean, my old man

(01:41:48):
knows jazz, you know, and he loves it. And so
he sees Phil Elwood and Phil Thatllwood goes, oh my god,
Hue Lewis, And my old man goes, oh my god,
that's Phil Elwood. And he's recogned, said who he knows
who my kid is. So now he and Phil Ellwood
are talking and they're going about this and Jimmy Lunsford
and this bubble. And then I feel a tap on

(01:42:09):
my shoulder and I turned around and it's gets. He's
wearing his horn and he's tap it's the houses. It's
kind of early. He's wearing his horn and he taps
me on the shoulder and and and I go, I
look up. He goes, hey, Yue Lewis. Yeah, stand Gets,
He says, my girlfriend wants to eat your shorts. What

(01:42:37):
do you say to that? Right? So I said, well,
why don't you let me play on some of your ship?
You know what? I can play that ship too. Oh
my gosh, sure of course. Yeah, do you have a Yeah,
let me give you my card you wrote on you
wrote stand Gets wrote his phone number and put have

(01:42:58):
sacks will traveler and gave me the card. But I'm
a ride home. My old man says to me. You
know he's got cancer and he's not gonna be around
very long. And if you don't take him up on that,
I will never ever forgive you the record man that

(01:43:23):
it was? What kind of dad are you at this point?
With your dad given so much sh it happening like
your dad has been, Like go to Europe and off
from you. Don't forget to get stand Gets on your record,
because that's a real statement that people say, what my kids?
Can we get them on the next question, Girl and

(01:43:44):
a boy with stan Gets in my head. Stan Gets
is the most laid back cat ever because all his
playing is like that, Like if stan Gets on a
Huey Lewis record, you'd be like rocking. You get to
the sack solo and I'll be like, wow, wow, that's
on this record as well. Right, we had we had

(01:44:06):
to find out. We had to find a song, and
Chris Hayes, our guitar player, wrote this little jam and
I thought this would be great and first so we
we did a demo of it and I talked it
at first. I went all around the world. There are
people like you and me, from the poorest beggar in
the street, the richest king and queen, well the well

(01:44:28):
things wailing, and I was just kind of talking against it,
which is kind of cool, I thought. And then and then,
and that's all we had. And we and I sent
it to Ghets and he said, great, I'll do it.
So we made an appointment to do it. And then
meanwhile we put tower Power on it, and we had
all the tower Power horns on it, and I sang it,
I you know, sang it instead of spoken it. So

(01:44:49):
he comes up to do it at the session, comes
the studio DD just dry. He comes out, he puts
on it, gets his horn out, he goes out and
think he starts plainting, goes, oh my god, it's in
C sharp I'm it's how you know, C sharp for
for a for a tenor for you know? Is it concert?

(01:45:10):
So be concert? Really? Was it a B concert? It's
a whole step. It's tenor. I was a tender player
grown up. I wonder if we were whatever he said
says to me, it's a funny key or something like that,
and you can't key at all. It sucks. So and
I said, wow, I didn't think of that. What I
guess we could train vs O it or something. He says, really,

(01:45:33):
what does that mean? I said, well, we can slow
the tape down you play. He says, okay, let's try it.
So we tried to do that, and it sounded like
and so he was not that gonna He's just don't
worry about I'll just do it. He says, what I said,
you sure, He says, yeah, it's just a challenge for
super Jew goes out. You say that all the time

(01:45:56):
and all the time. Now now gets goes out and
and he starts the thing, and oh my god, clearly
he had shedded it and he was he was just fooling.
He had he had to shed it because he played it.
And and what was amazing is he starts his solo
and he's playing along real nice and and here comes

(01:46:16):
Tower Power Bump bump it butter, butter, butter. Let you
know these kind of lips and I and the big
one they goes butter. And so in his head he's
playing along bubba uh. But but and then then he

(01:46:37):
was but he uh. I mean, it was such a
musical lesson watching him react to when when stuff got busy,
he went, when was low, he got busy, I mean
he was. It was unbelievable watching him like one of

(01:47:01):
the great experiences of my life. I mean, those are
the most polar opposite things ever heard of. Tower of
Power and stands it's it's still And it was a
seven minute track, and I got the idea of splitting
it up and making it the first cut and last cut,
which was a complete mistake. Should have kept the whole
thing together. Yeah, because his solo on there, which is

(01:47:21):
part two, is the best musical moment on that record
by a long shot. I mean, it's just really cool.
He's just such a great player. I just thought about something,
and I know we gotta wrap it up soon. We
have one more question. You go, you're the boss? No,
because I'm about to go to movies. Okay, I forgot
you're in the Robert Altman film. Sir, you no, no, no.

(01:47:44):
I was like, you know, no, that's what I'm saying,
Like you're before that bullshit? Um and Mr Lewis, sir, uh,
did you ever funk with the chromatic harp? Because you're
such a dietonic car player, You're known for that like that.
You always carry on like eight different harp and different
keys and ship sorry sorry with a harmonic car. Yeah. Uh,

(01:48:06):
but I what I do is playing C chromatic in
D minor the third position. Why is that funny? Bill?
Can you explain it to the dumbies? I don't know
what you're laughing at. Okay, because no one would do that.
That's why it's interesting sometimes. So like, okay, so here's
what you know. So, like the average I'll explain this

(01:48:27):
in front of Hughey Lewis and I'll feel real funked
up about it, but I'll try so. So, uh, harmonica
has blah blah blah holes. It's in it is a
specific key, and it's diatonic means it's in a scale.
So it's like C or D or E or F
so most So let's take for a bad example, like
John Popper blues travelers carrying around eight hundred different harmonicas
and different keys so they can playing different keys. A

(01:48:48):
chromatic harmonica is like something that Stevie Wonder plays, which
has a little button on the side so you can go,
but you can always you can play all different notes,
whereas the other ones are just eight notes. Although unless
you're Howard Levi right, unless you're Wow, that was cut,
unless you're Howard Levy a great great artutes or like
one of these guys, all right, Leo would go real

(01:49:12):
deep anyway, So so so so Hughie is known as
not a chromatic player, but a guy who would Did
you carry around a bunch of different harps? Is that? Yeah? Okay,
so so so, Hi losing the news. Tunes are written
in an A and E and s are in C
minor like that's some weird ship, so you'd have to
adjust the harmonic you're playing for the song you're playing in.

(01:49:33):
So he would carry around Tell me if I'm wrong,
I'm gonna tell Hughie lewis his business while he's being
right here that like he would play He's had a
bunch of different harmonicas and different keys, and so if
you have a chromatic harmonica, the idea is that you
only would have one. Right now, you should talk, But
you have to be a much better player than I.
I mean you're but it didn't matter at that point.
I mean, like, no, you know, all you need is

(01:49:55):
the chops to say what you need to say. And
what is it that you want to say? You know,
where said there's there's hamburgers and there's fui g raw.
You know, I mean, so what really? Whatever? I mean?
You know, it's it's it's all creative. Yeah, dude, man man,
he's my spirit and can we have a time? Might be?

(01:50:20):
Might be the new? Wait? Did I just say that?
Oh God? Alright, wait, I just want to get to
movies while we have a couple of minutes left. He's
a miracle too, because we have to get to that. Yes,
we'll get to that. Okay, So with you? How did

(01:50:41):
you get the role in short I'm such a Robert
Altman fan. I forgot you were in Shortcuts? How did
you get that role? Good looks? Quest love that he's amazing,
good looks his Hollywood good looks. We um they you know,
I don't know how I got the I think it
was I think it was my eight. Bill Robinson was

(01:51:02):
an agent, and I think he was. He was he
was Alban's agent, and then he he he was a
fan of mine, and he said, look, I'll be your agent.
I said, well, I don't need an agent. I don't
do anything. He said, well, let me just be your agent,
just in cases. Well, so then he got me the
gig or the audition or whatever it was. And so
what I did. I went out to Santa Monica and

(01:51:24):
just talked to Robert Altman and he invited me and
he sat me down. He said, uh, you your your fisherman,
right you you flat fish? I said yeah. He says, cool.
He said, look, let me give you a scenario. He says,
two guys, three guys are going to go on a
fishing trip, he says, And they go on a fishing trip.
And they've been worried about it for like a year.

(01:51:46):
They've been planning for this trip. It's a big deal.
And they got to pack in all the way, and
they pack in all the way and they get in
there in the evening and they set up camp and
one of the guy goes to take a leak. I
was about to say, he goes to take a leak
in the river and sees a dead body, right, he says, uh,
And so what what are you gonna do? He says,

(01:52:06):
And meanwhile, the fish are rising like crazy and it's nighttime.
What are you gonna do? I said, probably fish? You
got the game. It's been a minute since I've seen shortcut.
Wasn't that full frontal? Who I remember when of you
taking a piss me? Was it full frontal? Full frontal?

(01:52:28):
I was gonna say, there was something about only for all,
but only for wait, remember there was something very unusual.
Oh that's right. You definitely have to face the camera.
You're taking a piss hub? Are you serious? She's really

(01:52:51):
probably know she's getting on porn hub right anyway? But
he would Yeah, and his favorite. You know. I was
telling them earlier that you were the only reason that
I saw duets I was I. I was a big
Huey fan. Yeah, sweet yeah, because I was like, he

(01:53:12):
was gonna be the star of the whole movie. Fuck yeah,
because I was your first biggest How did you? How
did you? How did the same thing I read for
the part with with Bruce Paltrow, you know, when his
dad directed it right, And then they they had apparently
tried to make it earlier with but they couldn't find
the right Ricky Dean, so with the not Huey Lewis,

(01:53:35):
and so they in the game. He uh, you know,
he cast me. And then they said we want you
to sing a song. I said, great, Um, he says
the song. The song in the script was song few
Leon Russell. Huh and uh, and they changed She's but

(01:53:56):
Gwen is going to change the song. That no problem.
So now I get the part. We're gonna film it
in Vancouver in like five months. But I get a
call that Gwyneth has chosen the song, uh, cruising. It's
just chosen a song. It's a Smokey Robinson tune. I went, great,
what smokey Robinson dude? Cruising? I never I didn't know.

(01:54:18):
I didn't know the song right. So I said, we'll
send it to me and we'll check it out. They
send it to me and said, okay, I got it.
Let's um. I called him Mac. I said, it sounds great.
Let's let's we need to get together around a piano
and pick a key. You know. Oh, no, we already
cut it. Really another we are in the world. Say
what key did you cut it in? They said original key.
I said, okay, So I listened to it and it's

(01:54:41):
super high, you know. So I fashioned this other part together.
And then we went down there and now we got
into the studio, Gwyneth and me and forty five other
people I don't know, like we've making people and camera
people and then record coming and Larry Klein for do
shit and he did a great job. And she just

(01:55:03):
sang her butt off. Man, she could really sing that girl.
It were you surprised it with number one? Yeah. You
know what they did is they messed up on the film.
What they should have done is the power power love,
release it, let it go abot then release the movie.
They released the movie and the song at the same time,

(01:55:24):
and the movie went and then two months later the
song was number one. Right, so his cruising did better
than d'angelo's cruising. Okay, that's very okay there, you know
it's d'angels was great. Just look at that Simpsons placement.
So he's cool he did. Yeah. Yeah, when there there's

(01:55:47):
I think like margin Homer riding around a car and
cruising was on the radio, kidding, how do you know that?
It's the Simpsons? Okay, Phil, it makes sense? So okay,
I do have to ask you, um with with having

(01:56:08):
trouble with your your hearing right now? When was the
beginning of you? This is weird because I just got
my ears cleaned out today? How does that happen for?
Was it just years of abuse so on your ear
drums or they the and the answers they don't know,
um recent right, this is like the last year and change.

(01:56:30):
It's not like you're actually diagnosed with some called Minire's disease.
It's first for me. It started thirty five years ago.
I got vertigo so bad I couldn't do a gig
one time. I had to go to the hospital and
then they gave me a thor zine suppository and then
I was fine. And then five years later had another

(01:56:52):
vertigo about then suddenly I lost my hearing in my
right ear, like maybe five years ago, twenty years ago.
I went to see my E. M. T. Guy says,
get used to it. I said, what whoa it happens?
You only need one ear? Said, what do you mean?
I'm a musician, he said, Jimmy Hendricks had one ear. Wait,
Brian Wilson had one ear. He says, I have one

(01:57:14):
ear and I'm in a barbershop quartet. I said, really,
so yeah, he says, you only need one. I said,
all right, So I went home. I told my wife
that I he said to get used to it. She say,
you can't do that. You gotta go to UCSF get
second opinion. I went and got tested up and down
it could. Nobody knows anything about this. So now, a

(01:57:34):
year and nine months ago, I lost my other ear,
went before a gig, just went deaf and um. I
have a particularly acute case of Miner's disease. Manier's disease
is a is a syndrome based on symptoms, which means
they really don't know what it is. It's um um.

(01:57:54):
You know if you have vertigo, hearing loss, fullness in
your ears, and tentatives. They call it many airs disease,
but they don't know what it is. I've been everywhere
from Stanford here, Institute House here, Institute, Mayo Clinic, UCSF,
Mass General ironeer no help. I've have chiropractic, I've had acupuncture,

(01:58:18):
low salt, all organic diet no caffeine, no chocolate, essential oils.
You know, I've tried everything. I've been to, the been
to all the holistically I've nobody knows it. And yet
my hearing fluctuates still, but it's episodic, it's weird. It'll
be okay for like for eight days, it'll okay, still crappy,

(01:58:39):
but it's and then I'll then I'll go a week
almost completely deaf, almost entirely deaf. What is that like?
Especially is you're forget music. I don't even think about music.
It's worse than that. I think about being able to exist.
Because when I can't hear speed each when I'm bad

(01:59:01):
right now one to ten, I'm a four. I've only
been as good as six ever and and i'm a four,
which is good. But I can beat one or one
and a half. When i'm one and a half or two,
I can't hear anything. And so I exist in a cocoon.
And it's it's it's it's okay. But you're better off

(01:59:21):
by yourself. So there's nobody not to hear. And I
read and I write, you know, I'm writing some stuff
and and that's all. That's that's what I do. I
haven't watched television in a year and nine months. I
haven't listening to music in almost two years. Oh, look
like the performance thing must be clearly issue then. But

(01:59:44):
like when you're at like a six, I was, I was,
we're watching your The teaser for your documentary is, is
singing versus harp playing different because because of the because
of the vibrations of the harp, can you feel it
in your head? Versus singing is different? No, it's all
the same. And in fact, instrument playing an instrument in

(02:00:06):
many ways, like harmonica is almost worse because you know,
when you bend to note, you need pitch and you
can't find pitch. When when I have a bass part,
which would sound bow bo bo bo bo goes to me,
it sounds everything through a blown speaker, and you have

(02:00:27):
to fight for pitch. You can't find pitch. Forget fun,
you know, like what a song is fun? You're in
the middle of it. It's just playing itself, you know
what I mean. You're singing or playing and it's playing itself.
That never happens once. If I'm a six and somebody
plays quiet cocktail piano kind of thing, I can almost sing,

(02:00:48):
but but the points moot because I can't book a
gig a month because I don't know what I'm gonna
be like, got it ship? Wow, boy, that's your casketball.
So you you got that done? That wasn't felt good
to make that happen, right, I said, you got a
brand new record and you got that done, so it
must have felt good I had. We had this. These

(02:01:11):
were seven tunes on our new record that we had
cut before this happened. And what I we were just
taking our own sweet time. We're doing shows a year
and trying to stay out of the limelight while we
make another record, just keeping everybody alive fingering. The longer
we stay away, the better if we're good when we

