Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio.
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Yeah, that's cool. Yes, absolutely, Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, Oh yeah, welcome. That's what I welcome to another episode of course Love Supreme. I am your host, uh quest Love, and we thank you for joining us. Joining us is a team Supreme. We got a boss Bill in the house. Hello, and unpaid Bill in the house.
Yeah.
And we have Sugar Steve that's correct. Yeah, and we have.
K God.
You got it right.
Yeah.
Well, I'll never get your name wrong, that's true.
Yeah.
I will say that our guest today is one of my personal favorites.
He's a fine singer, steeped in the tradition of what I What I'll say is blue eyed lose with a tinge of raspy soul on the side, A hell of a blues heart man, definitely hell of that. He's fronted one of the in my opinion, one of the sharpest units in music. Over twenty top ten singles sold plenty of thirty million account of thirty million albums in the past thirty plus years.
I don't want to sound forty years. It sounds like a lot.
I'm embarrassing.
No, we've just begun.
Not to mention. I'd like to say that, you know what can't be ignored is their foray into really effective music videos and using humor and personality during the age of the dawning of MTV's rise, really captured our hearts of millions. I'm trying my hardest to not sound like Patrick Bateman of American Psycho.
He is fronted one of my favorite favorite favorite units. I'll say that their their live performance kicks ass. Their harmonies are bar none, the music everything's in there. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to quest Lop Supreme. Sir Hugh Anthony Craig.
The Third, No, Mas, Hugh Lewis test.
Up Supreme, Thank you, thank you, thank you. Great to be here.
How goes it?
Good? Good good. I've had a little trouble getting here. You know, I'm I live in Montana. Really yeah, so more cheese, less rats.
So you're you're you're just a lifetime nomad kind of really well, I've been on the road for you know, forever.
We you know, I have a driver who reminded me that I you know, I lost my hearing here a year and nine months ago and haven't been able to work because I can't hear music well enough. But so I've been in one place sometimes more than My driver reminded me that after forty years of driving me, he can't ever remember me being in one place for more than three weeks.
I was going to say, like, I know of your history of traveling since your youth. Where do you.
I won't say where do you consider home? But what's your sentimental that's home?
San Francisco? Okay.
More importantly, when all is said and done, where would you like to rest?
Probably Montana? Really probably Montana. It's beautiful, air is clean, you got animals, got tons of animals, all kinds of wildlife. We got horses.
And so you lived on you live on a ranch.
I do a little ranches. Yeah.
So you and Kanye know something that none of us see, none of us sentence before. So this is the thing.
I never start this show on at the end, but sell me on Montana, Like, tell me why because you know something?
Kanye knows something. I'm hearing a few other celebrities sort of.
Unspoiled, not too many people, more critters, you know, it's just out if you like the outdoors. And I love the outdoors, it's a it's it's a great place.
Just Kanye love the outdoors.
Well, he loves Montana.
I mean we've mentioned Kanye way too much on this episode.
Can we can?
We?
Yes?
And he's why Wyoming anyway?
Yeah?
Oh yeah, Wyoming not Montana. Oh damn, I thought it was Montana.
Either way, they don't want no more select.
I take that back. Okay, Kanye does not different, deal.
Different.
I don't know.
Just think of like a home on the ranch.
The deer different down there. It's way different.
Really okay?
Really?
So where were you born?
New York City? Manhattan? You a port? What part right there? French hospital?
But I mean what part of Manhattan were you?
I don't know. Where was the French Hospital? Midtown? Maybe? So I don't know. Okay.
How how long did you stay in Manhattan?
About a year? Oh as a baby, I got tired of the.
More than three weeks.
How when did music enter your life?
Real early on? My dad was a was a drummer. My dad was a was a radiologist by trade, but a jazz drummer bye by hobby. Okay, and he loved and he played piano as well, and he played with a jam band and it was a with a jazz band, and it was always a set of drums set up in our in our living room, and he taught me played drums. Initially he would play jazz music that with no singers. He hated singers. You knows, just kind of gotten the way that I gravitated.
Toward the vocals the side of things, you know. Okay, okay, So what did your mom do?
My mom was an artist and she was born in Poland and escaped during the war, lived in Brazil for about four or five years, moved to New York City, was a commercial artist here in New York City. Her parents finally got out of Poland and arrived and he was a die chemist and knew about and they were
pretty wealthy and so on. It moved to Lawrence, mass and then tragically, my grandparents, my mother's parents committed suicide together, which was a real tough deal on my mom, and she switched and kind of dropped out at that point. She was an artist and so she my dad realized he had to get her out of here. When moved to California, moved to San Francisco when I was five, and my mom fell in with the hippies and became like the very first hippie my mom.
So she was part of that Timothy Leary generation all that tunant What does that entail? Like I always you know, I hear of like tune in, drop out And is it just like stop trying to perform to what society wants us.
To do and just like live by the moment? And I think so, I think that's initially what it was.
Yeah, So you grew up in out there and there was some LSD involved, Okay, okay, so that made.
Everything a little easier.
Told me about it, drum. So in San francis a fist book between Hwet and Steve for those that missed that.
So in San Francisco, were you kind of in a commune community.
Like no, no, because my my my mom my dad had sort of resisted all that and they just divorced when I was eleven. And when I was twelve, I skipped second grade, so I went away to school and in New Jersey and.
The prep school in New Jersey, I don't even Yeah, So how did that make you feel the insight? Like just this consistent, going back and forth.
It was a little crazy, to be honest, My did you met friends easily? Or I didn't because I was moving so much, you know, so I had to kind of rely on myself. I grew up pretty fast that way. I actually went to prep school in New Jersey with coat and tie, all boys, and neither one of my parents has ever been there, so they just kind of set me off. And I was I was thirteen.
Were you the only child?
No?
I had a brother, a younger brother, five years younger, okay, and he stayed with my mom. My mother had custody, but my father petitioned the court to allow me to go to this prep school, saying this was a smart kid or something, you know, whatever, whatever he told them.
But how were you away?
Well, I'd go back on summertime, you know, Christmas, Christmas in summer. But I was away for four years for the most part.
Sounds like it.
I It depends he was independent, though, because what was that like?
As a boy in prep school, you have freedom in a different way than most kids doing away because you're like, it's like college but kids.
I mean, I was horribly homesick when I first left. Obviously, Uh, but you know, you can get used to pretty much anything. And uh, after a while it was fine.
I'm sure I was a girls school down the street. You went to a girl I'm sure it was a girls school down the street.
Not everything is dead, poets decided, just clear, that's a movie.
So what was your.
Described? Well, wait, before you do that, do you remember the first record you purchased?
Yep? What was it? A quarter to three?
Here are us? There are U s bines okay.
And then or might have been wild one Bobby right now, okay, a little bitty pretty one. Those are the first three I remember.
So you're post you wops early British rocking.
Start, but immediately became an R and B snob and I started play harmonica and became a blues R and B snob. Hated contemporary stuff, just all of that until I joined my first band, which was after prep school. Uh. Well, I took a year off and bummed around Europe. I took my harmonica and my old man made me do that. I graduated from from prep school a year young because I'd skip second grade. And he said to me, I was sixteen. He said, look, you're sixteen years old. As
far as I'm concerned, all the decisions of yours. You do whatever you want. Only one more thing I want to make you do. I said, what's that? I said, don't go to college yet. I said, really, well, I want to go to school and I'm going. You know, I was accepted at Cornell. I said, I really want to go to He says, no, no, take a year off and bum around your I said, but dad, I was going to play ball, and it's the last thing I'm like. So I did it.
It was like a tester, like what happened when you father puts your son in the woods to see if you can survive the way black folks?
That doesn't black folks get sent away to Europe.
Yeah, he just threw me away to Europe.
I was told my father, our challenge was just escaping bullets.
Or in college tuition. And I'm gonna soften that a little bit, you know.
Oh that.
No, I couldn't afford it. So I just got a record deal. So but to wait sixteen in Europe? How does that work? Did was missing?
It was nineteen sixty six, sixty second, there was no TSA. So wasn't that one big deal?
No?
No, no, LSD, no TSA to walk us through.
This, like, was it a hostile situation?
No?
You didn't stay at a hostel? No, no, No, Hughey Lewis didn't stay at well.
I stayed. I stayed at a buddy. I had a power from prep school, English exchange student. I stayed at his house in London for a few days, and then I met a guy from South Africa, Michael Jefferson. Together we hitchicked all the way through Europe and all that stuff, and I would go every night, we'd go to the youth hostel and I just play harp in the in the Square.
Not only bust are rich, not every single one of them, just the ones Some play harp in the Square for money, say at the hostel.
Okay, So all right, as a fellow busker, I got to ask you what what were the what were the going what were the going rates for it? I'm assuming this is uh sixty eight sixty seven?
Yeah, what was a all right?
For me?
In nineteen ninety two, sixty to eighty dollars was like date night?
That was.
You know, like, I mean, there's four of us, so you know.
Thirty you know you were killing that.
Yeah.
No, that's a sandwich at wah wah. And you know after do movie? That's a date?
Was it was it at a not Do or Die.
Survival? What? Yeah? Like what for you? What was like?
Okay I made it through the day or it was it day to day?
Like what am I going?
Like?
I remember in Africa in.
Europe Europe?
But I got to North Africa. We went down to North Africa, Italy I went. I went to Marrakesh in Morocco for just to see it, and then I got so stone. I couldn't leave for three months. We're going to leave every day. But then we'd wake up and Steve wish.
Is it seventeen? Are you how old are you?
Yeah? I say I was seventeen.
That's right, Oh my god, Like, hey, you want to go just was it a boat from Italy that just right across the water or do you get there?
Why did you shoes Morocco?
So I flew to London right and then and that's another long story. But then I hitchhiked all the way from London, all the way through France down through Spain, took the little storry to that's what do that see? He hitchhike?
He didn't have a limousine, hitchhike hitchhike, but there.
Was a stowaway story.
Yeah, I wanted to get back to that. I heard that you stowed away on a plane to the That's.
An interesting story. Actually, as I was.
Do that's that's what I wanted to know.
I didn't really stow away. I thought I could stow away. But this was remember nineteen sixty seven or sixty eight, probably sixty seven or sixty eight, right in there. And I hitchiked across the country first and to go to Europe, and then I stayed with my buddies at Harvard who were at school there for a minute.
Didn't see that coming.
And then I went back down to New York here and I went to and while I was hitchiking across the country, a guy picked me up and told me. I said, I'm trying to get to Europe. He says, well, you know, but I you know, I don't have that much money I had. I think I started off with three hundred dollars and then plane tickets were like two fifty in those days, and so I said, I don't have that much money. We can't spend all on a ticket, and he said, well, you know, you can stow away,
and he showed me. He told me about this idea where you get this, you know, the jacket the ticket goes in. In the old days used to take a special silver pen and write on the jacket, and all they looked at was the jacket. They never actually took the ticket. This is before you know, uh, the computer, yeah, and all that stuff. So he says he or he says, you can stow away on this freight airline too. So
I hitch like back down to the Muppet. Well then was idle Wild Wow Idlewild Airport which is now Kennedy Airport, and out answers there and I went to the freight place and I couldn't get across. They couldn't figure that out. So I went back to the terminal the TWA place, and I just laid there for you know, just kind of stay there for till midnight. And I befriended this agent TWA ticket agent said, you know, buddy, I just hit you out and tells me there's a way you
can kind of sneak in. And always said, I'll tell you what. If you wait till I get off, I'll show you. I wait till you go collective jar drop in this room right now. Like so he explained to me that you get the jacket. He got a jacket, a jacket out of the you know, those envelopes, out of the drawer, and he had a special silver pant. He says, you need this. And then he says, you're right on the outside London l HR fight seven o two.
And then he says, and then go into the gate really and just kind of make yourself invisible and it'll fill up. And then when you get on the airplane, all they're gonna do is look at your jacket and then go take the seat, middle seat over the wing. And then he said, and then but not yours, right the middle seat over the wing, and take another terrible seat in case they say, oh, you're not in someone else takes your seat, you say, oh, my seat's up there,
and then you go. But but none of these flights were fulling these days, so the middle seat over the wing was like the last one to go. So he says, I said, wow, that what happens if I get caught? He said, the only way you're gonna get caught is at the end of the deal. She's going to count all the people on the airplane and it's not going to jibe with all the people they had the checked in at the podium, he says, But you're only gonna be one off, and she's gonna They're not gonna hold
the flight up. They're just gonna go said. He says. If you want to be really safe, he says, you can buy a ticket and then just put it in the jacket, but don't give them the ticket. And when you keep the keep the ticket and if you if it works, you get over. When you get to London, you refund the ticket and if they find you out, you give them the ticket. And that's what I did, Stay Cassole. Game is.
Pens and refund ticket. It's ship Huey Lewis.
Wait, wait, I'm just curious when does this finesse game? Like when what year do you think it was stopped?
Like you couldn't computers, computer computers, damn computer stopped everything, ruined everything.
You can't even get the t s A with the ticket now sucked up.
No ts A, no, no ts A. Hey, there were not only were there no security, you just walked right on the airplane, but they gave you a little packet of cigarettes that you could smoke on the airplane.
Cigarettes little tiny four packed cigarette smoking.
Like so cool man on airplanes.
Can you imagine every every armist had a little ash tree in it.
I remember everything on the on the wall.
What's scared to me is when you get on an airplane now and you still see the ash plane.
The hell off this thing?
Remember one I embarrassed the living crap out. Then my mom's listening to the story. One of my very first plane trips, went to the bathroom and there were you know, they would have napkins there and whatnot and like feminine uh napkins as well, and so I thought pads. So it took like about tim pads. And I was in the front row there in the back and said.
Mom, dog, you don't worry about I got you.
That's all, you know.
That should be like an advertising like, came on, I got.
You, tamppas backcuff loft, don't worry, I got you.
So do you remember the first concert you went to?
Good that's a good question. That's a really good question.
A very memorable content.
It might be with Paul Butterfield at here in New York at.
The film wore East.
No, it went over four way before Filmore. We're talking nineteen sixty four, sixty five town Hall.
Oh, the town Hall nineteen and.
It was so it was so crowded that I got a seat, as I remember it, I mean, I know I got the seat. I don't know how on the stage. They put seats on the stage and I sat on the stage and saw Bob Butterfield with Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Jerome Marnold on bays, Sam Lay on drums. They were awesome. They took that was it and this is pre well sixty four was like cond pre probably six psychedelic, might be sixty five, okay, like that pre psychedelic.
Yeah, So was that a moment for you where you're like maybe I could do this.
Yeah, absolutely, I want to do this. I don't know if I can or not, But that's happened.
So how did that?
Was already playing harmonica a little bit, you know, how.
Did that lead you to Clover? Go into how Clover came in?
Well? Then, well I took a year off, bummed around Europe after after high school, like dad said, played harmonica all the time, went back went to Cornell, I was an engineering student at Cornell. As you do, I all before in prep school, so I got I didn't even hardly have to go to class my freshman year and I got a four point zero. Was no problem because I literally had it all before. You were you were a meth was right, kind of you.
Know, perfect score on the skin like that.
Kind of okay, Dwayne Wayne, Dwayne, Dwayne Wayne, different world, a fictional character that's quarter perfect going in Memphis.
Yeah, but I and so after that year off, I went back to Cornell and I went to engineering school and I went in and that was not near as much fun as bumming around Europe with harmonica, and so I joined the bands and I didn't really have to go to class much. So I played in fraternity bands until my sophomore year started catching up with me.
You know.
So about halfway through the sophomore year, and that was the year at Cornell where the Afro American Student Society took over the Wild Straight Hall and it was all that stuff in the SDS and all that stuff. So you could take pass fail, was the good news. So we took pass fail. That was another semester I got under my belt. I was like then I was dead and it caught up with me. So I called my own man. I said, Pops, I'm dropping out. I'm gonna be uh, I'm gonna I'm gonna try and be a musician.
He went, whatever he said, go for it. You know you did what you did your bum around Europe. I told you I wasn't going to tell you what to do. Your life is your own.
Good luck, good parenting.
Fuck well, it looked like pretty bad parenting for the first ten years or fifteen years.
Let me tell you as a parent, good for your father for just being like, do what you want.
During the formative years before you formed Clover, did you have any interaction with any notable future singer songwriter, like anyone that.
That's a good question. Let me think not really, I mean, I'm trying out. Why did that take me so long?
Like?
No, no, running into Springsteen during the days of bar banding.
Oh, I didn't see that, you know. I mean, Butterfield was a was a thing for me. And then I dropped out. I went back to San Francisco, and then I started going to uh, you know, the film more and and seeing that stuff and seeing uh, you know, Aretha with King Curtis at the film or Auditorium. Yo, you were there those recordings right, well once one night.
Well they eventually since then released all of.
Them eight nights.
Yeah, it was unbelievable. Wow.
You know this video of that online too, right, I did not know.
Ye, okay, that was unbelievable. You know that Filmore holds about eight hundred people. People don't write the film original Filmore Auditorium, it's like eight hundred to one thousand people.
Oh so the one that I play at has been expanded and where this one over here or the one the one.
In that was? That was that was a huge film winter Land, right.
Yes, oh you're talking about film More easy.
Written on the original Filmore Auditorium right in San Francisco. Still there's still a gig still there, but it only holds eight hundred thousand people.
I didn't know that. In my mind, I thought it was like a three thousand.
It seems like that. Go there again. We just worked there. It's it's this tiny, little place, tiny and you don't realize that at Hendrix in this place like here you had cream in this place back here. It was unbelievable.
Okay, when did you consider yourself a hard player or vocalist or were both at the same time, or when did you switch to it from one to the other, because you talk a lot about being a harpist, right, I was.
Mostly playing harmonic until I did my busking thing, and then I sang, and then I then I joined the band. When when I get when I joined Clover, I sang like a song or two, you know, But my voice, rough as it is, was not a seventies hair band, you know, Journey Boston, it wasn't happening. So I was an R and B guy and so I just played harmonica and the Clover thing. So vocal wise, who did you Ray Charles to get the question?
No hesitation?
Do you want to take questions?
And Johnny Taylor, I mean, yeah, I'm a costello freak, So who is every everybody knows your connection to Well Clover connection to Miam is true.
They were the backing band on that album. For those that don't know, Bill.
Right right, Sorry, So yes, Clover was was high Well. Clover was first discovered by Nick Lowe in l A.
Right, and actually by uh It's a kind of a funny story because our Clover had made a record before I joined them, there was a kind of vintage uh country rock. In fact, Clover had a record in the sixties where the on the cover there was John McPhee had hair down to had he had overalls on with hairdown to his waist and they and they're all standing, they all had long hair and they're standing in front of six foot high marijuana planets. Well, this was like
sixty eight. Is Willie Nelson had a coat and tye on at this point?
Seriously, it was.
It was and the Dolly Porton Porter Wagner show was on and Willie was on it, and there was no and this was Clover. They were really ahead of their time. And so when I joined that band, uh we we we labored for a while. And then Jake Rivere, who managed Elvis and at the time was helping out with a group called Doctor Feel Good and feel Good was a and he was good. They asked Jake to road
manage their trip to set to La. They were going to play at the CBS Convention in La and so, and they brought Nick Lowe along as a guitar roadie, just for a free trip to for a free trip to America. So it is the Doctor Feel Goods, Jake and Nick Low. So we're playing the Palomino Club in La clover Is. It's a country club, you know, country western club. We're playing the Palomino and in want these
six guys in like gray suits and short hair. You know who were these guys And turned it was Nick and Jake because they'd seen that we were there and they knew about Over's first record and they were big.
Because they love country rock, that's it.
They thought they thought country rock pub rock was going to be the next big thing. So they signed us to Phonogram Records and we came to and we and brought us over to England. We're gonna do it for the British side from London. Well, the day we landed, Johnny Rotten spit in the face of the first enemy reporter and the game was on and we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we did a lot of sessions and the band, the core band back started.
And what he means is punk rock has just started for people listening, Yeah, right, and country rock was not necessarily gonna happen in London right at that moment. So then, uh so they were starting stiff Records.
They started Stiff Records. Jake and Dave together they managed Delvis Costello and Nick Love, Graham, Parker, Rat Scabies, the Damned, and then they created Stiff Records. And then unfortunately they had already signed us, so they stuck us. They realized that we were more kind of an American band, so they, uh they got mud Langer to produce our records in Wales. Uh and the Mutt Langer. All right, this is before
he ever had a hit, before his magic period. He was a staff producer at Phonogram, and he did like some amazing amount of records a year, some like six or seven records a year, and and you know City Boy and all these acts that never happened. And uh, until you know, until he kind of moved over here, what was his what were his work habits?
Like?
Brilliant, still the same, I mean, it was consistent on just an unbelievable work ethic. And you know he's brilliant. I mean he's just that's all he does. He's just he's of one mind. He just loves just lays in the studio. Man loves loves it.
