Huey Lewis’s Old, Weird America

June 25, 2013

While Liz and I were driving to Michigan for her birthday roadtrip, I remember seeing a sign along the highway advertising an upcoming show by Huey Lewis and the News.

I was surprised to see that the band was still around, and still playing venues (though the venues seemed to be smaller ones). Even after all this time, after all these years, they were still at it.

Today, I was happy to find and read Huey Lewis’s Old, Weird America, by Steven Hyden, who provides a glimpse into what it’s like on the road with Lewis some thirty years after their album Sports was released.

In the next seven days, Lewis will play five shows in places like Paducah, Kentucky, and Quapaw, Oklahoma, along with bigger cities like Dallas and Cincinnati. Even with the gaudy 1980s sales statistics, Huey Lewis and the News has the work ethic of a 2010s indie band.

The article is a fascinating read, and I’m glad to see Lewis is still at it – not in a “clutching to fame” kind of way, but in a “this is what we do” approach. As Hyden describes the band, they’re working musicians and will play gigs anywhere, because… it’s what they do.

I’ve spent a bit of time looking up some of the group’s hits from the 80’s, and my word they’ve got a ton. Say what you will about them, they knew how to craft a really catchy pop song that kind of burrows its way into your brain.

Here’s the video for If This Is It, which is an 80’s video if I’ve ever seen one. Try and get this song out of your head, once you hear it: