WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.140
Hey everybody, it's Bill Gibson with Huey Lewis

00:00:02.140 --> 00:00:05.139
and the News. You're listening to My Weekly Mixtape

00:00:05.139 --> 00:00:07.980
with Brian Colburn. And get ready, it's a great

00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:22.160
mixtape. I want a copy. Welcome to My Weekly

00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:24.859
Mixtape, a podcast that takes the classic mixtape

00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:27.960
approach to building a modern playlist. I'm your

00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.809
host, Brian Colburn. Growing up, my parents,

00:00:30.969 --> 00:00:34.130
I was blessed that they gave me a musical education

00:00:34.130 --> 00:00:37.329
through the artists and bands that they most

00:00:37.329 --> 00:00:39.890
resonated with. Which, for anyone who listens

00:00:39.890 --> 00:00:42.590
to this show, knows that I'm talking about groups

00:00:42.590 --> 00:00:46.869
like The Cars, Billy Joel, Pat Benatar, Tom Petty

00:00:46.869 --> 00:00:49.729
and the Heartbreakers, Styx, and the band whose

00:00:49.729 --> 00:00:52.409
drummer just so happens to be my guest curator

00:00:52.409 --> 00:00:56.009
for this evening. I am truly honored to welcome

00:00:56.009 --> 00:00:59.399
to the podcast Bill Gibson. drummer for Huey

00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:01.719
Lewis and the News. Bill, thank you so much for

00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:04.219
joining me on my weekly mixtape. Oh, you're welcome.

00:01:04.260 --> 00:01:06.540
My pleasure. I'd like to start by asking you

00:01:06.540 --> 00:01:08.680
the same question I ask all my guests. Bill,

00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.439
the word mixtape, does that have any meaning

00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:15.840
to you? Yeah, it reminds me of, well, the band,

00:01:15.959 --> 00:01:18.980
we used to make mixtapes back in the day, and

00:01:18.980 --> 00:01:21.459
my daughter, both my daughters actually used

00:01:21.459 --> 00:01:24.819
to make mixtapes to take to school. You put together

00:01:24.819 --> 00:01:27.920
a cassette with all your favorite tunes. And

00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:30.700
that's what a mixtape is to me. Well, tonight

00:01:30.700 --> 00:01:33.659
we are going to be making a mixtape of the greatest

00:01:33.659 --> 00:01:36.480
songs from Huey Lewis in the news. Now, to put

00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:39.879
that into perspective, in 2006, the band released

00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:43.400
a greatest hits album. that has 21 tracks on

00:01:43.400 --> 00:01:46.319
it. So right there, there are more songs on the

00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:48.879
band's greatest hits compilation than we are

00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:51.359
going to be including tonight. How hard was it

00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:54.140
for you, Bill, to put together a list of tracks

00:01:54.140 --> 00:01:55.980
that you're looking to contribute to the discussion

00:01:55.980 --> 00:02:00.280
tonight? Pretty simple for me. Really? Oh, yeah.

00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:02.980
I think I know the ones that have to be on there.

00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:06.219
And then, like you say, there's certain personal

00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:09.159
favorites that should go on. So we'll hash it

00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:11.669
out. We'll see what goes on. I'm excited to do

00:02:11.669 --> 00:02:13.370
that because this is going to be coming from

00:02:13.370 --> 00:02:16.710
the fan perspective along with the artists themselves.

00:02:16.889 --> 00:02:19.909
So let's get down to business. Tonight, Bill

00:02:19.909 --> 00:02:22.310
and I will be curating the ultimate Huey Lewis

00:02:22.310 --> 00:02:24.629
in the News playlist, and we'll use the old cassette

00:02:24.629 --> 00:02:27.289
deck approach. Bill, as my special guest, will

00:02:27.289 --> 00:02:30.349
begin side A with his first song choice, and

00:02:30.349 --> 00:02:32.729
then I'll add a song that I feel best follows

00:02:32.729 --> 00:02:35.270
up his choice. We'll then flip -flop choosing

00:02:35.270 --> 00:02:38.150
songs until we've mapped out 10 songs for side

00:02:38.150 --> 00:02:41.219
A. We'll then give our mixtape a proverbial flip

00:02:41.219 --> 00:02:43.879
and we'll map out side B, only this time I'll

00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:47.139
kick things off with Bill choosing second. Our

00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:49.340
overall goal for the episode is to craft the

00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:51.840
best Huey Lewis in the News playlist possible

00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:55.240
through only 20 songs. At the end of the show,

00:02:55.300 --> 00:02:57.360
you can take our conversation to the next level

00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:00.580
by visiting the episode page at myweeklymixtape

00:03:00.580 --> 00:03:03.240
.com, where you can give our final curation a

00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:06.210
listen via the embedded playlist. And if you

00:03:06.210 --> 00:03:07.969
like what you're hearing on the show, please

00:03:07.969 --> 00:03:10.490
consider becoming a Patreon mixtaper at patreon

00:03:10.490 --> 00:03:14.610
.com forward slash myweeklymixtape. And a few

00:03:14.610 --> 00:03:16.550
of the Patreon mixtapers chimed in with songs

00:03:16.550 --> 00:03:18.870
they feel should kick off the playlist, and I'd

00:03:18.870 --> 00:03:20.469
like to give a quick shout out to some of those.

00:03:20.949 --> 00:03:23.530
Patreon mixtaper Cactus Pete chimed in with Couple

00:03:23.530 --> 00:03:26.289
Days Off from Heart at Play, saying that album

00:03:26.289 --> 00:03:28.710
doesn't get the recognition it should, and I

00:03:28.710 --> 00:03:32.039
agree with that wholeheartedly. Patreon mixtaper

00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:34.099
Mally Hart chimed in with, while she doesn't

00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:36.080
know exactly what song she would start it off

00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:39.080
with, she would definitely end the mixtape with,

00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:42.460
if this is it. And Patreon mixtaper David Lee

00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:45.860
Smith chimed in with, I want a new drug. Elsewhere

00:03:45.860 --> 00:03:48.819
on the socials, people who follow me at My Weekly

00:03:48.819 --> 00:03:52.199
Mixtape on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok,

00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:55.319
and Spoutable also had a lot to say on this topic,

00:03:55.419 --> 00:03:58.259
with a lot of the listeners chiming in with songs

00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:01.280
like The Heart of Rock and Roll, Hip to be square.

00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:04.379
Working for a living. Do you believe in love?

00:04:04.819 --> 00:04:07.719
Jacob's Ladder and The Power of Love with some

00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:10.539
nods coming in for awesome tracks like Some of

00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:13.800
My Lies Are True, Buzz, Buzz, Buzz, Trouble in

00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:16.759
Paradise, We're Not Here for a Long Time, and

00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:19.720
many, many others. Thanks to everyone who chimed

00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:22.279
in on this. So Bill, with that, I'm officially

00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:24.579
pressing the record button on our mixtape and

00:04:24.579 --> 00:04:27.199
the floor is yours. Why don't you dive into which

00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:32.639
song you chose to kick off Side A? Oh, I didn't

00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:34.540
know I was going to have to choose number one

00:04:34.540 --> 00:04:38.339
on Side A. Yeah, opening things up. Well, I think

00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:39.639
we're going to have to go with Horror Rock and

00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:43.899
Roll. It was the first song on our biggest album.

00:04:44.779 --> 00:04:49.819
It's pretty much quintessential HLN. I can't

00:04:49.819 --> 00:04:52.699
think of a better one that really just says Huey

00:04:52.699 --> 00:04:55.139
Lewis and the News than that one. Could not agree

00:04:55.139 --> 00:05:00.000
more. Seven times platinum. This song, the heartbeat

00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:03.139
that opens it up. Was that a kick drum that you

00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:05.899
did in the studio or was that actually a triggered

00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:08.079
sound effect at the opening of the song? No,

00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:11.019
that was a Lindrum kick drum that I played with

00:05:11.019 --> 00:05:14.139
my finger. Okay, awesome. There's just something

00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:17.060
about that opening that just grabs your attention

00:05:17.060 --> 00:05:19.560
and immediately pulls you into the song. When

00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:21.720
you guys were recording sports, you were coming

00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:24.399
off of an album that did reach number 13 on the

00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:27.100
charts, which was Picture This. But that album

00:05:27.100 --> 00:05:30.079
was not platinum. It was gold. So did you have

00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:32.779
any idea the heights that sports was about to

00:05:32.779 --> 00:05:36.860
reach? No, we didn't. We knew we had a great

00:05:36.860 --> 00:05:39.589
album. And we had actually held it back from

00:05:39.589 --> 00:05:41.310
the record company because they were going through

00:05:41.310 --> 00:05:44.350
some internal struggles and we held the masters

00:05:44.350 --> 00:05:47.629
back. But when they got their business together,

00:05:47.850 --> 00:05:50.829
we gave them the masters and we knew it was a

00:05:50.829 --> 00:05:53.350
good record. We knew we had a lot of, and at

00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:56.509
the time, bands really need to have singles,

00:05:56.610 --> 00:06:00.329
hit singles in order to thrive in that environment

00:06:00.329 --> 00:06:04.160
at the time. So we knew we needed a hit. We had

00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:06.420
no idea we were going to get five hits off it.

00:06:06.500 --> 00:06:08.439
And we had no idea it was going to be as big

00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:12.639
as it was. But thank God it was. Amen to that.

00:06:12.779 --> 00:06:14.899
And following up the heart of rock and roll,

00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:19.480
I am a sucker for album opening tracks. And the

00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:22.300
albums that came out from the band between Picture

00:06:22.300 --> 00:06:25.540
This and Four, I rank pretty much equally across

00:06:25.540 --> 00:06:28.259
the board. Those three albums were literally

00:06:28.259 --> 00:06:32.509
the first 15 years of my life. And the songs

00:06:32.509 --> 00:06:34.430
on those albums resonate with me so much. And

00:06:34.430 --> 00:06:37.430
I'm going to follow up an opening track like

00:06:37.430 --> 00:06:40.089
the heart of rock and roll with the next album

00:06:40.089 --> 00:06:43.269
in chronological order. And I'm going to go with

00:06:43.269 --> 00:06:48.009
the opening track from four F O R E and the Bruce

00:06:48.009 --> 00:06:51.189
Hornsby written Jacob's ladder, which I think

00:06:51.189 --> 00:06:54.449
coming out of the heart of rock and roll, Jacob's

00:06:54.449 --> 00:06:58.810
ladder was, I want to say the heaviest rock song.

00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:01.980
from that decade of music now i know there were

00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:03.660
some songs that were faster and a little bit

00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:07.199
more punky from the first album in 1980 but jacob's

00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:10.180
ladder had this passionate hard rock sound to

00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:13.639
it that really set it apart from some of the

00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:15.800
other songs that went across four because four

00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:18.259
really did weave in and out of a lot of musical

00:07:18.259 --> 00:07:20.759
styles that the band is known for so i'm kind

00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:22.959
of curious was there some sort of collaboration

00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:25.399
between the band and bruce hornsby working on

00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:28.810
that song Well, we didn't work with Bruce on

00:07:28.810 --> 00:07:30.550
that song. Bruce actually wrote that song with

00:07:30.550 --> 00:07:33.709
his brother. Okay. And of course, we'd known

00:07:33.709 --> 00:07:36.629
Bruce for a long time and had played with him

00:07:36.629 --> 00:07:38.670
before. He'd opened up a bunch of our tours,

00:07:38.709 --> 00:07:42.329
actually, The Range, Bruce Hornsby and The Range.

00:07:42.670 --> 00:07:46.050
And we were looking for material and he said,

00:07:46.189 --> 00:07:48.709
well, hey, I got this one. And we listened to

00:07:48.709 --> 00:07:51.449
it and said, sure. So we changed it up a little

00:07:51.449 --> 00:07:54.500
bit from his version. And put the background

00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:58.920
harmonies on there. And it was more rock than

00:07:58.920 --> 00:08:01.800
his version, clearly. What made you guys decide

00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:04.480
that that was the opening song for the album

00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:07.199
for? I don't know. I think Huey did. I think

00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:10.399
I think it just made sense. Huey pretty much

00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:14.639
sequenced that record. Fantastic. Well, the floor

00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:17.199
is now yours to follow up the heart of rock and

00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:19.959
roll and Jacob's Ladder. OK, so you got two runners

00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:23.019
on. You got to get them over to third base. So

00:08:23.019 --> 00:08:26.360
you need a, a good number three hitter. And let

00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:35.740
me look at, um, I have a list of songs. And that's

00:08:35.740 --> 00:08:37.519
a, that's a, this is really a good question.

00:08:38.460 --> 00:08:41.639
So do you go with all the big ones right out

00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:48.440
of the gate? Maybe, uh, let's see. So we've got

00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:52.750
hard rock and roll. Jacob's Ladder. Wow, man.

00:08:52.830 --> 00:08:56.389
This is tough. There's so many songs. I know.

00:08:57.289 --> 00:09:01.029
There's so many songs. I'm going to go with Bad

00:09:01.029 --> 00:09:05.509
is Bad. Nice. What a great pick. Now, the last

00:09:05.509 --> 00:09:09.070
two times I saw the band was when the band was

00:09:09.070 --> 00:09:13.049
playing sports in its entirety. And to me, hearing

00:09:13.049 --> 00:09:16.600
that song in sequence. was amazing hearing that

00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:19.000
album and i love the little shtick that huey

00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:21.179
did at the point of the end of the side where

00:09:21.179 --> 00:09:23.019
this is where the album would stop and flip it

00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:25.679
over yeah such an amazing tour and such an amazing

00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:30.360
album to me bad is bad was always as essential

00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:33.019
to the sports album as the five singles that

00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:35.659
were released was that song always a fan favorite

00:09:35.659 --> 00:09:39.879
yes yeah yeah everybody always loved that gave

00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:42.940
me a chance to come down off the drum set and

00:09:42.940 --> 00:09:46.070
um come up front and would, you know, we'd do

00:09:46.070 --> 00:09:49.169
it during the acapella section of the set. And

00:09:49.169 --> 00:09:52.149
that was always a big crowd favorite. Fantastic.

00:09:52.190 --> 00:09:54.330
Well, I'm going to follow a crowd favorite up,

00:09:54.350 --> 00:09:57.809
which one that might be. This is a deep pick

00:09:57.809 --> 00:10:00.669
from the band for me in the four slot, but it

00:10:00.669 --> 00:10:04.389
is always been one of my top three favorite Huey

00:10:04.389 --> 00:10:07.490
Lewis in the news songs. I'm not sure if the

00:10:07.490 --> 00:10:09.429
band has ever played it live. I know it wasn't

00:10:09.429 --> 00:10:12.379
a single, but. I would love to hear more about

00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:14.960
this song. So this is where the selfish part

00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:18.179
of me comes in being a fan for 40 years and just

00:10:18.179 --> 00:10:21.139
loving this song so much. And it's from the album.

00:10:21.179 --> 00:10:24.039
Picture this. And it's the second track on the

00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:27.720
album. Tell me a little lie with the reggae vibe,

00:10:27.899 --> 00:10:30.600
the ska vibe that the song has. It really stands

00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:33.590
out because you guys don't really. hit a lot

00:10:33.590 --> 00:10:36.169
more of that reggae and ska feel until you get

00:10:36.169 --> 00:10:38.350
to songs like perfect world from small world

00:10:38.350 --> 00:10:40.889
down the road so i felt like this one was an

00:10:40.889 --> 00:10:43.809
outlier on the earlier albums but was a different

00:10:43.809 --> 00:10:45.990
side of the band then you take that reggae sound

00:10:45.990 --> 00:10:49.870
and you layer in these amazing background vocals

00:10:49.870 --> 00:10:51.389
which i know we're going to talk about tonight

00:10:51.389 --> 00:10:54.269
because that is part of what makes huey lewis

00:10:54.269 --> 00:10:57.190
in the news so special and so amazing was this

00:10:57.190 --> 00:10:59.919
a song that just Never got the push from the

00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:01.919
label or the band to become a single? Because

00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:03.620
I've always felt like it's just one of the strongest

00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:07.039
songs on the album. Wow. I'm shocked it wasn't

00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:09.440
a single. Yeah, well, you're the first person

00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:12.620
I've ever heard like it so much. Really? Yeah.

00:11:12.899 --> 00:11:15.480
Oh, man. Oh, no. I'm doing a disservice here.

00:11:15.899 --> 00:11:20.379
No, no. Chris Hayes wrote that song, I believe.

00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:24.080
And yeah, it was just kind of a filler tune.

00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:28.289
We saw it as a filler tune. We didn't see it

00:11:28.289 --> 00:11:32.049
as a single or anything like that. Wow. And for

00:11:32.049 --> 00:11:34.389
some reason, ever since I was a kid, I knew my

00:11:34.389 --> 00:11:37.710
band has covered that song. I love that song

00:11:37.710 --> 00:11:40.490
so much. It's easily one of my top ones. I'm

00:11:40.490 --> 00:11:44.389
blown away to hear that. Yeah. Wow. Great song.

00:11:44.730 --> 00:11:47.490
Well, following that up, you're now up for track

00:11:47.490 --> 00:11:50.730
five. So I'm going to go heart and soul. Yes.

00:11:51.129 --> 00:11:53.889
Yes. I'm going to stick with sports. I'm all

00:11:53.889 --> 00:11:56.320
sports now. But I'm going to go Heart and Soul

00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.799
because we had two up -tempo tunes to start.

00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:02.500
Then we had Bad is Bad. Then we had Tell Me a

00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:06.240
Little Lie. Now we have got to kind of start

00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:09.019
ramping it back up. So we're going to throw in

00:12:09.019 --> 00:12:10.879
like a mid -tempo rocker. And I think Heart and

00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:13.080
Soul is perfect. And that was a Mike Chapman,

00:12:13.179 --> 00:12:18.039
Nicky Chin song that Exile had done, the band

00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:20.519
Exile, and also the Busboys, a band called the

00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:24.659
Busboys. Yeah, yeah. And they pitched it to us.

00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:28.320
And we listened to the exile thing and came up

00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:30.820
with our own take on it. And, and it just fits

00:12:30.820 --> 00:12:33.860
suited us really well. So that's why that one

00:12:33.860 --> 00:12:36.120
made it. And that's one of those songs where,

00:12:36.179 --> 00:12:39.679
when I tell my friends who are casual music fans,

00:12:39.899 --> 00:12:42.259
but not music nerds like me, when I'm, when I

00:12:42.259 --> 00:12:45.360
explain that this is a cover song and they go,

00:12:45.419 --> 00:12:47.460
no, it's not. And I'm like, no, really. And you

00:12:47.460 --> 00:12:50.720
play the exile or bus boys version. They don't

00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:53.879
realize that the band really did take. which

00:12:53.879 --> 00:12:55.919
was already a fantastic song, but you guys took

00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:58.279
it to another level, which was why it was the

00:12:58.279 --> 00:13:01.799
smash that it was. Yeah, I thought so too. I

00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:03.500
thought ours was definitely the best version

00:13:03.500 --> 00:13:06.299
of the three, although I did really like Exile's

00:13:06.299 --> 00:13:08.659
version. Yeah, to me, that one's second to yours.

00:13:08.919 --> 00:13:12.440
And later on in our live performances, we kind

00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:14.620
of did the Exile. Exile had a little breakdown

00:13:14.620 --> 00:13:17.559
in their version, and we did that Exile breakdown

00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:20.940
live for a little while. Not long, but a little

00:13:20.940 --> 00:13:23.049
while. That's great to mix it up when you're

00:13:23.049 --> 00:13:24.830
playing the live show. Get some different changes

00:13:24.830 --> 00:13:27.490
in the songs. Yeah. I'm going to follow that

00:13:27.490 --> 00:13:30.129
up with one that I want to move up a couple of

00:13:30.129 --> 00:13:33.490
years. And I want to keep that little bit of

00:13:33.490 --> 00:13:35.210
a reggae vibe going. I mentioned this song when

00:13:35.210 --> 00:13:36.929
I was talking about Tell Me a Little Lie. Now,

00:13:36.990 --> 00:13:39.870
this one was a big hit for the band. And it's

00:13:39.870 --> 00:13:41.629
one where the horn section is really prominent.

00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:45.279
In a time in music where horn sections were becoming

00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:48.460
less and less on modern radio. This was the late

00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:50.899
80s. And I'm going to go off Small World and

00:13:50.899 --> 00:13:52.899
go with Perfect World, which was a staple of

00:13:52.899 --> 00:13:55.320
the band's live shows all the way through the

00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:58.059
last time I saw the band play. This song has

00:13:58.059 --> 00:14:02.200
always been to me an important part of the band's

00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:04.740
catalog because it's one of those songs where

00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:08.240
Huey Lewis and the News was big with sports and

00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:10.639
they had other hits. And every time the band

00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:13.970
put out new music. it always felt relevant no

00:14:13.970 --> 00:14:16.210
matter what the scene changes were happening,

00:14:16.389 --> 00:14:19.049
what was on popular radio. There was always a

00:14:19.049 --> 00:14:21.309
way that the band found a way to fit in. And

00:14:21.309 --> 00:14:24.009
I feel like the way pop music was in the late

00:14:24.009 --> 00:14:26.889
eighties, this song just seamlessly fit into

00:14:26.889 --> 00:14:29.350
top 40 radio. And I'm curious, was that something

00:14:29.350 --> 00:14:32.649
that the band went into working on albums thinking

00:14:32.649 --> 00:14:34.669
about, or was it more, we're just going to write

00:14:34.669 --> 00:14:37.250
what we feel as a group and how it plays out.

00:14:37.289 --> 00:14:40.620
It plays out. Well, um, Our good friend Alex

00:14:40.620 --> 00:14:43.799
Call wrote that song. Alex was a member of the

00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:46.879
band Clover here in Marin County that Sean and

00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:51.419
Huey were members of. And Alex wrote that song

00:14:51.419 --> 00:14:54.679
and pitched it to us. And we loved it. We just

00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:56.519
thought, man, that's great. And we worked it

00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:59.419
up at rehearsal and it just totally came together.

00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:02.100
We got the Tower of Power horns to play horns

00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:05.860
on it. So bingo, you know, it's going to sound

00:15:05.860 --> 00:15:10.679
big. Yeah, we all loved it. We just thought it

00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:12.940
was great. And we actually opened that small

00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:16.379
world tour with Perfect World. An infectious,

00:15:16.659 --> 00:15:19.840
soaring chorus, amazing Tower of Power horn section,

00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:22.720
and a live staple throughout the decades. I feel

00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:25.799
like it needs to be discussed on this list. Yeah.

00:15:26.100 --> 00:15:29.399
And now, Bill, I am turning it over to you for

00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:33.379
our next pick. So I think I'm going to go, where

00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:36.019
are we at? We have six now? We're on track seven.

00:15:36.179 --> 00:15:40.919
Track seven. Well, I got to stick with sports

00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:43.559
and go with New Drug. Or does that come down

00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:46.840
more down the line? No, I'm going to hold off

00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:49.860
on New Drug. Okay. This is going to be a deep

00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:52.620
cut for me. It's going to be Small World Part

00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:56.580
Two. Nice. Sticking with the same album. The

00:15:56.580 --> 00:15:59.700
Stan Getz sax solo with Tower of Power. And it

00:15:59.700 --> 00:16:03.539
is just, I was there when Stan came in to do

00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:10.399
the track. He came in and he listened to it.

00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:13.340
We sent him a copy to listen to at home. So we

00:16:13.340 --> 00:16:14.559
already knew what he was going to be playing

00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:17.980
over. And he came in and he did one pass. And

00:16:17.980 --> 00:16:20.840
then he did another pass. And that was it. And

00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:24.870
I think we took half of the first. track or part

00:16:24.870 --> 00:16:27.470
of the first take and most of the second take

00:16:27.470 --> 00:16:29.809
or vice versa. Can't remember exactly how that

00:16:29.809 --> 00:16:32.570
went, but I know we used most of one take and

00:16:32.570 --> 00:16:35.629
a small piece of the other take. And it was magic,

00:16:35.710 --> 00:16:38.210
man. I mean, it was just magic. And that's one

00:16:38.210 --> 00:16:40.370
of my favorite things we've ever done as a band.

00:16:40.590 --> 00:16:43.190
I was just going to say to have a jazz legend

00:16:43.190 --> 00:16:47.730
of that level put his stamp on one of the band's

00:16:47.730 --> 00:16:51.049
songs where jazz music and rock music really

00:16:51.049 --> 00:16:55.460
didn't fuse together a lot. in pop music i think

00:16:55.460 --> 00:16:58.460
of this and i also think of when it's stock perlman

00:16:58.460 --> 00:17:01.840
played violin on billy joel's the down easter

00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:04.480
alexa it didn't happen often but when it did

00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:07.359
it made for big musical moments and to me this

00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:09.880
is definitely one of those oh yeah that's that's

00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:14.359
um i i think in my opinion or you know for me

00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:17.599
and my career that was a definite milestone of

00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:20.680
my career and a high point awesome well i'm going

00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:23.029
to take your cue from Cause you were thinking

00:17:23.029 --> 00:17:25.170
about sticking with sports and I'm going to dive

00:17:25.170 --> 00:17:28.190
off of sports for one of my favorite songs from

00:17:28.190 --> 00:17:31.410
the band. And also something that we haven't

00:17:31.410 --> 00:17:34.269
talked about yet. The band's music videos, because

00:17:34.269 --> 00:17:38.519
that is where I, I am the. product i guess of

00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:41.640
an mtv generation i grew up watching these videos

00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:44.460
and this is how i spent a lot of my childhood

00:17:44.460 --> 00:17:48.339
just sitting glued to mtv all day back when mtv

00:17:48.339 --> 00:17:51.059
did play nothing but music videos and i'm gonna

00:17:51.059 --> 00:17:54.799
go with if this is it yeah i have to ask that

00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:58.000
video what was it like being buried in the sand

00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.859
and recording that because that is an iconic

00:18:01.859 --> 00:18:06.259
80s video moment yeah well it was sweltering

00:18:06.890 --> 00:18:09.450
And the makeup people, I just remember being

00:18:09.450 --> 00:18:12.250
in there for maybe an hour and a half or so.

00:18:12.349 --> 00:18:14.930
And the makeup people had to keep coming by and

00:18:14.930 --> 00:18:17.490
wiping the sweat off our faces because it was

00:18:17.490 --> 00:18:21.549
sweltering. That was filmed on the Santa Cruz

00:18:21.549 --> 00:18:24.990
beach. And yeah, it was a hot day and we were

00:18:24.990 --> 00:18:29.920
pretty miserable. Well, you didn't show it in

00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:33.160
the music video, if that helps. No, music videos

00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:35.240
were always a chore to do. It was a lot of hurry

00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:38.599
up and wait. And, you know, some of them were

00:18:38.599 --> 00:18:40.579
fun, some of them were not fun. That was kind

00:18:40.579 --> 00:18:45.319
of a fun one, but it was hard work. But we enjoyed

00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:48.059
it. We were having fun. And the vibe from that

00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:51.519
song, growing up with my parents, who my dad

00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:54.079
also, along with the rock music I listened to,

00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:57.799
he used to rebuild. cars when i was growing up

00:18:57.799 --> 00:19:01.480
so we would go to a lot of 50s car shows and

00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:03.599
i would listen to a lot of doo -wop music and

00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:06.859
a lot of the 50s and 60s golden oldies if you

00:19:06.859 --> 00:19:09.279
want to call them that and i always felt like

00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:14.259
the chorus to this song was almost an homage

00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:18.000
to that doo -wop sound with a modern twist is

00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.259
that a wrong way to interpret what you guys were

00:19:20.259 --> 00:19:22.460
going for on that song no i know i think that's

00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:24.819
pretty accurate uh you know johnny cola wrote

00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:28.210
the song And actually, Johnny's influence for

00:19:28.210 --> 00:19:30.450
that song was Sly and the Family Stone. Oh, wow.

00:19:30.730 --> 00:19:33.230
Caught Fun in the Summertime. Okay. And it was

00:19:33.230 --> 00:19:36.029
a summertime song. He had played with Sly Stone,

00:19:36.250 --> 00:19:40.470
Johnny. And so his influence was caught fun in

00:19:40.470 --> 00:19:45.029
the summertime. You know, the 12 -8. Yeah. And

00:19:45.029 --> 00:19:47.289
he wrote it. And he actually wrote it as Who

00:19:47.289 --> 00:19:50.210
Rocked, Who Rolled, which I never understood.

00:19:50.289 --> 00:19:54.890
But that was his chorus. Who Rocked. who rolled

00:19:54.890 --> 00:19:57.509
so he changed it to what what what do we end

00:19:57.509 --> 00:20:04.349
up with i can't remember so it really was kind

00:20:04.349 --> 00:20:07.069
of a doo -wop and johnny loves doo -wop as as

00:20:07.069 --> 00:20:08.829
is evident in all his other vocal arrangements

00:20:08.829 --> 00:20:12.309
so yeah but the real inspiration was sly stone

00:20:12.309 --> 00:20:14.890
on that song wow that's awesome i didn't know

00:20:14.890 --> 00:20:17.690
that see this is the reason i do this show is

00:20:17.690 --> 00:20:20.910
to find out little tidbits like that sure So

00:20:20.910 --> 00:20:23.930
now I'm tossing the mic back to you for track

00:20:23.930 --> 00:20:27.769
nine here. Last song for you on side A. Okay.

00:20:28.609 --> 00:20:33.210
I'm going to go with a very little known track

00:20:33.210 --> 00:20:36.329
that's on our new album, Weather. It's called

00:20:36.329 --> 00:20:41.349
One of the Boys. And it was written by Johnny

00:20:41.349 --> 00:20:45.569
and James Hera and Huey. They wrote it for Willie

00:20:45.569 --> 00:20:49.180
Nelson and pitched it to Willie Nelson. And we

00:20:49.180 --> 00:20:51.940
never heard back from it. And when we were getting

00:20:51.940 --> 00:20:53.940
ready to put that album together, I thought,

00:20:54.019 --> 00:20:56.400
so nobody's ever done One of the Boys, huh? No,

00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:58.319
nobody's ever done that. I said, we need to do

00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:02.140
that. That is perfect for our band. It's the

00:21:02.140 --> 00:21:05.660
right lyric for Huey. It was perfect for our

00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:07.599
band. And actually, I was the one who got it

00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:11.900
so that we put it on the album. And I mean...

00:21:12.109 --> 00:21:14.369
Now, looking back on the career and that we can't

00:21:14.369 --> 00:21:17.210
tour anymore, it's very prescient. And, you know,

00:21:17.230 --> 00:21:19.730
and it's kind of bittersweet listening to it

00:21:19.730 --> 00:21:22.930
for me now, you know, playing with my friends

00:21:22.930 --> 00:21:25.970
till the music ends. One of the boys. So it's

00:21:25.970 --> 00:21:29.390
it's it's got a lot of meaning for me. And I

00:21:29.390 --> 00:21:30.970
think it has a lot of meaning for everybody else

00:21:30.970 --> 00:21:33.750
in the band. That's amazing. I love that song.

00:21:33.829 --> 00:21:36.569
And to me, I'm a big country fan as well. Something

00:21:36.569 --> 00:21:39.849
that I developed in the 90s and throughout becoming.

00:21:39.890 --> 00:21:43.009
And it was the last thing I expected to close

00:21:43.009 --> 00:21:45.730
the album out. And I was blown away by it because

00:21:45.730 --> 00:21:47.670
it was a side of the band that I'd never heard.

00:21:47.910 --> 00:21:51.369
I've heard R &B stylings. I've heard doo -wop.

00:21:51.430 --> 00:21:54.529
I've heard rock. I've heard reggae. Never did

00:21:54.529 --> 00:21:57.769
I hear a country, almost bluegrass Americana

00:21:57.769 --> 00:22:00.819
influence. Listening to that song, I said, wow,

00:22:00.900 --> 00:22:03.019
they could have did an entire country album and

00:22:03.019 --> 00:22:06.200
it would so work. A honky tonk blues on sports.

00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:09.599
True. Yes. But to this level, I feel like one

00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:12.640
of the boys was even more leaning into, like

00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:14.799
you said, it was written for Willie Nelson. So

00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:18.619
that old style hinge. Yes. Yeah, I agree. All

00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:21.039
right. So closing outside a, I'm going to go

00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:25.660
with a chart topper, massive hit. One of the

00:22:25.660 --> 00:22:27.799
biggest songs of the band's career, because this

00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:30.140
is the only time I get to close out a side. So

00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:31.680
I want to do something with a little bit of a

00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:36.619
statement. And to me, as an 80s kid, I probably

00:22:36.619 --> 00:22:39.799
watched no movie more than Back to the Future

00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:42.200
growing up. And I'm going to go with The Power

00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:45.019
of Love to close out the side. I was going to

00:22:45.019 --> 00:22:46.500
go with that for the start of the second side.

00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:49.740
OK, so there you go. See, so we're very close.

00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:54.720
To me, this song is just. 80s rock perfection,

00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:59.099
the keyboard, everything about it. I was shocked

00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:01.920
it never made it did end up making copies of

00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:05.079
four on international editions, but it was mainly

00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:07.259
recorded for the soundtrack. And I know there

00:23:07.259 --> 00:23:10.339
was a lot of stuff going on with the band and

00:23:10.339 --> 00:23:12.839
soundtracks prior to the power of love because

00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:16.299
of the whole I want a new drug Ghostbusters situation.

00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:21.940
Was the band still concerned stepping into. back

00:23:21.940 --> 00:23:24.160
to the future to give two songs after everything

00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:27.160
that had just went down in the years prior not

00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:30.480
at all not at all uh you know ghostbusters was

00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:35.539
found to have been a copy of new drug so it wasn't

00:23:35.539 --> 00:23:38.380
we did nothing wrong when we wrote a song that

00:23:38.380 --> 00:23:42.119
that you know was pretty much stolen from us

00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:45.859
so um we you know we knew this was it was all

00:23:45.859 --> 00:23:50.259
original I think Alex Call wrote a little bit

00:23:50.259 --> 00:23:52.819
of that. And Johnny and Chris wrote Power of

00:23:52.819 --> 00:23:58.059
Love. Huey wrote The Words. And that was, I mean,

00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:02.539
I agree. It's pop perfection. It really is. Our

00:24:02.539 --> 00:24:06.740
biggest song, Easily. And just a great song with

00:24:06.740 --> 00:24:11.420
great playing on it. Chris's guitar solo is fabulous.

00:24:12.299 --> 00:24:16.490
Just the whole vibe was perfect. Absolutely love

00:24:16.490 --> 00:24:20.710
it. And that, folks, closes out side A of our

00:24:20.710 --> 00:24:23.130
ultimate Huey Lewis in the news mixtape, which

00:24:23.130 --> 00:24:25.509
kicked off with The Heart of Rock and Roll from

00:24:25.509 --> 00:24:29.309
Sports, Jacob's Ladder from Four, Bad is Bad

00:24:29.309 --> 00:24:32.210
from Sports, Tell Me a Little Lie from Picture

00:24:32.210 --> 00:24:35.869
This, Heart and Soul from Sports, Perfect World

00:24:35.869 --> 00:24:39.109
from Small World, and then Small World Part Two

00:24:39.109 --> 00:24:42.170
from the same album. If This Is It from Sports,

00:24:42.450 --> 00:24:45.650
One of the Boys from Weather, and the power of

00:24:45.650 --> 00:24:47.789
love from the Back to the Future soundtrack.

00:24:48.210 --> 00:24:51.329
Be sure to visit MyWeeklyMixtape .com to hear

00:24:51.329 --> 00:24:54.329
all the songs we've discussed in this mix through

00:24:54.329 --> 00:24:57.609
the playlist embedded on the episode page. Now,

00:24:57.630 --> 00:25:00.549
Bill, I'm a massive fan of cover songs, and I'd

00:25:00.549 --> 00:25:02.089
like to ask a question that I've been trying

00:25:02.089 --> 00:25:04.569
to figure out for the better part of a few decades

00:25:04.569 --> 00:25:08.250
now. On the duet soundtrack, Huey recorded the

00:25:08.250 --> 00:25:10.450
cover of Smokey Robinson's Cruisin' with Gwyneth

00:25:10.450 --> 00:25:13.329
Paltrow, and it became a massive hit. And it

00:25:13.329 --> 00:25:16.509
was featured on the band's 2006 Greatest Hits

00:25:16.509 --> 00:25:19.710
album, but credited to just Huey and Gwyneth

00:25:19.710 --> 00:25:21.890
Paltrow. Was that something that the news actually

00:25:21.890 --> 00:25:24.190
played on, or was that a house band for the soundtrack?

00:25:24.750 --> 00:25:27.549
That had nothing to do with the news. Zero. No

00:25:27.549 --> 00:25:30.609
one in the news participated. Okay. That was

00:25:30.609 --> 00:25:33.470
some deal down in L .A. that they asked Huey

00:25:33.470 --> 00:25:36.470
to do and duet with Gwyneth. Got it. Got it.

00:25:36.490 --> 00:25:38.789
Well, one thing the band was never shy about

00:25:38.789 --> 00:25:41.450
was paying homage to the songs that influenced

00:25:41.450 --> 00:25:44.450
you guys musically as a band, such as the Four

00:25:44.450 --> 00:25:47.029
Chords and Several Years Ago album, which is

00:25:47.029 --> 00:25:51.230
an homage to 50s and 60s R &B, as well as 2010's

00:25:51.230 --> 00:25:54.150
Soulsville album, which is a tribute to the amazing

00:25:54.150 --> 00:25:57.730
Stack Records catalog. With that said, what are

00:25:57.730 --> 00:26:00.190
some of your favorite covers that the band has

00:26:00.190 --> 00:26:05.289
recorded over the years personally for you? Function

00:26:05.289 --> 00:26:09.410
at the Junction, which was on four chords. Some

00:26:09.410 --> 00:26:11.210
Kind of Wonderful was great. It was kind of semi

00:26:11.210 --> 00:26:14.789
-hit for us, but it's all right. The J .J. Jackson

00:26:14.789 --> 00:26:21.609
tune. There's a song, there's a fast blues shuffle,

00:26:21.690 --> 00:26:24.049
and I can't remember what was the name of that

00:26:24.049 --> 00:26:28.089
song on four chords. It's right at the end. I

00:26:28.089 --> 00:26:29.730
think it might be the last song on the album.

00:26:29.970 --> 00:26:32.349
Are we talking about Going Down Slow? Going Down

00:26:32.349 --> 00:26:34.670
Slow, yeah. That's one of the best things we

00:26:34.670 --> 00:26:38.309
ever recorded, in my opinion. Yeah. Great. Chris

00:26:38.309 --> 00:26:42.950
plays his ass off on that. And it's a grooving

00:26:42.950 --> 00:26:46.170
track, man. I just love that. It really is. It's

00:26:46.170 --> 00:26:48.750
a fantastic one. And now that last question I

00:26:48.750 --> 00:26:50.490
asked you, I want to flip it. Sure. Because a

00:26:50.490 --> 00:26:53.150
lot of bands have covered. Huey Lewis and the

00:26:53.150 --> 00:26:56.029
new songs over the years, be it punk renditions

00:26:56.029 --> 00:26:59.230
like a newfound glories cover of the power of

00:26:59.230 --> 00:27:01.589
love all the way to comedic parodies like Weird

00:27:01.589 --> 00:27:04.089
Al Yankovic's. I want a new duck. What does it

00:27:04.089 --> 00:27:07.309
mean to you when other bands or artists either

00:27:07.309 --> 00:27:09.990
reimagine or cover songs from your catalog of

00:27:09.990 --> 00:27:14.390
songs? Well, it's imitation is the greatest form

00:27:14.390 --> 00:27:17.250
of flattery, isn't it? Yeah, it's a compliment.

00:27:17.769 --> 00:27:19.849
It makes me feel proud that we did something

00:27:19.849 --> 00:27:22.990
that someone else would want to redo. You know,

00:27:22.990 --> 00:27:25.250
what was your thought the first time you heard?

00:27:25.329 --> 00:27:27.829
I want a new duck. Wasn't that I want a new truck

00:27:27.829 --> 00:27:30.589
or was that I want a new duck. I want a new duck.

00:27:30.670 --> 00:27:36.470
Yes. I don't know that I heard it much. I can't

00:27:36.470 --> 00:27:38.910
remember the words or anything like that. So

00:27:38.910 --> 00:27:42.079
I don't know. I guess I thought it was funny,

00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:44.339
but I thought, Oh, here's some guy kind of grifting

00:27:44.339 --> 00:27:47.059
off other people's hits. Cause he used to do

00:27:47.059 --> 00:27:51.619
it so close to like, he had to eat it like just

00:27:51.619 --> 00:27:54.500
a month or two after beat. It was a huge hit,

00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:57.480
you know? And so it was almost too close to the

00:27:57.480 --> 00:28:00.779
hit, you know? Got it. But, um, you know, funny,

00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:03.500
certainly funny. Especially for a kid at the

00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:05.880
time who was seven, eight years old. And my parents

00:28:05.880 --> 00:28:08.400
were huge Huey Lewis and the news fans. Hearing

00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:10.359
that, I was like, hey, dad, you got to check

00:28:10.359 --> 00:28:13.759
this out. He's a very creative guy, Weird Al.

00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:16.779
Yeah, definitely. Well, now we're going to dive

00:28:16.779 --> 00:28:20.220
into side B and I am going to kick things off.

00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:22.859
And I want to go back to start the side off because

00:28:22.859 --> 00:28:25.299
we use the heart of rock and roll and Jacob's

00:28:25.299 --> 00:28:28.900
Ladder as the first two songs on side A. And

00:28:28.900 --> 00:28:30.579
I'm trying to think of what songs would really

00:28:30.579 --> 00:28:32.880
kick off a side well. And I want to go all the

00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:36.460
way back to the beginning to 1980s self -titled

00:28:36.460 --> 00:28:38.019
album. And I want to go with the opening track

00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:41.180
again. Some of my lies are true sooner or later.

00:28:41.539 --> 00:28:46.299
To me, this song and this album as a whole. And

00:28:46.299 --> 00:28:48.099
I want to use quote marks in the air because

00:28:48.099 --> 00:28:50.339
I want to make sure I'm clear with this. I feel

00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:54.019
like this album has the most. punkiest vibe using

00:28:54.019 --> 00:28:57.140
quote marks there's a definite rawness and an

00:28:57.140 --> 00:29:00.220
energy to it that certain songs on the album

00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:02.900
like don't ever tell me that you love me and

00:29:02.900 --> 00:29:05.359
who cares i hear a little bit of a punk vibe

00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:07.460
in that was that something that the band was

00:29:07.460 --> 00:29:10.180
going for on that album yeah well yeah yeah of

00:29:10.180 --> 00:29:12.859
course it was our first album we were excited

00:29:12.859 --> 00:29:15.950
as hell to be in a studio And we played everything

00:29:15.950 --> 00:29:20.329
way too fast. We didn't use any click tracks

00:29:20.329 --> 00:29:22.130
or metronomes or anything like that. We just

00:29:22.130 --> 00:29:24.910
launched into it and played it. And being a bunch

00:29:24.910 --> 00:29:28.009
of youngsters at the time, we just played everything

00:29:28.009 --> 00:29:31.410
way too fast. We might re -release that album,

00:29:31.470 --> 00:29:34.250
by the way. I would love to hear it re -released.

00:29:34.369 --> 00:29:37.190
We might remix it and re -release it and do some...

00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:40.599
some things to it so remix it well now i have

00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:42.740
to dive in i have to dig a little bit here i'd

00:29:42.740 --> 00:29:44.980
be i wouldn't be doing my due diligence remix

00:29:44.980 --> 00:29:47.559
the album yeah johnny and i have been talking

00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:51.440
about remixing it so um that may may or may not

00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:54.519
happen i it'd be fun to do that but yeah everything

00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:57.200
was so fast and you know i had just come off

00:29:57.200 --> 00:30:00.640
when i joined the band I'd been playing with

00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:02.960
the guys in a Monday Night Live band, which was

00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:05.920
a local Monday Night Live get together where

00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:08.440
we jammed and backed up people like, you know,

00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:13.240
Van Morrison, Boss Gags, Ricky Lee Jones, Tommy

00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:15.619
Johnston from the Doobies. You know, we'd back

00:30:15.619 --> 00:30:18.720
up all these star local stars who would come

00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:22.619
in and we kind of through that, we started writing

00:30:22.619 --> 00:30:26.140
our own songs and demoing them up. And that's

00:30:26.140 --> 00:30:27.819
really how Huey Lewis and the News started to

00:30:27.819 --> 00:30:32.220
go. So we started writing those songs and we

00:30:32.220 --> 00:30:35.339
recorded them. And I was playing with Jack Cassidy,

00:30:35.460 --> 00:30:37.440
the Jefferson Airplanes bass player in a band

00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:41.440
called SVT, which was a true punk band. And we

00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:45.380
were punk all the way. And so there was a little

00:30:45.380 --> 00:30:47.819
bit of that flair coming into putting the news

00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:52.480
together. So that was there. That element was

00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:54.799
there. And I think it was just a matter of being.

00:30:55.500 --> 00:30:57.559
really excited to be in a studio and just playing

00:30:57.559 --> 00:31:00.940
everything too damn fast well it definitely worked

00:31:00.940 --> 00:31:03.359
because there's a certain yeah there's energy

00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:06.079
energy to that album that i think that if you

00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:08.059
played the songs a little slower you might have

00:31:08.059 --> 00:31:10.700
lost that because there was this this angst and

00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:13.380
this energy that is just different than the rest

00:31:13.380 --> 00:31:16.339
of the albums in the catalog yes i agree so i'm

00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:17.980
glad we were able to talk about that and now

00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:19.980
i'm passing it back to you to follow that up

00:31:19.980 --> 00:31:24.309
with track two on side b Okay, so you had Some

00:31:24.309 --> 00:31:27.150
of My Lies. That's a great choice. That's one

00:31:27.150 --> 00:31:30.369
of Huey's favorite songs. I'm going to go with...

00:31:30.369 --> 00:31:34.750
So we only have nine left. Yeah. And so I'm going

00:31:34.750 --> 00:31:41.450
to go with one of my favorite tunes, R &B, another

00:31:41.450 --> 00:31:44.029
12 -8 shuffle, Hope You Love Me Like You Say

00:31:44.029 --> 00:31:48.069
You Do. Nice. Kind of a deep cut. It was a single,

00:31:48.190 --> 00:31:52.240
but the only single that really was... Big was

00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:53.619
the one that got our foot in the door. Do You

00:31:53.619 --> 00:31:56.259
Believe in Love was the big single off Picture

00:31:56.259 --> 00:32:00.119
This. But Hope You Love Me was our friend Mike

00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:03.619
Duke from Alabama wrote that song. That was the

00:32:03.619 --> 00:32:05.599
day we met the Tower of Power Horns was when

00:32:05.599 --> 00:32:08.059
they came in. We asked them to come put a horn

00:32:08.059 --> 00:32:11.079
section on it. And they came down to the Ottoman

00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:13.400
San Francisco. And that was the day we met all

00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:16.420
those guys. So that was a huge thrill for us.

00:32:16.660 --> 00:32:19.480
And it's just a great song. Mike Duke's a great

00:32:19.480 --> 00:32:22.640
songwriter. singer -songwriter. And that song

00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:24.759
is great. He wrote Doing It All For My Baby,

00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:27.279
by the way. I was just going to say those two

00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:31.119
songs to me have a similar connection across

00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:33.779
two different albums. I always felt like if you

00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:36.180
played them back -to -back live, it would almost

00:32:36.180 --> 00:32:38.700
feel like it was a medley and they would work

00:32:38.700 --> 00:32:41.119
well together. They could. Yeah, you could do

00:32:41.119 --> 00:32:43.059
that as a medley. So I'm going to go with Hope

00:32:43.059 --> 00:32:45.940
You Love Me. I am now, I'm afraid to do this

00:32:45.940 --> 00:32:49.420
because my last deep cut kind of fell flat. But

00:32:49.420 --> 00:32:51.599
I'm going to do it one more time because this

00:32:51.599 --> 00:32:54.000
was another song that really resonated with me

00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:57.940
as a child. And there was one song in the catalog

00:32:57.940 --> 00:33:00.779
that resonated with me because it told a story

00:33:00.779 --> 00:33:03.859
from start to finish. And I felt like the song

00:33:03.859 --> 00:33:07.819
could have been a movie in song form. And I'm

00:33:07.819 --> 00:33:09.599
staying on the picture of this album. I'm going

00:33:09.599 --> 00:33:12.680
to go with the song called The Only One. This

00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:15.940
song I have loved since a child because one,

00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:18.400
the verses, it brings it down and you're just

00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:22.019
doing the kind of Tom groove and it really draws

00:33:22.019 --> 00:33:25.559
out the lyrics and the story that Huey's telling.

00:33:25.700 --> 00:33:28.279
And then obviously the third verse drops down

00:33:28.279 --> 00:33:32.140
to just voices and the acapella section. And

00:33:32.140 --> 00:33:34.700
then it picks back up really, this song to me

00:33:34.700 --> 00:33:39.240
was a motion picture, picture this, no pun intended,

00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:42.799
in a song. And I'm curious. Was this song a true

00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:45.400
story that Huey was writing? Is this something

00:33:45.400 --> 00:33:48.019
that meant something? Because the passion in

00:33:48.019 --> 00:33:50.799
this song, you could just feel this song meant

00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:53.460
something. At least it came across that way on

00:33:53.460 --> 00:33:56.319
the record to me. Very intuitive of you to think

00:33:56.319 --> 00:33:58.700
that because it's true. It is a true story. Really?

00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:01.599
Yeah, it's about a guy from our high school,

00:34:01.740 --> 00:34:04.920
our local high school in Mill Valley, who was

00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:08.179
just a stud. He was the guy that everybody looked

00:34:08.179 --> 00:34:12.409
up to and he just kind of... had a lot of issues

00:34:12.409 --> 00:34:14.929
and, you know, dropped out of school and kind

00:34:14.929 --> 00:34:17.469
of went downhill and augured in and eventually

00:34:17.469 --> 00:34:20.269
ran out onto the highway 101 there in Mill Valley

00:34:20.269 --> 00:34:22.650
and got hit by a car and killed. And, you know,

00:34:22.670 --> 00:34:25.570
it was tragedy, but it is, it's a true story.

00:34:25.789 --> 00:34:28.809
Yeah. Wow. And obviously that song was never

00:34:28.809 --> 00:34:30.989
released as a hit. I didn't get played a lot,

00:34:31.050 --> 00:34:32.929
but it always meant something to me because I

00:34:32.929 --> 00:34:34.949
felt like when I sat down to listen to that song,

00:34:35.150 --> 00:34:37.409
I can close my eyes and almost see it unfolding.

00:34:37.610 --> 00:34:39.789
And I didn't know any of these people. And to

00:34:39.789 --> 00:34:42.699
me, that's, a sign of a fantastic storyteller.

00:34:42.820 --> 00:34:44.780
Yeah. And that's something that you don't talk

00:34:44.780 --> 00:34:46.880
about with Huey Lewis in the news, but this song

00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:50.679
is reason why you should. Yeah. Cool. I like

00:34:50.679 --> 00:34:52.980
that. So with that bill, I'll toss it back to

00:34:52.980 --> 00:34:56.159
you for a followup. Okay. I got to go new drug

00:34:56.159 --> 00:35:01.579
just because it's new drug. And, uh, and you

00:35:01.579 --> 00:35:05.099
know, the lyric is catchy as hell. The tune is

00:35:05.099 --> 00:35:08.260
catchy. It was, there was really nothing that

00:35:08.260 --> 00:35:12.039
sounded anything like it. At the time on the

00:35:12.039 --> 00:35:15.400
airwaves. And I just think that it's really quintessential

00:35:15.400 --> 00:35:19.380
Huey Lewis in the news from that period of time.

00:35:19.539 --> 00:35:23.000
Oh, my God. Yeah. I mean, seeing sports live

00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:27.300
in its entirety made you realize how important

00:35:27.300 --> 00:35:33.119
albums were, because this was hit after hit after

00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:36.480
hit after hit. And even the songs that weren't

00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:40.840
hits from that album. Every single person in

00:35:40.840 --> 00:35:43.380
the audience was singing along to every single

00:35:43.380 --> 00:35:46.579
word as if every song on the album was a hit.

00:35:46.659 --> 00:35:49.199
And to me, that is something that lacks in modern

00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:51.719
music because I don't think artists are thinking

00:35:51.719 --> 00:35:55.480
of an album as a statement anymore. It's more

00:35:55.480 --> 00:35:59.030
singles driven. That's exactly right. And I loved

00:35:59.030 --> 00:36:01.909
hearing albums in their entirety as a kid, which

00:36:01.909 --> 00:36:05.010
is why I always on this show kind of go to deeper

00:36:05.010 --> 00:36:08.050
cuts. Because to me, if they're part of an album

00:36:08.050 --> 00:36:09.949
that has a hit song on it, to me, I've already

00:36:09.949 --> 00:36:12.489
heard the hit song the same amount of times as

00:36:12.489 --> 00:36:15.809
the deep cut. And that's sports for me. That

00:36:15.809 --> 00:36:19.329
is literally what the album says to me. You could

00:36:19.329 --> 00:36:21.329
have released every single song on that album

00:36:21.329 --> 00:36:23.269
and it probably would have been successful at

00:36:23.269 --> 00:36:25.510
the time. The band was just on the wave. I agree.

00:36:25.630 --> 00:36:28.900
I agree. You get us, man. You get us. That's

00:36:28.900 --> 00:36:31.860
my goal. 40 years of listening. I'm glad it's

00:36:31.860 --> 00:36:35.960
paying off, man. Well, following it up, I am

00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:38.420
going to go with what to me is one of my favorite

00:36:38.420 --> 00:36:40.639
songs from the band, but over time has become

00:36:40.639 --> 00:36:43.179
one of the band's most, I'm going to use the

00:36:43.179 --> 00:36:46.579
word infamous songs, not on any part of your

00:36:46.579 --> 00:36:49.440
own, but I am going to go with for track five

00:36:49.440 --> 00:36:53.780
hip to be square from the four album. I originally

00:36:53.780 --> 00:36:56.059
bought the 45 because it was the first single

00:36:56.059 --> 00:36:59.300
released from the album. I had the 45. I fell

00:36:59.300 --> 00:37:02.119
in love with it. The day four came out. I ended

00:37:02.119 --> 00:37:04.300
up getting it on vinyl. And years later, I was

00:37:04.300 --> 00:37:07.940
very lucky to find a Japanese edition of the

00:37:07.940 --> 00:37:11.320
CD with actually having the power of love in

00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:12.860
the track listing, which I thought was really

00:37:12.860 --> 00:37:16.760
wild. Wow. And hip to be square was always one

00:37:16.760 --> 00:37:18.320
of my favorite songs from the band. But then

00:37:18.320 --> 00:37:22.530
in the early 2000s. a movie American Psycho made

00:37:22.530 --> 00:37:26.489
the song even more infamous for the band to the

00:37:26.489 --> 00:37:31.070
point where Huey did a spoof of the movie with

00:37:31.070 --> 00:37:34.349
Weird Al years later. I would love to know one

00:37:34.349 --> 00:37:37.710
going into the studio to follow up sports must

00:37:37.710 --> 00:37:41.170
have been a stressful time for the band because

00:37:41.170 --> 00:37:43.349
you are trying to follow up a seven times platinum

00:37:43.349 --> 00:37:46.269
album. And I feel like Ford does a fantastic

00:37:46.269 --> 00:37:49.170
job at that. I feel like musically the band.

00:37:49.550 --> 00:37:51.489
kicked it up a notch wherever they could and

00:37:51.489 --> 00:37:54.230
needed to. And it's just as strong of an album

00:37:54.230 --> 00:37:57.550
as sports, in my opinion. But this song, I'd

00:37:57.550 --> 00:37:59.389
love to hear the story behind it. And I'd also

00:37:59.389 --> 00:38:02.849
love to hear how the whole movie scenario unfolded.

00:38:02.849 --> 00:38:04.510
And if you guys were involved with that, or was

00:38:04.510 --> 00:38:07.429
that just studio and pencil pushers in the background

00:38:07.429 --> 00:38:09.730
getting that to happen? Yeah, that's exactly

00:38:09.730 --> 00:38:14.690
what happened there. We were asked, I think they...

00:38:14.889 --> 00:38:16.869
contacted Huey and asked if they could use the

00:38:16.869 --> 00:38:19.389
song. And Huey said, sure, why not? But without

00:38:19.389 --> 00:38:22.530
really knowing what it was going to be. And then

00:38:22.530 --> 00:38:26.369
the movie came out and it was a pretty grisly

00:38:26.369 --> 00:38:33.210
scene that songs played under. And I wrote that

00:38:33.210 --> 00:38:36.070
song, by the way. I wrote the music of that song.

00:38:36.130 --> 00:38:39.670
Huey wrote the words. He wrote the words originally

00:38:39.670 --> 00:38:44.230
in the third person. He used to be a... He used

00:38:44.230 --> 00:38:46.389
to fool around. He wrote it in the third person

00:38:46.389 --> 00:38:49.409
and made a lot of sense to us. Then he, right

00:38:49.409 --> 00:38:52.110
at the last minute when we recorded it, he changed

00:38:52.110 --> 00:38:55.210
it to the first person. So a lot of people thought,

00:38:55.349 --> 00:38:58.030
oh God, these guys are square. You know, they

00:38:58.030 --> 00:39:02.250
want to be square or they're not hip. It's, you

00:39:02.250 --> 00:39:07.110
know, nobody got, it's a joke. It's a joke, but

00:39:07.110 --> 00:39:10.570
that nobody got. And it was literally the theme

00:39:10.570 --> 00:39:12.710
song of the Los Angeles Police Department for

00:39:12.710 --> 00:39:16.400
a while. it's hip to be square you know so clearly

00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:20.579
nobody got the joke but um you know it's held

00:39:20.579 --> 00:39:24.079
up over the years it's we we you know till the

00:39:24.079 --> 00:39:26.699
end we played it till the end and it was a crowd

00:39:26.699 --> 00:39:30.260
people loved it and you know it's who knows i

00:39:30.260 --> 00:39:34.699
don't even though it was he's and and actually

00:39:34.699 --> 00:39:37.320
at the end he changed the lyrics to too hip to

00:39:37.320 --> 00:39:40.079
be square he would sing too hip to be square

00:39:40.079 --> 00:39:44.809
so he went through Well, from a drumming standpoint,

00:39:44.969 --> 00:39:47.909
because I've listened to that song probably more

00:39:47.909 --> 00:39:50.829
times than I could even count at the end of the

00:39:50.829 --> 00:39:53.010
song, you know, you're doing the course on the,

00:39:53.030 --> 00:39:55.489
on the high hat. And then it sounds like you

00:39:55.489 --> 00:39:58.130
go to like a halftime on the ride and you do

00:39:58.130 --> 00:40:00.150
these fills that are a little slower than the

00:40:00.150 --> 00:40:03.590
vibe of the song. And to me, that always stuck

00:40:03.590 --> 00:40:07.590
out to me in a positive way because it was. musically

00:40:07.590 --> 00:40:10.409
jarring, but in a way where it brought your focus

00:40:10.409 --> 00:40:13.289
back to what was happening. And it changed the

00:40:13.289 --> 00:40:15.909
groove just enough where something I haven't

00:40:15.909 --> 00:40:18.889
talked about enough tonight is how the band always

00:40:18.889 --> 00:40:22.090
played to the song. There was never anybody overplaying

00:40:22.090 --> 00:40:24.630
the song. That's right. There were nuances in

00:40:24.630 --> 00:40:27.210
the music like that ending where you switch to

00:40:27.210 --> 00:40:30.389
the ride and it continued. That song could have

00:40:30.389 --> 00:40:32.429
went on for another three minutes as you were

00:40:32.429 --> 00:40:34.150
jamming on the ride. And that's where the song

00:40:34.150 --> 00:40:37.500
fades out. Yeah. Was that just part of the live

00:40:37.500 --> 00:40:39.260
performance catching you or was that something

00:40:39.260 --> 00:40:41.199
you always did when you played it? How did that

00:40:41.199 --> 00:40:44.139
all come together? Well, I'm going to let you

00:40:44.139 --> 00:40:47.199
in on a nasty little secret here. That's a drum

00:40:47.199 --> 00:40:51.059
machine. That's not me playing. What? No, it's

00:40:51.059 --> 00:40:56.280
a hybrid. It's a drum machine kick drum and a

00:40:56.280 --> 00:40:58.940
drum machine snare drum. I went in and played

00:40:58.940 --> 00:41:02.539
the tom -toms, the hi -hat and the cymbals. Wow.

00:41:02.780 --> 00:41:06.039
And right at the end. I was behind my whole kit,

00:41:06.159 --> 00:41:19.199
and I was just... I just went... It's a hybrid.

00:41:19.400 --> 00:41:21.900
It's not me playing the whole kit. Wow. Now,

00:41:21.940 --> 00:41:24.500
was that like a production technique that they

00:41:24.500 --> 00:41:26.820
decided to do for the song to give it that modern,

00:41:26.900 --> 00:41:30.820
quote unquote, modern mid -80s sound? Yes. Wow.

00:41:31.420 --> 00:41:34.340
I never knew that. Bad as Bad is a Linn drum

00:41:34.340 --> 00:41:36.960
as well. Bad as Bad is a drum machine that we

00:41:36.960 --> 00:41:39.760
used to wheel out on a wagon on stage live. A

00:41:39.760 --> 00:41:42.940
few others are drum machines too. New Drug is

00:41:42.940 --> 00:41:47.639
a hybrid of me. Any song that we use a drum machine,

00:41:47.760 --> 00:41:51.900
except for Bad as Bad, was a hybrid of me playing

00:41:51.900 --> 00:41:55.199
along with the machine. Wow. I knew that on Bad

00:41:55.199 --> 00:41:57.059
as Bad because the drums are a little bit more

00:41:57.059 --> 00:42:01.159
of that. electronic sound strictly pro i program

00:42:01.159 --> 00:42:04.800
that man yeah and and and that has that 80s kind

00:42:04.800 --> 00:42:08.380
of synth drum sound wind drum sound yeah yeah

00:42:08.380 --> 00:42:12.179
exactly it's identifiable yeah and there's something

00:42:12.179 --> 00:42:16.239
about that that colored the song in a way that

00:42:16.239 --> 00:42:19.480
i don't know if you didn't have it it might change

00:42:19.480 --> 00:42:22.480
the entire vibe of the song it would it would

00:42:22.480 --> 00:42:25.400
i agree all right well we're up to track six

00:42:25.400 --> 00:42:29.789
now and i'm throwing it back to you Okay. Boy,

00:42:30.130 --> 00:42:32.909
there's a couple of deep cuts that have been

00:42:32.909 --> 00:42:35.150
going through my mind, but there's so many hits.

00:42:35.730 --> 00:42:40.449
Way too many hits. Way too many hits. Let's go

00:42:40.449 --> 00:42:50.349
with... I'm going to have to go with another

00:42:50.349 --> 00:42:54.170
deep cut. And it's off the Small World album.

00:42:55.050 --> 00:42:57.670
And it's another one of your reggae jobs. It's

00:42:57.670 --> 00:43:01.769
Bobo Tempo. Nice. Which was cut entirely live.

00:43:02.250 --> 00:43:05.710
Really? Yes. The only overdubs were vocal overdubs.

00:43:05.710 --> 00:43:07.670
And we got all our friends to come down to the

00:43:07.670 --> 00:43:10.289
studio one night and sing all the backgrounds.

00:43:10.389 --> 00:43:13.190
It's a big, massive group, background vocal.

00:43:13.210 --> 00:43:16.469
Yeah, yeah. That's all our friends and family

00:43:16.469 --> 00:43:18.449
and everybody who came into the studio. And we

00:43:18.449 --> 00:43:21.610
all did it that night. But the track is all live,

00:43:21.710 --> 00:43:26.079
no dubs. And it's just got a feel to it that's

00:43:26.079 --> 00:43:28.739
fantastic. I think I love it. And I think this

00:43:28.739 --> 00:43:31.719
production is great. The sound is great. Love

00:43:31.719 --> 00:43:35.460
that track. That's an absolutely amazing song.

00:43:35.599 --> 00:43:38.420
And I'm curious. I've mentioned reggae now three

00:43:38.420 --> 00:43:41.480
times between Tell Me a Little Lie, Perfect World

00:43:41.480 --> 00:43:45.099
and now Bobo Tempo. Who was the catalyst for

00:43:45.099 --> 00:43:47.860
bringing that reggae sound into the band's fold?

00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:50.239
Like, was there a member that really kind of

00:43:50.239 --> 00:43:53.030
leaned into that more than everyone else? Yeah,

00:43:53.150 --> 00:43:56.090
I think Sean, well, Bobo Tempo, Clover played

00:43:56.090 --> 00:44:00.130
Bobo Tempo. And I'm not sure if they did it the

00:44:00.130 --> 00:44:02.369
way we did it. I never heard them play it. But

00:44:02.369 --> 00:44:05.630
yeah, Sean came in and had that whole thing on

00:44:05.630 --> 00:44:08.610
his synthesizer. He had that whole riff going.

00:44:12.650 --> 00:44:18.550
And so. We riffed on that for a while and really

00:44:18.550 --> 00:44:21.369
had fun playing it and decided, hey, let's do

00:44:21.369 --> 00:44:24.389
just do it live and put it on as a as a filler

00:44:24.389 --> 00:44:27.690
track, you know, then it just came out great.

00:44:27.989 --> 00:44:30.849
Well, one of the Patreon mixtapers that supports

00:44:30.849 --> 00:44:34.349
the show chimed in because I always ask our listeners

00:44:34.349 --> 00:44:37.170
what songs they would start off the tape with.

00:44:37.230 --> 00:44:39.369
And he had his answers, which were a couple of

00:44:39.369 --> 00:44:41.610
days off, Power of Love, Hip to be Square. And

00:44:41.610 --> 00:44:43.929
he said, but there's only a certain number of

00:44:43.929 --> 00:44:46.360
songs and you got to. talk about some deep cuts.

00:44:46.420 --> 00:44:48.760
And he literally ended with Bobo Tempo saying

00:44:48.760 --> 00:44:51.619
the majority might not be familiar with this,

00:44:51.659 --> 00:44:54.320
but end of book, like what a great song this

00:44:54.320 --> 00:44:56.599
is. So Cactus Pete, I want to give a shout out

00:44:56.599 --> 00:44:59.719
to him because somebody else had that one in

00:44:59.719 --> 00:45:01.659
their list as well. And that's awesome to hear

00:45:01.659 --> 00:45:04.059
you bring that up as well. Cactus Pete knows

00:45:04.059 --> 00:45:05.780
what he's talking about. He's got good musical

00:45:05.780 --> 00:45:10.619
taste. I love it. So following that up, I'm going

00:45:10.619 --> 00:45:12.800
to do something that's a little bit of a curve

00:45:12.800 --> 00:45:15.510
ball here. But it's something that I mentioned

00:45:15.510 --> 00:45:17.590
earlier in the episode, and I think we need to

00:45:17.590 --> 00:45:21.710
go back to this. Huey Lewis and the News is a

00:45:21.710 --> 00:45:26.730
band full of amazing singers. And the harmonies

00:45:26.730 --> 00:45:32.030
in the songs, to me, harmonies always take a

00:45:32.030 --> 00:45:35.849
good song and make it great. There are certain

00:45:35.849 --> 00:45:38.010
bands where you listen to the music and can you

00:45:38.010 --> 00:45:39.829
picture hearing these songs without the vocal

00:45:39.829 --> 00:45:42.090
harmonies? When I think of bands like the Eagles,

00:45:42.250 --> 00:45:44.449
Fleetwood Mac, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,

00:45:44.550 --> 00:45:48.429
and Huey Lewis and the News. Now, you guys got

00:45:48.429 --> 00:45:50.130
to the point where you were able to just say,

00:45:50.150 --> 00:45:54.030
screw our instruments. Let's take a song that

00:45:54.030 --> 00:45:58.909
everybody knows by Curtis Mayfield as a funky

00:45:58.909 --> 00:46:03.170
R &B song and let's strip it down and sing it

00:46:03.170 --> 00:46:07.340
acapella. And it became a hit on radio and in

00:46:07.340 --> 00:46:10.059
live shows. And I am going to follow it up with

00:46:10.059 --> 00:46:12.739
your cover of It's All Right from the People

00:46:12.739 --> 00:46:15.500
Get Ready, a tribute to Curtis Mayfield album.