(02:01:32):
come back. And my band, we were as good as
we've ever been two years ago. We were still improving
and um. But now that this happened, you know, we
figured what and we were recording songs along with I mean,
some of these songs we've been playing for ten years,
you know, but we record them a little bit as
we went because we have lives as well, you know,

(02:01:52):
and doing seventy five shows, you don't have a lot
of time to get in the studio. But we had
these seven songs done. So now, when this happened, we said,
what the hell, let's release the song. So well, I
was gonna say, are you big on vacations? But I
guess living in Montana, that's sort of like your your
quiet place here. I mean, now, how does it feel
to slow down and just well, you know, I miss

(02:02:14):
I don't miss doing five shows a week, you know,
but I missed doing one. And I miss my guys,
you know, the camaraderie of of all that we did together.
I miss that. And and I feel bad for my
guys who you know, are gone, and and and the

(02:02:35):
fans have been great. I mean, the letters and stuff,
the support I get. You know, it's funny because you
do this stuff, you know, just day to day, and
you don't think about your impact or any of that crap.
I don't. You don't think about it at all. And
now that I'm not doing it day to day and
I get these letters and stuff. Wow, you know, it's
really moving to people with cancer, people who have you know,

(02:03:00):
we've lost people and all that stuff. How your music
consoles them and so on. So it's really a wonderful thing.
So I try to remind myself that I have in
spite of this, lots to be thankful for. You know,
there's always somebody up worse off. So amen. But you
didn't know you what the joy bringer, Hugh Lewis. You

(02:03:21):
know what I said. I said, you didn't. You didn't
know you were a joy bringer. It's funny because I'm
sitting here listening to you for the last two hours
and I was like, Hugh really doesn't understand the impact
of his music and how certain he's only a select
amount of bands or artists who can evoke such joy
that whatever you're doing at that moment when their song
comes on, happiness, everything just stops. And that's like sweet.

(02:03:44):
And prepping for this interview, you know, you go through
the go through the catalog, you know, and I'm listening
to songs and I'm like, damn, I haven't heard this
song in a long time. And then like, you know,
like Heart and Soul came on and happiest moments in
my life. Yeah, I'm like, I like I the song
came on and I vividly remembered, like I used to
sleep with the radio and when I was a kid,

(02:04:04):
and I remember that song coming on and it was
two o'clock in the morning when the song came on
and the first lyric in the song, yeah, it's two
o'clock and like all that ship just came rushing back
and then like um Jacob's Ladder comes on and like
fuck I remember driving down this riding down this street.
You know, it's just like you're the soundtrack of my
are Like you're very sweet to say that, you're very

(02:04:26):
very sweet and that means a lot. Really, thank you
very much at all. Thanks well on behalf of the
uh the Supreme team like you, I pay bills, Boss Bill.
The audience can see it. Sugarsty. We would like to
thank you so much for coming on the show. There's
been a major education. It's been wonderful and it seemed

(02:04:48):
like I went by like that. It seemed like five minutes. However,
board in Montana. You wanna come hang out with us?
You just come hang out with us, yea, yeah, what's that? Sorry,
anytime you're in Montana, your board because there's a lot
the wildlife, you can come hang out with us anytime
you want. Or if you're lonely, you just want us
to come over here. Yeah, like I got it. Here
we go y'all. Well, thank you very much and we

(02:05:10):
appreciate it. Before we before we log off, I just
want to ask you, as as the the boss of
all of us, can we have a couple of shows off?
That was a Hue Lewis reference horribly and I will
edit that out. You won't keeping that. We will see
you on the next go around, y'all the Supreme. That

(02:05:34):
one wasn't as big as hit as I will say.
That is one of my favorite who listened to new songs?
I thought it was a good one too. It's a
couple of days off. You know we're gonna have to
pay for that, don't anyway? Next around? Thank you very much.

(02:06:00):
M m h m h m hm. For more podcasts
from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

(02:06:23):
M