On his return, Lewis entered Cornell University, joining the engineering program. While there, he made friends with Lance and Larry Hoppen, who later played with Orleans and King Harvest. Initially being an active student and a member of the fraternity Eta Lambda Nu, Lewis soon lost interest in college. He signed up with a band called Slippery Elm, and in December 1969, during his junior year, he dropped out of Cornell, moving back to the San Francisco area. His aim was to continue playing music, but along the way he also tried other fields of work including landscaping, carpentry and natural foods.
In 1971, Lewis joined the Bay Area band Clover. Around this time he took the name Huey Lewis. The Lewis is for his mother Magda Cregg's boyfriend, Beat Generation poet Lew(is) Welch, whom he considered his stepfather. Sean Hopper joined the band in 1972; other members of the band were John McFee, Alex Call, John Ciambotti, Mitch Howie, Mickey Shine and Marcus David. Lewis played harmonica with the band and only sang lead vocals on a few tunes. Clover's main rival band (which developed into a friendly rivalry) was Soundhole (Johnny Colla, Mario Cipollina, and Bill Gibson were band members).
In 1976, after playing in the Bay Area with limited success, Clover went to Los Angeles. They had their "big break" in a club there when their act was caught by Nick Lowe, who convinced Clover to travel to Britain with him. However, Clover was not successful in Britain, and the band arrived just as their folk-rock sound (known as pub rock in Britain) was being replaced by punk rock. They recorded two albums for the British Phonogram label; both albums produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, but neither were successful.
While Huey went on vacation, the rest of Clover backed Elvis Costello on his debut album My Aim is True. The band returned to California, McFee joined the Doobie Brothers, and Clover disbanded.
Huey Lewis played harmonica on Thin Lizzy's 1978 landmark album Live and Dangerous. That same year, Lewis was playing at Uncle Charlie's, a club in Corte Madera, California, doing the 'Monday Night Live' spot, along with future members of the News. After recording the song "Exo-Disco" (a disco version of the theme from the film Exodus), Huey landed a 'singles contract' from Phonogram Records, and Bob Brown became his manager. Huey Lewis and the American Express formed in 1979, with the same line-up as the News. The band played a few gigs (including an opening for Van Morrison), but on Brown's advice, they changed their name again. Huey Lewis and the News became their moniker.
After a failed self-titled debut in 1980, the band finally broke through to Top 40 success with the gold album Picture This (1982) riding to #13 on the Albums chart thanks to the Mutt Lange-penned "Do You Believe In Love" (#7), which became the band's first hit.
The band's third LP, the #1 Sports (1983), is one of the best-selling pop releases of all time. It has sold ten million copies in the US alone.[4] It was followed up by Fore! (1986), another #1 multi-platinum smash.
in 1995, Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker, Jr. over similarities between Parker's theme for the 1984 movie Ghostbusters and Lewis' own "I Want A New Drug". The case was settled out of court, with both parties agreeing to keep the settlement secret. Mr. Parker sued Mr. Lewis in 2001, alleging that Mr. Lewis violated the agreement in a "VH1- Behind the Music" Episode, when he stated that Mr. Parker paid some amount to settle the case.[5]
Lewis produced Nick Lowe's 1985 cover of "I Knew The Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)". Huey Lewis and the News provided backup vocals and played on the song. He and his bandmates also performed on USA for Africa's 1985 fund-raising single "We Are the World", and spent the remainder of the 1980s and early 1990s adding to an impressive string of 14 Top-20 Billboard Hot 100 hits and releasing two more hit albums: Small World (1988) #11 and Hard At Play (1991) #27. By the time the band released their critically-acclaimed album of cover songs Four Chords & Several Years Ago (1994) #55, their chosen lower profile and lack of promotion from new label Elektra saw their Top 40 appeal dip for good, yet they have endured as one of America's top drawing live acts[citation needed] and have continued to have the occasional hit on adult contemporary radio.
As well as singing lead vocals and playing harmonica with the band, Lewis also writes or co-writes many of the band's songs.
Huey Lewis has sung with Umphrey's McGee at several shows beginning with the 2005 Jammys and is featured on two tracks of their album Safety In Numbers.
The band, now in self-proclaimed semi-retirement, still plays 80+ U.S. dates a year, with an occasional European tour. The average fee for Huey Lewis & The News to play a private college-sized show is around US$200,000.
On February 13, 2007, Huey was interviewed on the podcast series "Stuck in the 80s," during which he revealed that the band has written several new songs that they plan to record next year, though he states that, given how much the industry has changed since their last album, he's unsure at this point how they will sell the new material.[6]
During a show at the California State Fair on August 21, 2007, Huey was named Sacramento's "Musician of the Year" by the fair's General Manager and presented with a gold statue of the California state bear.
Huey has also recorded a duet version of "Workin' For A Livin'" with Garth Brooks, which was included in Brooks' 3-Disc set The Ultimate Hits, in late-2007.
Huey Lewis's real name is "Hugh Cregg"
If This Is It
Huey Lewis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I heard you say tell him I'm not home
Now you're confessing, but I'm still guessing
I've been your fool for so so long
Girl don't lie, just to save my feelings
Girl don't cry, and tell me nothing's wrong
Girl don't try to make up phony reasons
I'd rather leave than never believe
If this is it, please let me know
If this ain't love, you'd better let me go
If this is it, I want to know
If this ain't love baby, just say so
You've been thinking
And I've been drinking
We both know that it's just not right
Now you're pretending
That it's not ending
You'll say anything to avoid a fight
Girl don't lie, and tell me that you need me
Girl don't cry, and tell me nothing's wrong
I'll be alright one way or another
So let me go, or make we want to stay
If this is it, please let me know
If this ain't love, you'd better let me go
If this is it, I want to know
If this ain't love baby, just say so
If this is it, please let me know
If this ain't love, you'd better let me go
If this is it, I want to know
If this ain't love baby, just say so
If this is it, please let me know (I wanna know)
If this is it, please let me know (I gotta know), ooh
If this is it (you better let me go) please let me know, ooh (just say so)
If this is it, please let me know, ooh
If this is it, please let me know, ooh
The lyrics of “If This Is It” by Huey Lewis portray a failing relationship, in which the singer has been trying to save it by making constant attempts to reach his partner, who has been ignoring him. The song talks about the realisation that sometimes relationships come to an end, and how it’s better to be honest about it than to pretend otherwise just to avoid a confrontation.
The song starts off with the singer admitting he has been calling his partner night and morning, only to hear his partner say she isn’t home. But now, his partner is admitting that the relationship has gone sour and is ending. The singer, however, still has doubts about her confession and is unsure if it is the truth or if she is trying to avoid a fight. He asks her not to lie and say she needs him, instead of being honest that their relationship is ending. He states that he would rather know the truth, even if it means he has to leave, than remain in a relationship that isn’t love.
The chorus of “If This Is It” implies that the singer wants closure and for his partner to inform him, without any discrepancy, if their relationship is over. He asks her to let him know if there’s no love left, so he can walk away. He doesn’t want to stay in a relationship which no longer holds any meaning for either of them, and he would rather know the truth than to continue clinging to a lifeless relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been phoning night and morning
I have been calling you constantly, day and night
I heard you say 'tell him I'm not home'
I overheard you avoiding my calls by telling someone to lie for you
Now you're confessing, But I'm still guessing
You are admitting the truth, but I am still uncertain about it
I've been your fool for so so long
I have been foolishly in love with you for a long time
Girl don't lie, just to save my feelings
Please don't lie to protect my feelings
Girl don't cry, and tell me nothing's wrong
Please don't cry and pretend that everything is fine when it's not
Girl don't try to make up phony reasons
Don't make up fake excuses
I'd rather leave than never believe
I would rather leave than stay with someone I cannot trust
If this is it, please let me know
If our relationship is ending, please tell me now
If this ain't love you'd better let me go
If this isn't love, it's time for us to part ways
If this is it, I want to know
If our relationship is coming to an end, I want to know for sure
If this ain't love baby, just say so
If this isn't love, be honest and tell me now
You've been thinking
You've been contemplating our relationship
And I've been drinking
I have been drinking to avoid dealing with our problems
We both know that it's just not right
We both know that our relationship is not healthy
Now you're pretending
You are pretending that everything is fine
That it's not ending
That our relationship is not coming to an end
You'll say anything to avoid a fight
You will say whatever it takes to avoid a confrontation
Girl don't lie, and tell me that you need me
Don't lie to me and say that you still need me if you don't mean it
I'll be alright one way or another
I will be okay regardless of the outcome of our relationship
So let me go, or make we want to stay
Either let me go or give me a reason to stay
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Huey Lewis, John Victor Colla
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@RedstoneRecords
Song so catchy most people don't listen to the lyrics
@christosstamato527
True. This is actually a rather sad song, despite the Beach Boys-like doo wop harmonies and the melodic guitar by Chris Hayes.
Hell, Hayes' solo can make a grown dude cry and Huey knocked it out of the park! Probably his greatest (and one of the most emotive) vocal performance to date!
On a side note, I do agree Mr Bateman. And no, their masterpiece most likely wasn't 'Hip To Be Square'!
@BruceBowman42
@Chris Stamato One of the best leads ever.
@king_reynolds1879
Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor.
@matmac888
@Jay Bird Hey Paul !!!!
@lordcarty
@Jay Bird 😆😆
@bleep77
There are certain 80’s songs that give me an overwhelmingly painful and bittersweet sense of nostalgia. This is definitely one of them
@FeCr3
Ohhh yes..... : .(
@shantiharris7005
So true!
@davidwright4495
I said the same thing in. This one and a few others from the 80's.