00:46:15.539 --> 00:46:19.559
To me, this song was a gutsy cover because you

00:46:19.559 --> 00:46:23.699
are taking the music out of a song that is ingrained

00:46:23.699 --> 00:46:27.119
in people's musical DNA. And you're changing

00:46:27.119 --> 00:46:30.940
it completely, flipping it on its ear and turning

00:46:30.940 --> 00:46:34.730
it into an acapella song. And it's so good. What

00:46:34.730 --> 00:46:36.889
was the thought process behind that? Because

00:46:36.889 --> 00:46:38.929
I really feel like if there were ever to have

00:46:38.929 --> 00:46:41.289
been a video for this song, you guys should have

00:46:41.289 --> 00:46:43.969
been standing underneath the streetlight on a

00:46:43.969 --> 00:46:47.429
Friday night, all in a semicircle with people

00:46:47.429 --> 00:46:49.909
walking by, like almost like, you know, just

00:46:49.909 --> 00:46:52.869
it has that vibe to it. But all the different

00:46:52.869 --> 00:46:55.889
like between the bass all the way up to the tenor,

00:46:55.909 --> 00:46:58.909
it's so perfectly done. I'd love to hear the

00:46:58.909 --> 00:47:02.679
story behind this cover. Well, we started doing

00:47:02.679 --> 00:47:07.139
acapella to warm up before shows. And then we

00:47:07.139 --> 00:47:09.820
would have parties back at our hotel after the

00:47:09.820 --> 00:47:12.099
gigs, get a bunch of people, and we'd end up

00:47:12.099 --> 00:47:15.420
in the bathroom singing all these old R &B tunes.

00:47:15.639 --> 00:47:22.000
And we did Chain Gang and Amen. And that's really

00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:25.690
how we... came upon the acapella deal and Johnny

00:47:25.690 --> 00:47:27.670
started doing arrangements of different songs

00:47:27.670 --> 00:47:29.849
and we decided, well, what the hell? We'll put

00:47:29.849 --> 00:47:32.250
a couple in our set and see what happens. And

00:47:32.250 --> 00:47:35.489
everybody loved it. So that just became a staple

00:47:35.489 --> 00:47:39.110
of our live shows. And Johnny came up with the

00:47:39.110 --> 00:47:41.650
arrangement of that and we did it and we loved

00:47:41.650 --> 00:47:44.590
it because it's a great song, you know? So, I

00:47:44.590 --> 00:47:47.030
mean, that's just, we love doing it and that's

00:47:47.030 --> 00:47:50.150
the way we warmed up. Well, we've got three songs

00:47:50.150 --> 00:47:52.269
left, two of which are coming from you and one

00:47:52.269 --> 00:47:55.940
from me. So track eight, what do you got track

00:47:55.940 --> 00:47:59.480
eight? I think I'm going to go with, well, I

00:47:59.480 --> 00:48:02.420
know I'm going for my last track. If you don't

00:48:02.420 --> 00:48:11.940
go with it first, I'm going to go with boy. It

00:48:11.940 --> 00:48:15.760
might be another deep cut. No, I'm going to go

00:48:15.760 --> 00:48:18.699
with a couple of days off. Nice. I'm going to

00:48:18.699 --> 00:48:20.159
go with a couple of days off from heart of play.

00:48:20.920 --> 00:48:27.199
that is a great song that we almost missed, but

00:48:27.199 --> 00:48:31.659
we did, we got it just right. And yeah, it's,

00:48:31.659 --> 00:48:34.039
it's a great song. Nothing wrong with that song.

00:48:34.280 --> 00:48:38.900
No, it is awesome. And honestly, that just made

00:48:38.900 --> 00:48:42.320
my last pick even easier because I was flip -flopping

00:48:42.320 --> 00:48:44.059
between, cause I didn't, we didn't touch hard

00:48:44.059 --> 00:48:46.860
at play yet. And that is another fantastic album.

00:48:46.920 --> 00:48:50.159
And that song again, musically. The dynamics

00:48:50.159 --> 00:48:52.760
of music were shifting when this album came out.

00:48:52.860 --> 00:48:56.199
Yeah. I mean, we are talking, this album came

00:48:56.199 --> 00:49:00.760
out in 1991. When Nirvana hit. Yeah, Nirvana,

00:49:00.940 --> 00:49:03.619
Pearl Jam. And yet, a couple days off, still

00:49:03.619 --> 00:49:07.239
was on Top 40 Radio and still sounded like it

00:49:07.239 --> 00:49:10.760
belonged there. The band was a musical chameleon,

00:49:10.760 --> 00:49:14.179
being able to kind of find the vibe that fit

00:49:14.179 --> 00:49:16.880
that current style of music. And it's such a

00:49:16.880 --> 00:49:19.760
great tune. Yeah. Well, that makes my job easier

00:49:19.760 --> 00:49:21.840
because now I have only one song left and I'm

00:49:21.840 --> 00:49:24.039
going to go with the song that my parents introduced

00:49:24.039 --> 00:49:27.039
me to Huey Lewis in the news with. So to me,

00:49:27.039 --> 00:49:30.679
it's a nice little coda at the end of my contribution

00:49:30.679 --> 00:49:33.780
to this mixtape. And it is off of Picture This.

00:49:34.280 --> 00:49:36.760
And it was a song that was originally called

00:49:36.760 --> 00:49:40.440
We Both Believe in Love, recorded by the band

00:49:40.440 --> 00:49:43.500
Supercharged on their 1979 album Body Rhythm.

00:49:43.940 --> 00:49:47.559
When I found out that Robert Mutt Lang. Was the

00:49:47.559 --> 00:49:51.059
original person behind this song later in life?

00:49:51.079 --> 00:49:53.579
It blew my mind. I had no idea. And now when

00:49:53.579 --> 00:49:55.039
I went back and heard the original, I'm going,

00:49:55.159 --> 00:49:58.760
wow. Like I had no idea. This is another instance

00:49:58.760 --> 00:50:01.300
like heart and soul where the original was good,

00:50:01.380 --> 00:50:04.420
but Huey Lewis in the news, his version is untouchable.

00:50:04.480 --> 00:50:07.699
It is the definitive version of this song. And

00:50:07.699 --> 00:50:09.519
if it wasn't for this song, I wouldn't be the

00:50:09.519 --> 00:50:12.380
fan of the band that I am today. So thank you.

00:50:12.400 --> 00:50:15.070
Do you believe in love? Well, that, you know,

00:50:15.150 --> 00:50:18.530
Mutt's been a friend of ours. Mutt produced Clover's

00:50:18.530 --> 00:50:20.250
albums when they went, Clover went to England

00:50:20.250 --> 00:50:23.010
in 77 and Mutt produced their records over there.

00:50:23.389 --> 00:50:26.809
So Huey's known Mutt forever. And when we started

00:50:26.809 --> 00:50:29.130
our band, we met Mutt immediately. And we've

00:50:29.130 --> 00:50:34.869
been friends since, you know, 1979. So we've

00:50:34.869 --> 00:50:37.230
always just kind of thrown ideas back and forth.

00:50:37.269 --> 00:50:40.150
He actually wrote, what was the other one we

00:50:40.150 --> 00:50:46.929
did off of? Hard at Play. Are you talking about

00:50:46.929 --> 00:50:48.750
Hit Me Like a Hammer? Hit Me Like a Hammer. Mutt

00:50:48.750 --> 00:50:51.070
wrote that song, yeah. And Mutt's a great guy.

00:50:51.170 --> 00:50:54.070
We all, we love him. And thank God for Do You

00:50:54.070 --> 00:50:56.150
Believe in Love. That got our foot in the door.

00:50:56.719 --> 00:50:59.539
With that one song, man, and I'll never forget

00:50:59.539 --> 00:51:01.099
where I was when I heard it for the first time,

00:51:01.139 --> 00:51:03.500
driving down through San Anselmo, California,

00:51:03.780 --> 00:51:07.599
my little VW beat up VW bug came on the radio

00:51:07.599 --> 00:51:09.760
and I had to pull over and I listened to it.

00:51:09.780 --> 00:51:12.019
I went, that's us. We're on the radio. Oh, man,

00:51:12.219 --> 00:51:16.199
it was a big deal. And that is the kind of song,

00:51:16.239 --> 00:51:19.159
like I mentioned earlier, if you take the harmonies

00:51:19.159 --> 00:51:22.440
out of that song, it's still a good song, but

00:51:22.440 --> 00:51:26.559
the harmonies make that version. Just amazing.

00:51:27.460 --> 00:51:31.400
It's got that doo -wop call and response, but

00:51:31.400 --> 00:51:34.000
it's still heavy. It's funky. It's everything

00:51:34.000 --> 00:51:38.900
I love about this band. And without this hit,

00:51:39.019 --> 00:51:42.300
does the band go on to sports? To me, this is

00:51:42.300 --> 00:51:44.940
the catalyst. Probably not. I mean, we had one

00:51:44.940 --> 00:51:48.059
more shot after we had a three -album deal with

00:51:48.059 --> 00:51:51.300
Chrysalis. And after Picture This, we had one

00:51:51.300 --> 00:51:54.780
more shot. and it was with sports and who knows

00:51:54.780 --> 00:51:58.739
if sports would have been um received the same

00:51:58.739 --> 00:52:00.800
way it had if we hadn't had a big hit off the

00:52:00.800 --> 00:52:03.519
picture this yeah now later in the years the

00:52:03.519 --> 00:52:06.000
band reimagined the song for their live shows

00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:08.039
can you talk about the kind of the mindset behind

00:52:08.039 --> 00:52:14.599
that yeah we we got tired of the you know the

00:52:14.599 --> 00:52:18.059
the foreigner kind of deal you know yes and we

00:52:18.059 --> 00:52:21.440
were more into an r &b vibe at the time so we

00:52:21.440 --> 00:52:23.480
thought you know let's let's just slow it down

00:52:23.480 --> 00:52:28.440
a little bit and you don't bump bump bump bump

00:52:28.440 --> 00:52:32.480
bump which made sense you know it's i don't know

00:52:32.480 --> 00:52:34.880
if it's any better or any worse but it worked

00:52:34.880 --> 00:52:39.340
you know i think probably the original is a little

00:52:39.340 --> 00:52:43.380
better but there you go now did the band ever

00:52:43.380 --> 00:52:45.539
record that in a version of that in the studio

00:52:45.539 --> 00:52:48.699
or was that only for live live not in the studio

00:52:49.099 --> 00:52:53.380
Okay. Well, Bill, we're 19 songs in. You got

00:52:53.380 --> 00:52:55.300
to kick things off at the beginning of the night,

00:52:55.360 --> 00:52:58.440
and you get the honor of closing us out for the

00:52:58.440 --> 00:53:00.320
night. So what song are we going to end with?

00:53:00.480 --> 00:53:03.460
It's a no -brainer, and it's the song that we

00:53:03.460 --> 00:53:05.800
closed every show with for the last 35 years,

00:53:05.860 --> 00:53:08.420
Working for a Living. Got to have that one. If

00:53:08.420 --> 00:53:11.300
you're making a Huey Lewis list, you got to have

00:53:11.300 --> 00:53:14.110
Working for a Living. Even the Foo Fighters like

00:53:14.110 --> 00:53:16.210
it. Everybody loves that song. My Bad covers

00:53:16.210 --> 00:53:18.670
that one as well. We have so much fun with it.

00:53:18.730 --> 00:53:21.570
That is, again, that still has a little bit of

00:53:21.570 --> 00:53:24.929
the punk flair from the first album, but it's

00:53:24.929 --> 00:53:28.670
more honed in to fit the Huey Lewis sound. Well,

00:53:28.730 --> 00:53:33.550
actually, that was more in the Dave Edmonds,

00:53:33.590 --> 00:53:39.190
Nick Lowe rock pile vein. That was that's Rockpile.

00:53:39.449 --> 00:53:41.610
That's Terry Williams on drums, you know, and

00:53:41.610 --> 00:53:44.469
and Nick and Dave, who are friends of ours as

00:53:44.469 --> 00:53:48.730
well. And, you know, we we but it's fast. It's

00:53:48.730 --> 00:53:51.150
up tempo. Boy, on that album, it's really fast.

00:53:51.469 --> 00:53:53.510
And this is something we didn't talk about at

00:53:53.510 --> 00:53:54.929
all tonight, which I almost feel like. And I

00:53:54.929 --> 00:53:57.989
apologize to Huey for doing any disservice. His

00:53:57.989 --> 00:54:01.170
harmonica playing is amazing. And we haven't

00:54:01.170 --> 00:54:02.969
talked about it enough tonight because that's

00:54:02.969 --> 00:54:06.360
yet another layer. Where you guys have all of

00:54:06.360 --> 00:54:09.099
these talented musicians in the band, but being

00:54:09.099 --> 00:54:11.679
able to find a way to work between the harmonica

00:54:11.679 --> 00:54:14.579
solo, the guitar solo, the horn sections, depending

00:54:14.579 --> 00:54:17.840
on the song, and have it all flow so naturally

00:54:17.840 --> 00:54:20.880
shows that there's a musical conversation happening

00:54:20.880 --> 00:54:24.440
amongst the members of the band that cannot be

00:54:24.440 --> 00:54:28.690
defined outside of the core of the group. you

00:54:28.690 --> 00:54:31.409
guys again it always fit the song when Huey came

00:54:31.409 --> 00:54:34.389
in with the harmonica it fit and when there was

00:54:34.389 --> 00:54:37.670
a sax solo it fit or when there was guitar solos

00:54:37.670 --> 00:54:40.250
it just all worked and this was one where there

00:54:40.250 --> 00:54:44.710
was multiple solos in it and it just really closed

00:54:44.710 --> 00:54:47.469
out every one of the band shows with that musical

00:54:47.469 --> 00:54:50.269
camaraderie and with that energy and at the end

00:54:50.269 --> 00:54:53.619
of the day this is pretty much to me at least,

00:54:53.619 --> 00:54:56.579
a biographical song about the band because for

00:54:56.579 --> 00:54:58.519
the better part of four decades, this is what

00:54:58.519 --> 00:55:01.760
you've done. Yeah. To me, Huey Lewis and the

00:55:01.760 --> 00:55:05.119
News is a band that for four decades in my life

00:55:05.119 --> 00:55:09.019
has been that hardworking, take no prisoners

00:55:09.019 --> 00:55:11.179
band. You guys went out there and did exactly

00:55:11.179 --> 00:55:14.960
what you did. No matter what the challenges or

00:55:14.960 --> 00:55:18.059
music scene changes were, you went out there

00:55:18.059 --> 00:55:20.380
and you were Huey Lewis and the News. And at

00:55:20.380 --> 00:55:23.780
the end of the day, That is why I am such a big

00:55:23.780 --> 00:55:26.639
fan of this band and why this song is a perfect

00:55:26.639 --> 00:55:30.340
way to close out tonight's playlist. Yeah. Great.

00:55:30.579 --> 00:55:33.280
Well, there, folks, you have the end of Side

00:55:33.280 --> 00:55:35.300
B, which kicked off with Some of My Lies Are

00:55:35.300 --> 00:55:37.719
True sooner or later from their self -titled

00:55:37.719 --> 00:55:40.199
album. Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do from

00:55:40.199 --> 00:55:42.960
Picture This. The Only One from Picture This.

00:55:43.179 --> 00:55:46.460
I Want a New Drug from Sports. Hip to Be Square

00:55:46.460 --> 00:55:50.300
from Four. Bobo Tempo from Small World. It's

00:55:50.300 --> 00:55:52.300
All Right from People Get Ready, a tribute to

00:55:52.300 --> 00:55:55.019
Curtis Mayfield, Couple Days Off from Hard at

00:55:55.019 --> 00:55:57.599
Play, Do You Believe in Love from Picture This,

00:55:57.820 --> 00:56:01.239
and Working for a Livin' from Picture This. You

00:56:01.239 --> 00:56:03.719
can always head to myweeklymixtape .com to hear

00:56:03.719 --> 00:56:06.920
all the songs we've discussed in this mix through

00:56:06.920 --> 00:56:10.320
the playlist embedded on the episode page. Now,

00:56:10.340 --> 00:56:12.860
Bill. Being a big fan of the band, I'm always

00:56:12.860 --> 00:56:15.719
going back and forth looking for new songs to

00:56:15.719 --> 00:56:17.800
check out. And I noticed that there are some

00:56:17.800 --> 00:56:21.079
expanded deluxe editions of the band's album

00:56:21.079 --> 00:56:24.800
that are being released in Japan this year that

00:56:24.800 --> 00:56:28.460
have bonus tracks. Some of them, the sports is

00:56:28.460 --> 00:56:31.920
two discs and has like 25 songs on it. Is that

00:56:31.920 --> 00:56:34.539
something that the band is behind? And are they

00:56:34.539 --> 00:56:36.119
going to do something in the U .S. for that?

00:56:36.599 --> 00:56:40.909
News to me. Really? Oh, yeah. I had no idea that

00:56:40.909 --> 00:56:44.769
was happening. Wow. Yeah. Just goes to show you

00:56:44.769 --> 00:56:46.849
how much they include the drummer in decisions.

00:56:47.230 --> 00:56:49.309
I was going to say, I would figure this would

00:56:49.309 --> 00:56:50.969
be something where the band members would be

00:56:50.969 --> 00:56:54.210
privy to this information. I'm sure I would have

00:56:54.210 --> 00:56:56.949
heard about it eventually. But no, I did not

00:56:56.949 --> 00:56:59.070
know they were doing that. Sounds great. Yeah.

00:56:59.190 --> 00:57:01.090
I'm excited to get my hands on them. Unfortunately,

00:57:01.469 --> 00:57:03.570
they're overseas, so they're imports and they

00:57:03.570 --> 00:57:06.239
come at a premium. So I was hoping. With the

00:57:06.239 --> 00:57:07.760
fact that the band is not touring, that maybe

00:57:07.760 --> 00:57:10.059
there would be a resurgence of re -releases of

00:57:10.059 --> 00:57:12.539
the albums to kind of keep that music in the

00:57:12.539 --> 00:57:15.000
discussion. Are there any plans with the band

00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:17.639
happening right now? Obviously, given everything

00:57:17.639 --> 00:57:19.739
that happened with Huey's disease and everything,

00:57:19.940 --> 00:57:22.559
that touring really isn't possible. But is there

00:57:22.559 --> 00:57:25.219
any activity happening with the band? Yeah, touring

00:57:25.219 --> 00:57:28.880
is not possible, unfortunately. Huey's hearing

00:57:28.880 --> 00:57:33.840
is so bad, he can't even put on an album and

00:57:33.840 --> 00:57:36.639
he can't listen to music. And that is heartbreaking

00:57:36.639 --> 00:57:40.780
to me, man. We've had several long discussions,

00:57:40.980 --> 00:57:45.039
he and I, about how he gets through that. Because

00:57:45.039 --> 00:57:48.000
at the beginning, he was quite depressed. And

00:57:48.000 --> 00:57:51.780
he's managed to pull through it. And I mean,

00:57:51.860 --> 00:57:54.420
he grades his hearing on a scale of 1 to 10.

00:57:54.480 --> 00:57:56.619
Every morning, he gets up and he'll go, oh, it's

00:57:56.619 --> 00:58:01.360
like a 1 or a 2. And when it's a 1 or a 2, he

00:58:01.360 --> 00:58:04.000
just can't hear. Some days, it's as good as a

00:58:04.000 --> 00:58:10.340
6. So there's a possibility that we have not

00:58:10.340 --> 00:58:13.239
really looked into yet. But I think there's a

00:58:13.239 --> 00:58:16.460
possibility that on one of his good days, if

00:58:16.460 --> 00:58:19.039
we were to write some new music and the stars

00:58:19.039 --> 00:58:21.880
aligned and everything was perfect, he could

00:58:21.880 --> 00:58:26.119
possibly sing to a new track, which leaves open

00:58:26.119 --> 00:58:28.579
the possibility of more recording, which would

00:58:28.579 --> 00:58:32.000
be great. As far as shows go, we can't book shows

00:58:32.000 --> 00:58:36.750
because there's no telling. And when he wakes

00:58:36.750 --> 00:58:39.550
up and his hearing's at two, he says any music

00:58:39.550 --> 00:58:42.650
sounds like a jet engine to him. Just, you know,

00:58:42.690 --> 00:58:46.690
distortion, complete distortion. And so he can't

00:58:46.690 --> 00:58:50.050
hear pitch. And he's just not, he can't, he just

00:58:50.050 --> 00:58:54.130
can't sing. So we're hoping that maybe Johnny

00:58:54.130 --> 00:58:56.409
and I are going to look into maybe, you know,

00:58:56.429 --> 00:59:00.829
doing some writing. recording some new music

00:59:00.829 --> 00:59:04.170
and maybe on a one -off good day he has we can

00:59:04.170 --> 00:59:07.610
grab him and see if he can sing it you know so

00:59:07.610 --> 00:59:10.010
that's a possibility like i said we're looking

00:59:10.010 --> 00:59:14.909
at remixing um the first album and we're all

00:59:14.909 --> 00:59:18.730
we also have three live shows that we're looking

00:59:18.730 --> 00:59:23.250
to remix and possibly release so um yeah there's

00:59:23.250 --> 00:59:24.969
things in the works we got irons in the fire

00:59:25.369 --> 00:59:27.710
I was going to say any new music from Huey Lewis

00:59:27.710 --> 00:59:30.730
in the news to me is a good day because as a

00:59:30.730 --> 00:59:34.090
decades long fan of the band, this is the music

00:59:34.090 --> 00:59:36.789
of my youth and the music of my life. So it has

00:59:36.789 --> 00:59:39.449
been an absolute honor to talk with you about

00:59:39.449 --> 00:59:41.869
these songs tonight. Bill Gibson, thank you so

00:59:41.869 --> 00:59:44.929
much for joining me on my weekly mixtape. Oh,

00:59:44.989 --> 00:59:47.139
well, thanks so much for having me. Remember,

00:59:47.199 --> 00:59:49.360
Mixtapers, you can find My Weekly Mixtape on

00:59:49.360 --> 00:59:52.179
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Spoutable

00:59:52.179 --> 00:59:55.800
at My Weekly Mixtape. You can also head to MyWeeklyMixtape

00:59:55.800 --> 00:59:58.800
.com to check out the full catalog of My Weekly

00:59:58.800 --> 01:00:01.199
Mixtape episodes. If you want to support the

01:00:01.199 --> 01:00:03.880
show, please consider becoming a Patreon Mixtape

01:00:03.880 --> 01:00:07.579
or at Patreon .com forward slash My Weekly Mixtape.

01:00:07.780 --> 01:00:09.960
That's all for this week. Thanks again for listening.

01:00:10.039 --> 01:00:12.059
Until next time, enjoy the tunes.