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"
Lonely Teardrops
Huey Lewis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Hey hey)
Shooby doo wop ba baa
(Hey hey)
Shooby doo wop ba baa
(Hey hey)
My heart is cryin', cryin'
My pillow's never dry of
Lonely teardrops
Come home, come home
Just say you will, say you will
(Say you will)
Say you will
(Say you will)
Hey, hey
(Say you will)
My heart is cryin', cryin'
Lonely teardrops
My pillows never dry of
Lonely teardrops
Come home, come home
Just say you will, say you will
(Say you will)
Say you will
(Say you will)
Hey, hey
(Say you will)
Just give me another chance for our romance
Come on and tell me that one day you'll return
'Cause everyday that you've been gone away
You know my heart does nothing but burn crying
Lonely teardrops
My pillows never dry of
Lonely teardrops
Come home, come home
Just say you will, say you will
(Say you will)
Say you will
(Say you will)
Say it right now, baby
(Say you will)
Come home, little girl
(Say you will)
Hey, hey
(Say you will)
Hey, hey
(Say you will)
Say you will
(Say you will)
Say you will
(Say you will)
Say you will, little darling
(Say you will)
Come home right now
(Say you will)
Come home , come home
(Say you will)
Come home, little darling
(Say you will)
The lyrics of Huey Lewis's song "Lonely Teardrops" express the deep feelings of someone who feels abandoned by their significant other. The repetition of "Shooby doo wop ba baa" at the beginning of the song adds a sense of nostalgia and longing to the lyrics, emphasizing the singer's yearning for the return of their loved one. The heart is crying and the tears never stop falling, making it clear that the singer is struggling to move on without their partner. The repeated plea to "come home" and the desperation in the final lines of the song show just how much the singer needs their significant other in their life.
The song's lyrics are full of romantic themes such as heartbreak, yearning, and the desire for reconciliation. This is made clear in the lines "Just give me another chance for our romance" and "Come on and tell me that one day you'll return." The use of imagery like "my pillow's never dry of lonely teardrops" creates a sense of sadness and loneliness that deepens the emotion of the song. Overall, the lyrics of "Lonely Teardrops" convey a powerful message of heartbreak and the desperation to be reunited with the one you love.
Line by Line Meaning
Shooby doo wop ba baa (Hey hey)
The singer is using nonsense syllables as an upbeat introduction to the song.
My heart is cryin', cryin' Lonely teardrops
The singer's heart is broken and the tears he's shed have been lonely ones.
My pillow's never dry of Lonely teardrops
Even when he tries to sleep, the singer is constantly crying and his pillow is always wet with tears.
Come home, come home Just say you will, say you will (Say you will) Say you will (Say you will)
The singer is pleading for his lover to return and is begging them to promise that they will come back.
Hey, hey (Say you will)
The singer is using this as a chant to further emphasize his desire for his lover to return.
Just give me another chance for our romance
The singer is asking for another opportunity to make their relationship work.
Come on and tell me that one day you'll return
The singer is asking for reassurance that his lover will eventually come back to him.
'Cause everyday that you've been gone away You know my heart does nothing but burn crying
The singer's heart has been hurting every day that his lover has been gone and he hasn't been able to stop crying.
Say it right now, baby (Say you will)
The singer is urging his lover to make the promise to return right now.
Come home, little girl (Say you will) Hey, hey (Say you will) Hey, hey (Say you will)
The singer is repeating the plea for his lover to come back and say that they will come back.
Say you will (Say you will) Say you will (Say you will) Say you will, little darling (Say you will)
The singer is using repetition to express his desperation for his lover to agree to return.
Come home right now (Say you will) Come home, come home (Say you will) Come home, little darling (Say you will)
The singer is still pleading for his lover to come back, urgently asking them to return right away.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Berry Jr Gordy, Gwendolyn Gordy Fuqua, Tyran Carlo
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind