HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS “CAN YOU FEEL IT?!”

Michael Hepworth

HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS “CAN YOU FEEL IT?!”

By Michael Cohan

Irvine,CA(Perfect Music Today)8/6/15/–To fully appreciate the talents of Huey Lewis and the News nearly sold out performance Sunday night at the Pacific Amphitheatre during the Orange County Fair, a brief history trip is a must for the band’s 1980’s style of rock and roll.

Hugh Anthony Cregg lll skipped the second grade and after his parents divorced ended up in New Jersey graduating from a prep school. In 1967, he scored a perfect 800 on the math portion of the SAT. An all-state baseball player he enrolled at the Ivy League Cornell University in New York.

Somehow he was interviewed by David Letterman in which he described his time after graduation from high school. He had hitchhiked his way across the country and taught himself the harmonica while waiting for rides. He hung out at the airport and after three days he accomplished his goal of stowing away on a plane to Europe. In Aberdeen, Scotland he found the locals very hospitable, they would find Mr. Cregg a place to sleep while he was broke. Upon reaching Madrid, Spain he had become an accomplished blues player and supported himself “busking” the harmonica. He had finally earned enough money to come home.

Hugh went to back to Cornell doing two years of their engineering program before the tug of rock and roll proved too much. In 1969 he dropped out and went back to San Francisco. He continued to play but tried “Workin’ for a Living” (one of his hit songs by the way) in many industries. He joined the band Slippery Elm then but in 1971 landed with the group Clover. The first name change was to Hughie Louis. When the band moved to L. A. they were discovered by Nick Lowe and in 1976 they had two albums under their belt. Mutt Lange of Phonogram records took them to Britain but on their return to the states Clover disbanded as John Mcfee joined the Doobie Brothers.

Under the name of Huey Harp in 1978 he played his signature harmonica on Thin Lizzy’s landmark album Live & Dangerous. Later that year at a club in Corte Madera, CA he had found himself performing with future members of the News. He had already adopted the Huey Lewis spelling and they were billed as Huey Lewis and the American Express. After recording the song “Exodisco” (a disco version of the theme from Exodus) they were simply American Express.

Then with a new manager they hired a new guitarist Chris Hayes and they became, under the advisement of Bob Brown, Huey Lewis & the News. In 1980 they released their first album with little success but their second album went gold “Picture This” (1982) and producer Mutt Lange wrote the band’s first hit “Do you believe in Love.” This was one of his many soulful compositions of the encore.

Huey Lewis & the News are best known for their third album “Sports” (1983) which sold over 10 million copies worldwide. It is regarded as one of the best-selling pop releases of all time. Kicking off the concert was the heart thumping of “The heart of Rock and Roll” with Lewis belting out his strong voice and Jimmy Colla delivering one of his many fine sax solos. A soulful “If this is it” featured the ensemble’s soaring vocal harmonies along with a biting rendition of “I Want a new Drug” and the always fun to dance “(Too) hip to be Square.”

In 1986 “Fore!” was released and that became another platinum hit. One of the best offerings of the night was a song written for Lewis “Jacobs Ladder” by Bruce Hornsby from his band The Range for this album. The vocals were the best of the night and the News displayed their instrumental dynamics blending beautifully with Huey’s harmonies.

The most powerful song played all night was in the encore, “The Power of Love” from the soundtrack “Back to the Future.” The nearly sold out crowd seemed to get swept up and cheered loudly as the 65 year old Huey chimed during the song “Can you feel it?” The 100 minute concert ended on a high note with a rousing take on “Workin’ for a Living,” solidifying their hold as one of the best rock, pop, and blue-eyed soul bands of the 1980s and today. Yes Huey, we can still and forever feel it!

Michael Hepworth

287 S.Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211