Okay, So.
Just to continue where where you left off. So you Clover wasn't on Diff.
They were on Clover's on the Phonogram records. Did they move to Stiff They didn't because Stiff There was no Stiff when we first signed a Phonograph, right, Jake and Dave. And then simultaneously when punk hit, they started Stiff Records. They signed all these bands and we were still on Phonograph, and then they uh, yeah, so then I guess then they signed Elvis. They found Elvis. Uh, Jake gave him his name. I think Declin McManus gave him Elvis Costello and they what was.
His name previously McManus.
We've known him forever. How come you you know you did a record with the man? You didn't know what his real name was.
I didn't know.
I thought, let me get name, get through this.
I need to know things. Okay, No, it's just this notorious thing with Clover and Miami is true. So my question really comes down to, so how did how did Clover get that gig? So, and they have a follow up question.
Jake signed Elvis Costell and they got Nick Low to produce it, and Nick used us not me, not me, and not my singer out, not our singer I was called, but the other four guys as a rhythm section for that that record, and they cut that record at pathway that my amistry was cutting, really cutting, and the studio was was literally the studio and control room were as big as this room right here, and we're in a small studio and the control room was like a four
by four thing with a board eight trackie or maybe maybe it was sixteen. I don't even know, but it was. And they cut that record, and in fact, here's a great story for it, because the first thing they did was rehearse obviously for before they went into cut, and we were we were living in a place called Nigel Grange and Surrey down. They rented a house that same house that led Zeppelin cut all them big records and where they mike the drummers in the big So that
was our house called Headley Grange. So they when Elvis rehearsed, we set up. We are set up in the in the living room and Elvis came down, took the train down and rehearsed with the band for the first time. Well, I went to London because you know, a harmonica player and he was just going to rehearse with them. And when I came back that night, we had dinner there and we all had dinner and Elvis was gone. I said, so, how was it today, and everybody's kind Oh it was good,
it was good good. And my keyboard player Sean Hopper went, I'm telling you what this. This guy's lyrics are unbelievable. He's really a genius, I'm telling you. And Sean Hopper was the first guy to know how great Elvis Costello was. I think even before Jake and Dave and all these before the management was in. Sean was a was a fanatic.
Okay, So as you just said, you were a singer and harmonica player, and I guess weren't needed. There's no harmonica on the on the record.
When they got ready to do it, Elvis said to me, I got a couple of songs that you could play on if you want to.
I said, great, Yeah, it seems like there's a couple that could have had harm on.
But he's but they were cutting this this week and it was we they had were They had worked us like crazy, the management because you know, they would make money. So we're working all the time. Uh, And so I took the week off I said, it's okay, But I went to Amsterdam.
It was okay.
My girlfriend flew over and we had we We saw it as a vacation week for the other two of us, so I didn't plan the record.
But you and you weren't at the sessions.
I was.
I was at one session briefly, but no, I guess maybe it was a mixed session. I don't think. I can't remember if I recorded at that studio a lot and with the band, so I know what it was like.
But okay, Ultimately the question was I knew you weren't on it.
I just wanted to you at the session.
I had nothing to do with it.
You might have been one mixed session, you're saying, Oh, yeah, that's the piece of information. I'm trying to mind.
I'm sure I was there. And then of course we had the same management, you know, so we would bump they were happening, and we we went to a lot of Elvis' early shows when he played the Nashville Pub and all that stuff, and I watched him ascend, you know, and he's he's a wonderful guy and smart as you can, as you imagine, and so is Jake. By the way, and so is Nick Low and those three guys were so smart.
It was I have one more question about this was Clover Uh upset that they didn't get the permanent gig with him and that he got the attractions starting with the next album the next year.
No, no, we we we. You know there's that band thing. We thought we were going to make it any minute, and just you always think you're gonna make it any minute. You know. Failure never breaks up bands. It success that breaks up.
Write that down down.
Ship.
All right? So when when the bill.
We can come back to?
Steve doesn't know lcause you know they're very close.
I'm a huge I'm also a huge Huey Lewis fan. The band imploded in seventy eight, correct, you guys broke up.
We broke up.
It was amicable or just.
Well kind of we lost our record deal and we came back and uh and then McPhee and uh joined Adobie Brothers. Sort of that's kind of what happened. I mean, but yeah, it was pretty amicable.
So what leads to the development of Huey Lewis and the News.
Well, let's see, I was so now we had always played Monday Night was a fun night for us in in Marin because it was I don't know, it was just a night that we always used to have jam sessions and stuff. And one of the local studios asked me, I wanted local clubs, said do you want to resident? He so residency yourself. I said, look, I'll give me
Monday nights. And so I did a think on Monday Night Live that I invited all these different musicians and we had a Monday Night Live band and that we had a theme song and all that and comedians and and it was kind of fun. And with the band, we would slowly I was singing, I got I got to sing all the songs for the first time.
We're either reluctant leader by this point exactly.
I wasn't that reluctant I had, but I wasn't sure it was going to work, you know what I mean. I was trying it out a little bit. So but that's that. And that's we developed that in Monday Night Live. And this studio owner saw us and made it and and said, hey, would you like some demo time?
Was it original stuff?
And I said covers, Well, we didn't have mostly covers we'd written three songs. Uh. And then I said, do you want some free studio time? I said sure, huh, And they gave us like a day, so I thought. And we were doing funny stuff in our Monday night live. We did a discover at of Exodus exo disco we called it. It was pretty funny and it's actually not bad. I've heard it. Yeah. And the horn player on it we got. We got pee Wee Yellis to play horns on it. Really yeah, pee Wee.
He was good. He will do anything like after his James Brownston.
He yeah, he can play though, man, pee Wee can flat play, I know, man. Wow. And so we we we cut this disco version of Exus for a laugh and it was very funny. We had a nice day. Well, now I get a call from Nick Low and saying, look, I've just written this song and I think I think I swiped it from you. I said, what do you mean? He says, it's called what looks the best on you
is me? And I told him that joke, you know, So I said no, no, I said, don't worry abot, it's no. Seriously, I feel like I owe you something. I said, No, I said to you what give me a ticket to London and back and I'll visit. He says, okay, I'll do that. Sometimes calls me. He says, I got an idea, come to London and play on my record and Edmonds wants to cut bad as Bad one of my songs, and we'll do both of those things and we'll do them in loun I said great, so he
flew me to London. We went straight to the studio those days and cut Bad as Bad with Dave Emons and rock Pile, and then cut Born Fighter with Nick Lowe played harmonica on that and we were done. And it was like two or three in the afternoon. Now come to the record company to hear the tracks. And they come down. They come to the thing and they listened to the couple songs. They go, oh, man, that sounds great, and there was a lull in the moment. I said, you guys want to hear something funny. They
said yeah, and I put on Exa Diisco. Well they loved it and they said, man, that could be a hit. I said whatever. They said, come see us tomorrow. We'll make a deal. And they left. So I said to Jake that they leave the room and I go, Jake, what do I do? He says, you go in there, yes, for thirteen points. You want three thousand pounds advance, and there you go. And if they want anything to be a remix or in that stuff, as long as they
pay for it, that's good. But make sure you get the three thousand pounds and don't leave without the check. And I said, So I went there and made a singles deal, and I came home to San Francisco. I said, boys, we got a singles deal. And then I cut with the three thousand pounds. I've got the studio time. Actually, it's a funny. It's a funny story because they wanted more vocal on exodisco. It's all I'd said is come on, baby,
come on down that kind of thing, you know. So they wanted me to a little more vocal on it. I said, no problem, give me the three thousand. They gave me the check.
You were your own manager and negotiated and everything.
So now I get back and I go to the studio. I said, man, we got a deal for it. I got to put some vocal, some more vocal on it. We go to the multi track tape and it was also had tones on that reel, and while they aligned the machine, they erased thirty seconds of the master tape that we had Recordedd go on, this is you know. So I went, oh my god, what what I said?
That's a great engineer scream.
So now I told him. I said, look, I'm gonna have to replicate this record. You got to give me a week. They said, we'll give it whatever you want. I said, well, give me five days. Okay, fine, you're so good. So I took the exit disco funk around. I took the two track that we had and I put it on two of the twenty four track, and I sang on another track, and I mixed it down to a two track and that took like four hours and we were done, and then cut these three other songs with the.
Hustle Hustle, This the Best.
Hustle One Congratulated sixteen, and those.
Three tunes got us our manager and eventually our record.
You, Louis, I know there's a guy documenting your every life, but do you have like a book deal where you tell everybody how to make it in the music business.
Because I'm in the music business and I would totally buy that ship. In the sand like, I mean ship, So I kind of want to skip over, not skip over the eighties. No, no, no, no, dude, Like this is the education first of all?
Can I assume that the baddest bad that you cover Nicholas is also the badest bad?
Was Dave Edmonds born Nicholas.
Blue shuffle the way he did? But then it's God? But then what we repraised it as the a cappella thing on sports?
Okay, so still the same song, that same song, I don't want to know.
But a completely different version.
Yeah, okay, okay, So what what I do want to know is how was Bill Snee being a skilly dan head that I am?
How is Bill Snee?
Uh?
How did he get involved with the very first Huey Lewis record? His his engineering you.
Know your stuff? Well, see this is the thing your stuff?
I want to because the thing is is.
That well Shnave's done a lot of stuff, right.
Yeah, but most of them, Like he was the engineer of the classic steely stuff, And really I feel like his sound was the proprietor of I don't know if you consider that the four letter word of the perfection of yacht rock sounds.
That clean sine.
Yeah, I see that.
So what was it did you have reservations with? Like what was your view?
Because the thing is, you expressed a lot of opinions, especially on sports, were bad as bad and also the heart of rock and roll about what I assume your criticism of you know what, what is raw and true to the music versus you know, the scene of whatever's commercial today. So I'm as I'm assuming that you're coming from a purest standpoint to work with.
They sound like American psycho.
I know where you're going at, But I wasn't. Was it the fact that I mean, what made Was he chosen for you?
Or yeah? He was chosen for us because they even though we'd had you know, we were more experienced than most new bands. I was twenty but I was twenty nine years old at that point, which is and so he was, you know, he worked with he did boss boss silk degree, and he was low down and he's a great's a famous engineer. He's a great engineer. And so yeah, we worked with we worked together, and we have this joke because we worked together a couple of
times over the year and we don't work together. Well, I mean, how was the conflict idea what you're talking about?
Yes, what was the was their conflict in?
Musically? It never worked. I love Bill Shnee, He's a good friend of mine, right, but it just we just never I guess our tastes maybe didn't match or I don't know why. And he's a brilliant engineer. It just we just never could hit it. You know, we never got anything we ever did together just didn't happen. So second record, Now we get a secondment. And I told the manager, my manager, I said, look, we can do
this ourselves. You know, by this point we'd had we auditioned producers and you know, gone through a zillion of them.
And why weren't you using Nick Lowe as a producer.
Well, let's see, we were now here, but Nick, I don't know, he hadn't.
Gone while you were on crystals at this point or we're on chrystals okay, so and just a different label.
But at this point we felt like we could do it ourselves. And our manager went to fight, went to bat for us, and so then we started making our own records.
I also want you to discuss uh Phil from Thin Lizzie Phil Uh filling it? Yeah, and you played on a records as well, Like what was the relationship there and how well we When I.
Was in Clover, we toured with Thin Lizzie and Philip was an unbelievable guy, an unbelievable performer first of all hard rock band with soul, you know what I mean. They were just great. And Brian Downey he's back up now, but he could play and he can shuffle, you know, which didn't used to happen in London in England. You know, there were guys, there's certain beats that just the British just.
So British weren't too cool and you.
Know what I mean, it couldn't couldn't swing somehow. And but but Brian Downey was great and thin as he were unbelievable, and uh, Philip just kind of took me under his wing man and said he I played on a few of his things, and I lived with him for a minute and he would dress me out of his closet, you know, and uh, he was just a He taught me more than anybody how to run a band and how to you know, just all kinds of stuff.
I've learned everything everything nothing thiss sorry musically, but everything other than music.
Okay, so on your second album, based on where the placement of do You Believe in Love is on that album, which is like kind of the middle side too, can I assume that was the last song recorded for the record?
Yeah, damn, I'm good. You are good and not according to Yeah, because they, you know, we needed a hit kind of thing and they thought this was a single.
That said Okay, the thing is what makes that song stand out so much to me. So how did you guys as well? First of all, as a unit, how long were you guys together in the gelling process and the practice process and to get that good because you guys play like you like each other.
Yeah, well we were, we were right now Yeah, what are you saying?
Years for the roots to like each other? And wow we love each other now because we're old ass men, we all we got wow.
But ship just got real therapy.
I will say in it that.
Yes, the chemistry and the gelling of course comes together on that record. But I based on the tightness of the harmonies. That's where I feel like you guys really shine where most groups don't, like you know, occasionally Eagles with that level too.
Yeah, how we have the secret is good singers and Johnny Cola are our saxophone and guitar is a great singer, and and and also and a great arranger. And Bill our drummer, sings, and Sean sings bass, and and and we have a kind of an okay, blend. We're just lucky that way. You know, you never know, you never know about it's a little bit better. A blend is a blend, you know what. It either works for a dozen or it is what it is. But uh, but that's what that is. And Johnny Colea gets most of
the credit for that, for the vocals, arrangements and stuff. Okay, he's great.
So how did you wrestle that song from Mutt without him producing it?
Well, how do we get the song?
Or did he demo it perfectly?
And you guys, and I rewrote it a little bit. It was he had it. We both believe in love, we both believe it's ours. You really give enough? Yeah, you really make me see the stars. I went on, wait, did you just ask him for a throwaway?
Like, do you have anything that you asked.
Him for a song? I said, but you got a song, We got a record. You know, we need a song.
And this is post a c d C. Because yeah, now oh so now he's on fire and yeah that sort of thing. Well, yeah, I think it's post. Yeah it has to be eight two. Okay, you're right. Well, so how did you wrestle it from him? How'd I wrestle it from him? No, he was he was happy. It was great.
He just said it right away.
Okay.
He's a good friend, Mutt, and he's a brilliant you know, you know, I mean he's a CDC and foreigner and all the.
So can you tell me? I mean, of course, I mean Beaver missed to not say that. We have to announce that.
Of course, the rise of MTV was very instrumental in the millions of records you sold that you know, for the Sports album, your third album. But could you tell me what was the touring environment like before Sports as opposed to afterwards? As far as right, what was what was what was rock?
What was touring like for.
Pre MTV kind of like what was were you guys Chitlin circuit? You know, you had one top ten hit? Like, what was the environment like that?
Oh?
We had we had one tour were called working for a Living tour where we had all of us on one bus, right, and the crew and the thing, and we went out for ten weeks. We held our record back because we were just finished with sports record and we basically just finished it, and then, uh, the record label we hadn't mixed it yet, and the record label
went belly up Christmas and sold out to CBS. Christmas sold out to down Christmas, went shut down their whole distribution and all their stuff and went with CBS Distribution. They fired about most of their employees and a lot of a lot of their independent stuff they got rid of and just became a label then, and CBS was going to distribute. Well, we weren't sure how that was going to work out. So manager decided we just hit the road and try and pay for ourselves. So we
did a ten week working for a living tour. We did all the clubs and all the all that sort of stuff.
You guys alone with other acts.
But as soon as the record hit, well, you know, we got a tour. We toured with Well thirty eight Special, toured with Toto, a little bit turned with and you could feel the record happening, you know, are you could just feel people showing up for the record now.
I mean there are different types of audiences for pop music, and you know, I mean, have you ever encountered or toured with an act whose fan base was different than what you desired? I mean.
Clover Clover reopened for Alice Cooper at the Nasau Coliseum. We got bombed Long Island, landing here and here and boom and guys, damn sheep Gordon then protect you, guys.
Say still there on the show.
Not known for its security, the Clovers.
I mean, the thing is is that.
You know what what what audience do you feel is specifically your audience as opposed to like, was was there any worry, any worries about pairing with another acting?
Yeah? Yeah, I mean we are first Huey Lewis and the News. First tour was with the Doobie Brothers because they were pals. Var makes sense and McPhee our Clover's old guitar player was now playing with the Doobies, so that we we got that tour. We had the same agency and all that. So we went out with Adobies for a national tour and we got basically booed off, not quite bowed up, because we knew enough to go
from song to song before they could book. But if you if you you would, if you just wait, just be quiet, it would go whit.
I remember, where's your all, right, what's the worst. Let's stay in North America in your mind? What's your favorite territory where they're open mind? Like I got my spots, Like I know where they're open minded and where I can stretch with the stuff, and then I know where it's going to be a cell even twenty years in the game, where I got to hit them with the hits and get out. For you, what are you rolling
your eyes at? Like, oh god, we got to go back to like what territories were not to LA's stuff.
LA has always been tough for us, a San Francisco band, and we've always you know, well the and the I mean we'd go down there and you know, there was X and then there was the who are the other bands? There's zillion bands that rock acts and who all did great,
But we never they never reckoned us down there. We could never never get over, never get until and then once I remember, we finally years later, we played we played three forms three LA forums and you know, and now we're back in l A again and we had three forums. First night, everybody's there, you know, all the music, all the total guys, all the all the musicians are there, snaves there, you know, all the all. I'm nervous, you know, you know, yeah, all that stuff. And then it sold
out and all. So I remember thinking, be just don't press relax, Just don't press relax, you know. And it's like, I'm a kind of a veteran now. So I go out the first night and I play what I think is a great show. We have a great show. Finally, I wasn't nervous. I feel great anytime I get I before that, when I would get a bad review, we actually got great reviews starting up. But whenever I get a bad review, it was always from a bad show, and I could always think to myself, you know what,
he's right, I could have been better. That's right, it's no problem. So this time LA for him. First night, I think it is a great show. We go back to the hotel, we go to bed. I wake up in the morning, I want to see the paper. Everybody in this room knows where this is going on. And my manager's having breakfast and he goes, hey, here, he says, everybody who had got a great review in the La Times come on down and eat breakfast. Not so fast, Robert Hilbert had just tore me up. You know, I thought,
damn it, what's that about. Well, here's here's you guys will appreciate this, I think, I hope. But so I struggled with that because I know we were good that night and I wasn't nervous, and I knew we were good, and it just bothered me for years. Now I'm recording another record at Lucas Uh Lucas's studio, Skywalker Ranch and George Lucas and they just opened it. This is amazing studio, and George is giving me a personal tour and we
go around. He shows me everything. It's really great, and he says, now, at first the house and they have this unbelievable where they give you lunch and all. Now the ranch and all that. He says, Now, let's go look, let's go. Let me show you the studio. I said great. He says, Linda's in there now, Linda Ronstad. That's when he was dating. She was dating George. I said, oh great, great. We go in the studio and there's Linda and then she goes, oh man, Hi, Huey got I love your stuff.
Both She's just funny. Should be here because Brian Wilson's showing up in a minute to do some vocals. I said, you're kidding me. No, I said, wow, do you mind if I just hang out? She just no, no problem. Great, So I finished, I said, I'm hanging around. But it's like lunch. They're taking a break. Boom, here's Brian. I said, well, I do myself, Mike, Brian, this is Huey. Lucy goes, oh man, you know there's funny ways. Yeah, I know who you are. I know you are just I saw
your show. I've seen the show. He's just my top ten might have been top three, top three shows I've ever seen ever ever, top three, top three shows. I said, whoa, thank you really great? You mind if I share that with my guys? Yeah, no, no problem. I said, wow, that's going to make our whole day. I said, where was it? He said, l A four? I said, I said, I said, which night? Which night? He says, first night. I said, Brian Wilson, wilcuse me wrong, ran true story.
The look and discussed there's three quarters.
No, well that's funny he mentioned Wilson because I didn't want to go superquest lovel hyper bowl when.
I hyper bowl.
Yes I am hyper bowl. That's my favorite sport.
Hyper Bowl, no happen.
I didn't want to go full.
Quest love hyperbole when I wanted to compare their harmony game close to that of Beach Boys.
But that's how tight.
You gave it an email and they were a big influence on and you can clearly that ship.
You can hear it.
That's why you know.
I agree.
Okay, I won't embarrass myself, but sorry about Robert Man. But I mean, uh, now that you say it, yeah, l A is not being kind to a lot of greats. There's the infamous uh Prince Rolling Rolling Stone uh show where he got mercilessly boot. I mean, there's plenty of others. So that's weird that you say that l A is. I can I can imagine. I can imagine that.
I think for you, it's probably easy to do a spot outside of LA where there's not the pressure here is watching you.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, these are good towns for us. It's it's it's I don't want to.
Lewis Camp.
Make it pounds LSD.
You can't stop outing with you. What the fuck is happening?
Like mind meld, we're getting the contact.
Yeah, I mean it's magic.
No, I mean it's it's it's like a sports sports towns, the great sports town also great rock and roll towns, and the towns were you know, I mean, l A is the worst baseball town in the world. To this place. We had heard for years the Cleveland was was the was the best rock and roll town in America. And I thought, really, Cleveland, how can Cleveland be? I had no clol So we played the Agora there and had
this amazing gig. And afterwards we're driving out of town in the bus and it and it's a gray, kind of a dismal day and the skyline of Cleveland is its not every day, pretty rough looking. And I said, I said to the guys that we'd had this. I went, wow, guys, you know what the harder rock and roll really is in Cleveland. I said, Oh my god, that's a song, the harder rock and rolls in Cleveland. And my that's the genesis of it, John, the harder rock and rolls
in Cleveland. Oh my god, I'll work on it. I'll work on it and so but.
That was the inspry.
Because I've been saying the harder rock and roll is the beat still beating.
That initially that I just thought it was the beat still beating, like still beaten, still beating.
The old boy might be barely breathing. Okay, Harder rock and roll would still be, thank you. And really what it's about is about you know, the rock and roll business is in l A and New York, but you find good bands everywhere, and good music is everywhere, and that's what that's That was how vindicated?
How vindicated did you feel when they announced in eighty seven that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was going to be well still be because we were all like what And then once they gave their reasons, I was like, okay, okay, So were you at all shocked at the.
Reception of sports at all?
Well? Yeah, I mean, you know the thing is when I listened to sports right as I realized then we were making on records and this is eighty We made the record in eighty two, released.
In eighty three, So I'm sorry what studio.
We cut mostly at the record plant and at Fantasy Records and a place called Studio D in Saucelito did some overdubs Era and Bob Cleer Mountain mixed it here at the power station right here in New York. But if you think about it, eighty three radio was king. MTV had just started. There was a big beef about how MTV wasn't playing any diverse artists and that stuff. But what they were doing is they were following radio
and Records's playlist exactly. That's why some of the tunes which your hits had those horrible videos that they kept showing over and over again, and then we have those. But it was a radio world and there was no internet. There was no you know, no no pop radio, no, no computers, no, none of that stuff. So you we had and by then CHR radio was the only format. You know. Radio Top forty started with a guy in
Fresno with the advent of push button radio. A program in Fesno figured out that if with push button radios, if people heard something they didn't like, they'd switch the channel. So the idea was narrow your playlist. Top forty, play the hits over and over again so they never leave. And then FM came as an alternative to that. With all the.
Album cuts.
But within eight years it was programmed and CHR was the format contemporary hit radio on f radio, and so we all competed for that format, which was a hit single. And if you did not have a hit single, you didn't exist. So our job making our record was to have a hit. And so we well, that's it. We aimed everything we are looking at, but we aimed every song at radio and different. One was kind of a rocker, one was kind of not a rocker. One was kind of a little more R and B. But we knew
we needed a hit. We didn't know we were gonna have six album, but we knew we needed one. And beginning, what did you aim for, Like, let's just have three top ten hits in a single a hit. I tried to make everything I hit and and now that I listened back to sports, it is an album of its time. It's a collection of singles album. The greatest one song
doesn't have anything to do with the other song. I mean finally found a Home and bad as bad these are these are like different genres of music entirely in a way. Our subsequent albums hold together much better as albums, and.
You didn't clearly didn't think about that as you were making this. It was just like it was just a hit. It was just make a hit.
It wasn't like make.
And make and hit hey as a song. I'll go one above MTV and ask you, did you ever fathom in your life that one day your song, uh, specifically the harder rock and roll would ever be utilized in a soul trained dance line?
Are you where the fact that you guys have rotation on Soul Trained for one year?
We would?
So here's the deal.
So Cornelius had had taste, here's the.
So good confirmed the deal was in eighty four.
Okay, So Black People's relationship with MTV's is rather strange because of course, you know, Rick Rick James had legitimate be like, well, I've sold out stadiums.
No, no, no, I'm not on TV. So the thing is to watch Michael Jackson videos. Especially that most cable networks weren't in the actual inner city. They were more of a suburbia thing. So we would have to plan weekends. So I would spend like a weekend a youth bill.
I just remembered, like going to my aunt's house in Kentucky and she had MTV.
Yeah, and that's the thing.
Most of my weekends in nineteen eighty three eighty four, Yo, can I spend the night Aunts Sheer and Uncle Junie's house.
So I would go to the suburbs, the Philly out in Yayden, back when Jayden was a.
Suburb, and I would sit in front of MTV seventeen hours now, yes, to wait for those five rotations of beat It to come on and Billy Jean.
However, all that other stuff's coming to me too. You guys are coming to each.
I remember the Pat bennettar one where the Nazis are doing.
This, yes, yes, yeah, Hells for Children.
It's literally like all this Thomas Dobie and Nina ninety nine lef yes, everything, everything that defines MTV. I'm I'm absorbing just so I can wait for the Michael Jackson videos. But I'm you know, after nine nine rotations of this now I'm fans of them too.
And just think a moment a mirror. I just want to think the whole audience is went. That's why I know all this ship.
We were waiting for beat It to come on every hour and a half. Because so the thing is is that in eighty four, I think Don Cornelius saw the paradigm shift. So the first sign of it was during the during the Tina Marie episode of eighty four, he showed.
Everyone remembers where they were.
It was like that time that no, no, no, well I'm saying they showed the rap around your finger thing, and that was weird to say. And now from the video world, one of the rock greats, the police are wrapped around your finger.
We're like, we look at each other like huh. White people assault like this.
So during the run DMC episode of Soul Training, white people were never on jazz band, well, no they were, I mean, Bowie down.
John breathing breathing black people. I get it.
So the point is that during the run dem Se dazz Band episode, they showed the Hard Rock.
And Roll Video Award.
No it was I mean then it was like, you know, I realized that Don realized he had to play the game of the day, and the thing was you had to amalgamate.
Modern pop inside your format.
I mean, some things were weird, like I think once he tried to make uh Genesis illegal alien work. But the songs like one hundred and fifty DPMs. It's too song to dance, it's too fast to dance to.
You can't do the whole line thing with that ship.
So no harder rock and roll got three for you guys to be placed on the souldiering dance line, which is like, no, that's prime real estate spot.
That is some major ship.
You know about the dance line? Did you watch Train? I said, do you know about the dance line?
Yeah?
So you know that's like soul Train a cultural final about it.
I know I never saw a harder rock and roll on Soultree.
It is.
It's a it's a thing, trust me, it's a major thing. It's crazy. Can you describe the night of USA for Africa?
Jesus?
Was it just a routine stop for you? Was it not?
It was unbelievable. I mean, you mean we are the world right, yes, I mean you know you can imagine. Just you don't get to meet all those people in a lifetime or a career. And I mean, and Ray Charles was there. I couldn't. I couldn't. I couldn't even introduce myself to Ray Charles. I just I just hung back and watched him a lot of time. I totally understand it was I was just I'm just totally in all of Ray Charles. And then did you bomb with
anyone there? Like, yeah, Paul Simon was was crazy? Okay, Paul?
Was there anybody you were nervous to be besides Ray Charles?
Everybody?
Well, Bruce, we hung out with Bruce told jokes for a long time. It was they let nobody in there but the artists for a long time and it was really amazing.
So all your people at to stay in the green room or a green.
Room there with a thing and they were just it was just us and man, it was. It was an amazing evening.
How long did general background vocals take to do for that session, the whole because I know that you're one of the leads, but all the background not long. How long did it take the record in general?
Well, we started after to the American Music Awards, so that was probably eleven, well early in LA so six to nine, so we're there at ten o'clock, I bet, and we went all night and then the Dylan's thing that he sang was in the morning was like six seven in the morning.
We can tell it looks it looks it he looks six am oh my goodness, so.
He looks like six am six.
So okay, here's the thing.
I mean, background balls have probably done ten I bet they were done by midnight or twelve thirty. We all sang the same part, right, he did all the parts, and then we all sang the same part unison, and then they put him together.
So I would almost say that your A game has to be on point because I would assume that it could be very intimidating to sing in front of all these people. So the ways we're like, look, okay, you got me singing right after Michael Jackson. Can I just punch in, like punch it.
In or like it's funny, because I you know, I'm nervous. My legs my leg was shaken like this. I couldn't I couldn't stop my leg from shaking. I was so nervous. And of course we start and Hamburdo Gatica was the was the engineer, and so they start boom, and they wanted to go one full pass all the way around because they had to bleed the microphones one down, one up and like that, and with the ambience and everything, so they didn't want to punch and all that they
want to get one full performance. So they started with Lionel and then Stevie Wonder and Stevie's messed this thing up kind of almost on purpose, just being cute and funny. So they stopped the tape and then they go back and they started again, and they get about halfway and Algerol messes up. They stop and they go back and now he comes out to a just bike. I said, can you run the whole piece so we can have a shot at her bed. You know, I just Quincy just sang me the line. No, he had Michael sing
me the line. Quincy says, sing it for me. I sang it. He says, great, go again, So I want to try it right and and he keeps stopping, and he keeps stubbing, but finding we went all the way through and uh then we finished and and now Quincy says, it's good. But I'll tell you, let's do one more anding Hue, why don't you sing a harmony with with uh Cindy? Oh, he comes in.
I was staying together.
Okay, okay, well that's a creative choice. Single harmony was one am I gonna and I got look I'm looking at Stevie wonder right, and you know what, forget about it. I'm gonna make up this thing. And you know, so, you know, it worked out. I don't even know what I did.
I was so that vocal was a concurrent, no point.
All the way through. And when we cut it, you know, Michael was right next to me and and he was h he didn't miss a trick, man. I mean, he, in his kind of little spacey way, did not miss a trick. He knew exactly what was going on. And so when I asked Humberto, I said, can you let it run it through this weekend? Run our lines? You went, good, idea, that's good. So now now running head and finally we
do this one pass that's really good. And now he goes and humber and Quincy goes, all right, good, let's do one more. And we go back to one more and he goes and Michael urgently grabs the shirts. They're going to save that, aren't they. I said, yeah, they're going to save that one. He goes, that was one. I said, I know it. It was the one.
Look, yeah, I got anxiety just listening to the I need.
Yeah, Michael did not miss a trick man was on it.
How did you get how were you picked as one of the solo people?
Got? No years, no, no, yeah. Other than that the group, I got princes line welcome, Oh.
Siren, I did a siren. Wait you now, I gotta imagine Prince singing right before Michael, that little dirty Michael tried to set Prince up like I'm gonna go first and then you you followed me up.
Wow. Yeah. Remember Prince didn't show on the whole deal.
I think he was just too nervous to be around all those people. And plus he's the type of person that has to have a complete control over everything when he records.
So he wasn't about to give.
Michael had way too much.
But so last minute I didn't know. I thought it was done and I'm over there, Well we finished the vote. Great, come guy. Some guy gives says, Quincy wants to see it, and I can walk back into the studio. He goes smelly singing the line he called Michael, just singing the line. Michael sings a line.
I sing it.
He goes, good, you got it, And it was Prince's line that I got.
But also that line is fairly high in your range. If I'm not mistaken. Were you afraid of that line or were you just you felt it?
What's that now?
Were you afraid of the line because it's it's higher in your range?
I think, Yeah, he sang it. I sang it back. That's awesome, you know. I was so I mean, that is kind of like a fog for me. I was so nervous. You can imagine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean there's your Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan raising under ray, Charles Danroyd forget about it.
Yeah yeahh wait was this Stephen Bishop there too? No, it was someone somebody like really odd was just like Dan Akroyd. He was the odd one out because it was USA for Africa and he's Canadian.
Whalen Jennings Wal Jennings. He did not have a good time, really he was. He was upset. He was upset, and he walked in the middle of the deal. He split.
Oh wow, serious.
Well, Stevie at some point wanted to the background vocals to be in Swahili.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, hearing about that.
So we he got we sent out for two African gals who knew could speak Swahil. You could translate the background votes. And when they came into the studio and they and we're all standing around, they stand there, Okay, now what is this? Say this in swa anyway.
Something like that.
At this point, At this point, Ray Ray Charles goes, raise over here, Wrigles rang the bell, Quincy, is that any good?
Good?
You know there was a break.
That's awesome.
There was a break. There was a break in the action. And now we're taking a break. And I'm just shadowing, Ray Charles. This is what I did, though, I just staying three feet away from.
Just checking them out, talking.
Shadowing.
But he now sits down at the piano and starts playing this kind of blues thing and he goes a cute remember this one. And he's playing like that, and Quincy looks at me and he goes, you know, Alana, Richie wasn't even born when we cut that song. Really, you know they did in Seattle. Pretty cool. Now I'm now I'm talking to Willie Nelson over there, and he's going, he's going, hey, I hear you play golf. I said, yeah, I just started. It's fun to do on the road.
He goes, yeah, that's what we do. I said, I just you put your clubs on the bus. I said, yeah, we put our clubs on the bus and we played. He said, yeah, that's what we're doing too. And we're talking and Bob Dylan comes over, walks over and he goes, are you guys talking about golf? He said yeah. He goes, wow, that's outrageous. I said no, Bob, phil Skyline was outraged. This is just golf.
Is this officially the first time that you're meeting your peers or so? Was there any bonding in your career to that point with notable celebs like you.
Weren't BFFs with the guys from Toto or Low.
I mean, you know, but Dylan wrote me a really nice note man at the end of the deal, wrote me, sent me and he sent me a song. Really, he sent me a song that I didn't cut, which is a complete mistake. Bob Dylan sends you a song, you do.
It.
Did somebody else end up cutting it?
No?
I never heard it. I never heard it. So but he also sent me a Junior Parker song. He was great. He WoT me a really nice note. He's smart, you know, Bob, Bob Dylan is smart.
So okay, I have a question now having joined uh Columbia House, I always always say that. Also my education comes from the fact that I never sent the records back when I got them at Columbia House. So it's like, you know, if you don't want something, you have thirty days, you have thirty days if just never pay for them, that's what the that's what oh that of the scam. No, I didn't have hustle in me.
So that said, and having having all all of your your your your records, I'm now noticing that with the massive amount of units sold for sports, usually people figure out, Okay, I'm gonna do the departure record like the opposite of it.
Which I'm gonna say for small world. But you guys actually decided to keep up the stamina with four So how hard was it to.
Live up to that pressure? Like, Okay, now we're in the machine, like I feel like breaking in his heart, but staying there is even harder.
Very very perceptive, man, you're very perceptive.
Really, I actually told him to Steve that might be true.
No, it isn't it.
No, No, because it's rare. It's I can name few instances.
I mean, someone Richie tried to follow with with with we cancelo down and dancing on the ceiling with thriller and bad Sports for anyone else does the departure record next? So what what was your mind state of Okay, we gotta come back the same or.
Well this is because this is economics here, because in back in those days, you know, it wasn't it was wasn't Internet and all that stuff. So if you sold a big if you had a big record, your next record was gonna ship you know, a million units right out of the box. So the idea was, hit them while they're hot, make your next record as soon as you can, and no matter what. And that's and that's
how you make it. But you know, so we sold you know, ten million copies of Sports, Well four was already going to go four million, no matter what it was like. So that was the problem, you know, because we we had to and they were on est for deadline one of them, and you know, you got to write the songs. It's hard to write, and so that
was a tough record to make for us. We were struggling, and we wound up over here and in the power station, fishing off under deadlines with two studios going and singing in one and playing guitar and the other and mixing in a third. And it wasn't it wasn't a fun record to make, because you're right, we did it really to just capitalize on our success, you know.
But I think there's an art to not overthinking it. And that's why.
Now the thing is, do you with with the with the words that Brett Ellis wrote for American Psycho, did you feel as though they were being sarcastic or do you feel I feel as though he wrote that in truth? As far as for being your most accomplished records in the in the.
I thought he did it was amazing. I read I heard about it. I read the book and he had these little dissertations not only on us but Phil Collins and Tina and he nailed it. I thought. I mean, he was clearly a fan and he was he understo you know. I mean, I thought he did a pretty critical job. And then they asked this for the film. Would would he would we could use the tune? And I knew the book, I knew the story and all that. I said, Sure, what's William Dafoe right?
Yeah?
I love William Dafoe and it's an art Christian smale, and so I said, no problem, you got it, and they paid us and they got the song. Then what happened was maybe a month before the song, before the movie was released, they said to the Knoe manager said, they want to do a soundtrack and he said, well, great, what that's gonna what's that gonna look like? And it was it was hip to be square. I think there was a Phil Collins tune and the rest was like
source music. It was like a kind of a crappy record. You know. It wasn't gonna be a great album, the album, and so my manager just to.
Buy your record too. Huh, It's probably best to just buy your album.
So my manager said to me, he says, what do you think about this? They want to do a soundtrack album. I said, well, that's not going to be fair to our fans. I mean, fans are going to buy that for what? For one song? I mean, that's just do we have to do this? He says, no, no, well it's not a part of the deal. They just they just mentioned it. I said, yeah, let's politely decline, which he did.
So.
Now on the eve of the release of the movie, literally they send out a press release that says that Huey Lewis has pulled his tune from the soundtrack because the movie is too violent, trying to gin up attention for the movie. Really, and I thought, come on, fellas, please not cool, you know, not cool? Show this check.
Well, let's go back to Back to the Future, which, by the way, can I say that I did not realize that you had a cameo in that movie until like a week ago.
You know know, he was the guys.
I did not realize that was you.
Yeah, that was the idea. Really, it just kind of disguised me and it was the Mecca's Well it worked. It took thirty years for me to realize it worked.
This guy was pretty good, so well, I just wasn't expecting it to.
Be you, you know.
Yeah, with how you treated music videos and your your Hollywood looks, you could have been the clooney of videos. Well the wa why did you not explore acting further? They're in or were you loyal to the guys? And I don't want to leave them out there? And yeah, we were doing what we wanted to do. We were writing our songs and selling out venues everywhere. Everything was great, you know. And the video thing is funny because we actually.
Did our own We did it. There was an outfit called Video West in San Francisco. First video camera, ever, videotape. This is brand new. This was seventy eight, brand new. And so she said, we'll video a couple of year songs. Are a song if we can show it on our Video West program. That and a cable cable was all this stuff was new. I said, sure, so we and you can have the video. So we we shut the video. They showed it, and the video helped us get a
record deal. And when we got the record deal, we had Do You Believe in Love was our second single. And now the record label decided the first single off the off that record of second album that we and we by this point we were making our own rep. We're producing on records. We produced our second record picture this ourselves and so but they decided that we needed a professional video and so they hired an ad agency guy to do the do You Believe in Love? Video?
And the set was all in pastels and Matt we had kind of pastel shirts that they were kind of matching with makeup, you know, and little rouge on our cheeks and stuff. This is the video where the five of us are in bed with the girl and all this stuff. And so they shot this video all day
and night. And now we go home. And now two weeks later we go back for the playback, and we go back in and at Christmas Records, and a bunch of people from the record company, a bunch of people from the video company, my band, a bunch of our guys. There were probably thirty people in the room. And so they say, okay, here's the new video, and they share off lights and they play the video and I just sank my heart, just said I was so terrible. I believe it was just horrible. I just thought there was
no direction. The guy wasn't singing to the case lose, He's singing to what's going on here. The whole thing was a mess, I thought. And we looked silly with a rouge on her cheeks and all that stuff. I said, this is horrible, almost a billy squire out And I remember thinking, oh, this is this is terrible. This is horrible. And the video ends and everybody stands up and applaud. It's kind of standing on this. So I thought to myself. Anybody can do this. We're doing our own records, we
need to do our own videos. So from then on we did our own videos. And the idea was, don't ape the song, don't have anything to do with the song. If the song ziggs, make the video zag, don't tell, don't retell the story, and just goof. And we did him in San Francisco on different sides of Portreal Hill, almost just to let the let the seagulls and the ocean, let that be the be the production stuff. Let chew the scenery, and that was the theory. And we did
a bunch of them that way. We did one New Drug. If this is it, h stuck with you? That is bad. All these were done in the same manner, in the same place.
I got to interrupt you because I just thought about something I can't I can't count the amount of times I filled the kitchen sink with water.
One of the opening scenes about want a New Drug, is, you know, filling up the.
Sink with.
Water and ice water.
I swipe that right. I starn't wear Paul Newman Harper. The opening scene of Harper and Paul Newman, he wakes up hungover. It's ice in the sink, but it's his head of the ice.
I never was.
Unbelievably cold.
This is what people want to trust me.
It was unbelievably cold.
It really was.
It was cold.
He I really wish I knew you back early in my career, because this is the second thing that I never thought about until right now, that sometimes you should just make a video for a song that has nothing to do.
I never thought of that. Whatsoever.
We want to stay out of the way of the song. I was always were I always thought, you know, why do we have to retell this story? Songs tell a story? And I always say, munch in the way. A good book is better than the movie. A good song is always better than the video for the same reason.
Damn, I never thought of that, And it's now way too late. So I can I why er Smith dar videos? We just never appear in our videos now.
So can I follow up?
Yes?
So Nick, love with that back to the future.
So with with with with that theory of yours with the videos, and now you're supplying songs to a movie. Did you use that same theory like power of love is not necessarily telling the same story exactly?
Yeah, real Steve. What happened was Steve Spielberg, Bob Zamechas and Bob Gail asked to take a meeting with us at Amblin at Amblin in La and we went there and took a meeting and Zameca said, look, we've just written this film called Back to the Future, and our hero, our lead character, guy called Marty McFly, and his favorite band would be Huey lewis in the news. So we thought, how would you like to write a song for the film. And I said, wow, I'm flattered. I don't know how
what writing for film means. I said, you know, I've never written for film. Don't have any idea. I said, besides, I'm not too keen on writing a song called back to the Future. And they said, oh, we don't care what you call it, do We just want one of your songs. So I said, okay, I'll send you the next thing we write, wow, which was power Love.
It was literally the next thing he wrote after that phone call.
That was the next thing we wrote, wow.
Really, But then Back in Time was written specifically.
They wanted another song for the credits, and by then I'd seen the film. I hadn't seen it, and so I wrote that as you know, specifically for that.
All right, so my my overriding question with regards to those songs, No, I mean, so we we understand that that they they You got the cameo in the movie based on your probably your video acting and your Hollywood good looks. As Questla pointed out, he is an attractive dude man, and and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but probably got the gig for the songs because you were like the biggest band happening at that moment. And and yes, I guess Martin McFly would be a fan.
But but there's something else going on. There's something that makes you like super perfect and those songs, like it seems like it's meshing in a way that's more than just a regular match. Like it seems like like interesting, that's very interesting for the film. But you didn't just like the combination of you and Michael J. Fox and whatever they did in that movie just seems like it's perfect.
You know, I have a theory about that, and I'm not I'm not. Uh, it's interesting in that, you know. And Zamechas always said that he always credited you know, Power Love. The song was released before the film, and they released a song and it went to number one. It takes like nine weeks or something to get to
number one. And then and so that they released the movie when Power Love was number one, and Zamechas already to this day we have a reunion sort of every five years, and he says it was the best marketing come out ever. You know, you got a number one song. But and and the interesting part about it is for me is that the fact that it had when I when I wrote the song, when we wrote the song, and and and I sent it to Zamecchas, I didn't think it was gonna work for them because there was
no love object in the film by that point. I'd read the script. At least I hadn't seen it, but I read the script and there was no I didn't think it was gonna work, but they used it in the chase scene. And I think, and I've I've I've thought about this subsequently. When when a song is is not when you don't retell the story, it's it's it's its own story, and it only it only is relevant tangentially to the thing, Yet it it becomes another leg
for that whole thing to stand on. In other words, it's better to have a song that stands on its own. That's not exactly about the film. It's better for the film because it gives us you get a good, strong song out of it. So many times we write songs just for the film and they're not that's all they do.
The knowledge he's dropping, it's like it makes no sense, but all the sense.
It makes perfect. It makes perfect sense to me.
I've learned three I've learned more like from this episode of question like supreme, like when not have any other one hundred place what.
He just said.
It almost it seems so obvious that you just kind of like want to ignore it because it just seems obvious that it can't be right.
But you've proven that it's yeah, because it's another's contrast, it's another leg of that. If you know what I mean.
There's it makes perfect sense.
So if someone asked you to write a song for a film, Now, what would you.
Do if I had to write a song for a film? Now, well, I probably do the same thing just writing a song. I mean, we have we have a musical that we're trying to get to Broadway. We just put it up in San Diego and I wrote a new song for that, and it was really kind of fun because it's really fun to write for other situations than your own right another voice. It's it's really creative and easy as opposed to writing for something that you want to say.
But speaking of musicals, how do you feel watching people taking yourself songs that they are more or less the same songs but in a totally different genre and watching like this, what has to make you feel as a songwriter?
Very interesting? Good question.
I I.
That's why I that's why I engaged in this music musical. I had a friend of mine, long story, they they they wrote the script and uh and we got it all up and then and I'm just I was worried about how the songs were going to be handled, and so you know, I was very careful about that because but our our musical director is a guy called Brian Yusifer who worked on Kicky Boots and a bunch of
other stuff. Well, he's absolutely brilliant. He again went against type with a song with a song was like like, uh, you know, uh uh, well hit me like a hammer, which is a male. He had a girls girls, girls singing and all this, So how they're handled is super important, right and uh, and you gotta be careful that because it can be a little silly sometimes.
Sure, so do you okay, do you worry about do you worry about that?
Because I'm coming from I just got back from London two days ago, but working on a jukebox musical of similar ilk And you worry about songs that were totally masculine based, are totally male based, switching them over or a song that was a fast I think that's a good idea to be honest, right, is to totally avoid them or whatever?
When when the when the original zagged? Seriously, I think.
Here's what I learned from Hugh Lewis, zig fuck it goes zag. That's a lesson number. Okay, keep going, sorry that your name on the show you.
Talk infiltrate then double gross.
That mic dropping.
Okay, So I know how how attached you were h to based on your press the Small World album?
Right, did you feel by the way Rolling Stones worst album of the year, Small World, worst album of the year.
I read that Rolling Stone, How does that sound?
Did you did you feel as though it was like, is there a fear of riding too high, and you wonder, okay, is this overkill?
Is this overkill?
Is this overkill?
No?
No, you know, honestly, four you called you got me on four. You know, four was an economic thing. We just rushed it out and tried to get capitalized on our momentum. But the win is a win. They're still hit there at least, But because we had a couple we had left art. But after that we honestly and even that even four, to a certain extent, since that time, I have never done anything for commercial reasons period. That's
a deal I made with myself. I said, look, you you know, you gotta stay pure to your just do stuff that matters to you and that and then you can't go wrong just you know, integrity. And so that's what Small World was. We were trying to do expand and do some other stuff. And you know the best part of that one is Stan gets his song. Yeah,
I mean, he just killed that thing. And that's a kind of a funny story because my dad was a jazzer, you know, and so u Zoot Sims died and and so they had a tribute to him at at Kimball's. I think or somewhere in San Francisco, right, And it wasn't Kimballs. It was the old Jazz Cup. I can't remember it, but now those three sixty five yeah maybe maybe. Anyway,
my old man loved all that stuff. So I secretly I got tickets for him, and I said, Pops, I got two tickets for the for the Zoot Sims benefit and Stan Gatz and and uh all they had all these guys. So now Jimmy Jones what So now we go and we and they showed me too, and I go in and go, oh my god, here we look. And my dad, you know, he didn't know anything from me. He hard hardcore jazzer. You know, he thought what I do is comic book stuff.
He loved the house, though, didn't he.
In the car at first he paid no attention. So now we go and we get the two seats, and they put us down there right on the aisle. And who's sitting right next but next next to where I'm sitting is Phil Elwood, the critic from the from the San Francisco Examiner, who's a jazz critic. And my old man knows all kinds of it. I mean, he knows he can tell you Jimmy Lunsford's band. He knows every musician in Chick Webb's band. I mean, my old man
knows jazz, you know, and he loves it. And so he sees Phil Elwood, and Phil Elwood goes, oh my god, Huey lewis right me. And my old man goes, oh my god, that's Phil Elwood. And he's recogniz I said, he knows who my kid is. So now he and Phil Elwood are talking and they're going about this and Jimmy Lunsford and this that and and then I feel the tap of my shoulder and I turn around and it's gets and he's wearing his horn and he's tapped.
It's the Houses, which kind of early. He's wearing his horn, and he taps me on the shoulder and he and I go. I look up. He goes, hey, Yoie lewis stan getz. He says, my girlfriend wants to eat your shorts. What do you say to that? Right? So I say, well, he says he, why don't you let me play on some of your ship? You know what? I can play that ship too. Oh my gosh, sure of course. Yeah.
Do you have a yeah, let me give you my card, he wrote on he wrote stan Getz wrote his phone number and but have sacks will traveler and gave me the card. But on the ride home, my ole man says to me, you know he's got cancer and he's not going to be around very long and if you don't take him up on that, I will never ever forgive you. I away to.
The record man.
That ship.
Was What kind of dad are you at this point? With your dad giving so much ship happening like your dad has been like go to Europe and fun off. You don't forget to get stan Getz on your record, because that's a real statement that people say, my kids, can we get them on the next question?
Girl and a boy.
My son, Well, Stan gets in my head. Stan Getz is the most laid back cat ever because all his playing is like that, Like if Stan gets on a.
Huey Lewis record, you'd be like rocking. You get to the sax solo and it be like that's fine.
Power horns on this record as well. We had to stand yet, we had to find out. We had to find a song. And Chris Hayes, our guitar player, wrote this little jam and I thought this would be great. And first, so we we did a demo of it, and I talked it at first. I went all around the world, there are people like you and me, from the poorest beggar in the street to the richest king and queen. Well the boom things whiling, and I was just kind of talking against it, which is kind of cool,
I thought. And then and then and that's all we had, and we and I sent it to Gets and he said, great, I'll do it. So we made an appointment to do it. And then meanwhile we put tower power on it, and we had all the tower power horns on it, and I sang it, I you know, sang it instead of spoken it. So he comes up to do it at the session, comes to studio DD. He just drive them. He comes out, he puts on it, gets his horn out, he goes out and think he starts playing. He goes,
oh my god, it's in C sharp. I'm it's you know C sharp for for a for a tenor for you? Yeah?
No, is it the concert?
Okay? So B concert? Really? Was it a B concert?
It's a whole step it's tenor. I was a tenor play growing up.
I wonder if we were real whatever. Yeah, he said, it's a funny key or something like that, and you.
Can't see sharp is not a tenor key at all. It sucks.
So and I said, wow, I didn't think of that. What I guess we could train v s o it or something. He says, really, what does that mean? I said, well, we can slow the tape down you play the way speech. So he says, okay, let's try it. So we tried to do that and it sounded like kazoos and so he was going, he's just don't worry about I'll just do it. He says, what I said, you sure? He says, yeah, it's just a challenge for super due. It goes out.
We say that all the time, and now all the time.
Now now gets goes out. And then and he starts the thing, and oh my god, clearly he had shedded it and he was he was just fooling. He had he had to shed it because he played it. And and what was amazing is he starts his solo and he's playing along real nice and all, and here comes tower power Bump bump it butter, No, butter, that butter, that butter that you know, these kind of lifts and and I and the big one they goes but but Butter, no no, And so in his headphones he's playing along
and then then years but he goes, Buddy. I mean, it was such a musical lesson watching him react to when when stuff got busy, he went. He went when stuff was low, he got busy when it was It was unbelievable watching him like one of the great experiences of my life.
I mean, those are the most polar opposite things IVE ever heard of. Tower of Power and stan Getz.
It's it's still and it was a seven minute track, and I got the idea of splitting it up and making it the first cut and last cut, which was a complete mistake. Should have kept the whole thing. Yeah, because his solo on there, which is part two, is the best musical moment on that record by a long shot. I mean, wow, it's just really cool. He just such a great player.
I just thought about something, and I know we gott to wrap it up, so well, I have one more question.
What do you mean you know you're the boss?
No?
No, because I'm about to go to movies. Okay, I forgot. You're in a Robert Altman film, Sir, I love.
Robert No, no, no, I was like, you don't act. No, that's what I'm saying, Like.
You're before that bullshit.
And mister Lewis or uh, did you ever fuck with the chromatic harp because you're such a diatonic carp player.
You're known for that like that. You always carry on like eight different harps and different keys and shit. Sorry sorry with the chromatic car Yeah, but I what I.
Do is playing C chromatic in D minor in your third position.
Why is that funny?
Bill?
Can you explain it to the dummi? Because I don't know what you're laughing at.
Oh okay, that was because no one would do that.
That's why it's interesting the old blues guys sometimes so.
Like, okay, so here's what you know. So like the average I'll explain this in front of Huey Lewis and I'll feel real fucked up about it, but I'll try.
So.
So Harmonica has blah blah blah holes, it's and it specific key and it's diatonic means it's in a scale, so it's like C or D or E or F. So most so let's take for a bad example, like John Popper of Blues Travelers carrying around eight hundred different harmonicas and different keys so they can play in different keys.
A chromatic harmonica is like something that Stevie Wonder plays, which has a little button on the side so you can go, but you can always you can play all different notes, whereas the other ones are just eight notes.
Although unless you're Howard Levy, right.
Unless you're Wow that wow cut, unless you're Howard Levy a great great or toots are like one of these guys all right on.
The original sysme theme would go real deep right anyway.
Such a great music.
So so so so Hughey is known as not a chromatic player, but a guy who would did you carry around a bunch of different harves?
Is that? Yeah?
Okay, so so so uh h would lose the news tunes are written in A and E and so are in C minor, like there's some weird ship, so you'd have to adjust the harmonica you're playing for the song
you're playing in. So he would carry around tell me if I'm wrong, I'm gonna tell Huey Lewis's business while he's betting right here that like he would play He's had a bunch of different harmonicas in different keys, and so if you have a chromatic harmonica, the idea is that you only would have one exactly right now, you should talk, But.
You have to be a much better player than I. I mean, you're it.
Did it matter at that point?
I mean like, no, you know, all you need is the chops to say what you need to say. And and what is it that you want to say? You don't which they said, there's there's there's hamburgers, and there's fois gras.
You know, I mean, so what really?
Whatever? I mean? You know, it's it's it's all creative.
Yeah, dude, man, man is my spirit?
And can we have you? We all time?
Love you? Wait? Did I just say that?
Oh God?
All right, wait, I just want to get to movies while we have a couple of minutes left.
Don't forget he's got he's a miracle to because we have to get to that.
Yes, we'll get to that.
Okay, So with you?
How did you get the role in short I'm such a Robert Altman fan. I forgot you're in Shortcuts? How did you get that role?
Well?
And good looks? Quest love? What's that he's amazing. Good looks. It's Hollywood good looks.
We they you know. I don't know how I got the I think it was I think it was my eight. Bill Robinson was is an agent, and I think he was. He was Almand's agent, and then he was a fan of mine, and he said, look, I'll be your agent. I said, well, I don't need an agent. I don't do anything. He said, well, let me just be your agent, just in cases. So then he got me the gig
or the audition or whatever it was. And so what I did is I went out to Santa Monica and just talked to Robert Altman and he invited me and he sat me down. He said, you fisherman, right, you fly fish? I said yeah, He says, cool. He said, look, let me give you a scenario. He says, two guys, three guys are going to go on a fishing trip. He says, and they go on a fishing trip. And they've been worried about it for like a year. They've
been planning for this trip. It's a big deal. And they got to pack in all the way, and they pack in all the way and they get in there in the evening, and they set up camp and one of the guy goes to take a leak. I was going to say, he goes to take a leak in the river and she's a dead body, right, he says, uh? And so what what are you going to do? He says, And meanwhile the fish a rising like crazy and it's nighttime. What are you going to do? I said, probably fish? You got the gate.
It's been a minute since I've seen shortcut. Wasn't that full frontal?
Who I remember one of you taking a piss?
Me?
Was it full frontal?
Full front I was going to say, there's something.
Only for all only Wait, there was something very unusual. Oh that's right. You definitely have to face the cameras you're taking a piss? Are you serious? She's really get No, she's getting on pornhob right now. Anyway, but he would do yeah, and.
His favorite Well, you know, I was telling them earlier that you were the only reason that I saw duets.
I was.
I was a big Hueye fan. Yeah, sweet yeah, because I was like he was going to be the star of a whole movie. Fuck yeah, because that was your first like biggest was my support?
How did you how did you. How did the same thing I read for the part with with Bruce Paltrow. You know. Gwenni's dad directed it. And then they they had apparently tried to make it earlier with but they couldn't find the right Ricky Dean, so with the not Lewis, and so they they pro in the game he uh, you know, he cast me. And then they said we want you to sing a song. I said, great, he says the song. The song in the script was song few Leon Russell and uh, and they changed She's but
Gwenna's going to change the song. I said, no problem. So now I get the part. We're gonna film it in Vancouver in like five months. But I get a call that Gwyneth has chosen the song. Uh, cruising, just chosen a song. It's a smokey Robinson tune. I went, great, what's smoking Robinson Cruising? I never I didn't know. I didn't know the song right, So I said, well, send it to me and we'll check it out. They send it to me. I said, okay, I got it. Let's
I called him back. I said, it sounds great. Let's let's get we need to get together around a piano and pick a key, and oh no, we already cut it.
I said, really another we are in the world since you went what key did you cut it in?
They said original key? I said, okay, So I listened to it and it's super high, you know. So so I fashioned this other part together and then we went down there and now we got into the studio, Gwyneth and me and forty five other people, like we've made up people and camera people and then record comings and blah blah, and Larry Klein reduced it and he did a great job. And she just sang her butt off. Man, she can really sing that girl.
Were you surprised with number one?
Yeah? You know what they did is they messed up on the film. What they should have done is the power power love, release it, let it go, but then release the movie. They released the movie in the song at the same time, and the movie went right, and then two months later the song was number one.
So his cruising did better than d'angelo's cruising. Okay, that's very okay, Well, you know it's Dangels was great.
You just look at that Simpsons placement.
So he's cool.
He did.
Yeah.
Yeah, when there there's a I think like margin Homer riding around the car and cruising.
Is on the radio?
Really, kid, how do you know that it's the Simpsons?
Okay, Paul, Phil it makes sense. So okay, I do have to ask you.
With with having trouble with your your hearing right now, when was the beginning of you? This is weird because I just got my ears cleaned out today? How does that happen? Was it just years of abuse on your ear?
Drums or the answers?
They don't know for my recent right this is like the last year change. It's not like year nine months, nine months.
I actually diagnosed with something called Miniere's disease. It's first for me. It started thirty five years ago. I got vertigo so bad I couldn't do a gig one time. I had to go to the hospital and then they gave me a thorozine it's appository, and then I was fine. And then five years later had another vertigo about then suddenly I lost my hearing in my right ear, like maybe twenty five years ago. Twenty years ago. Went to see my e in t guy. He says, get used
to it. I said, what whoa it happens? You only need one ear. I said, what do you mean, I'm a musician. He said, Jimmy Hendricks had one ear. Wait what Bryan Wilson had one ear? He says, I have one ear and I'm in a barbershop quartet. I said, really yeah, he says, you only need one. I said, all right. So I went home, told my wife that I he said to get used to it. She says, you can't do that. You got to go to UCSF get second opinion. I went and got tested up and down.
They couldn't. Nobody knows anything about this. So now a year and nine months ago, I lost my other ear before a gig, just went deaf, and I have a particularly acute case of Menyere's disease. Meneir's disease is a is a syndrome based on symptoms, which means they really don't know what it is. It's you know, if you have vertigo, hearing loss, fullness in your ears, and tinaitous. They call it many airs disease, but they don't know
what it is. I've been everywhere from Stanford are Institute House here, Institute, Mayo Clinic, UCSF, Mass General ironeer no help. I've had chiropractic. I've had acupuncture. I've had low salt, all organic diet, no caffeine, no chocolate, sentral oils. You know, I've tried everything. I've been to, the been to all the holistically I've nobody knows that. And yet my hearing
fluctuates still, but it's episodic. It's weird. It'll be okay for like for eight days, it'll okay, still crappy, but it's and then I'll then I'll go a week almost completely deaf, almost entirely deaf. What is that like? Especially when music is your well, forget music. I don't even think about music. It's worse than that. I think about being able to exist, because when I can't hear speed each when i'm bad right now, i'm one to ten, I'm a four. I've only been as good as six
ever and and i'm a four, which is good. But I can be one or one and a half. When I'm one and a half or two, I can't hear anything, and so I exist in a cocoon and it's it's it's it's okay, but you're better off by yourself, so there's nobody not to hear, and I read and I write. You know, I'm writing some stuff and and that's all. That's that's what I do. I haven't watched television in a year and nine months. I haven't listened to music in almost two years.
Like the performance thing must be clearly an issue then. But like when you're at like a six, I was, I was, we were watching your The teaser for your documentary is is singing versus harp playing different because because of the of the vibrations of the harp, can you feel it in your head? Versus singing is different?
No, it's all the same. And in fact, instrument playing an instrument in many ways, like harmonica is almost worse because you know, when you bend a note, you need pitch and you can't find pitch. When when I have a bass part, which would sound bow bow bow bow bow goes to me it sounds everything's what you're through a blown speaker, and you have to fight for pitch. You can't find pitch. Forget fun, you know, like what song is fun? You're in the middle of it. It's
just playing itself, you know what I mean. You're singing or playing and it's playing itself. That never happens once. If I'm a six and somebody plays quiet cocktail piano kind of thing, I can almost sing, but the points moot because I can't book a gig.
I had a month because I.
Don't know what I'm going to be like, got it ship?
Oh that's your.
You got a brand new so you got that done.
That wasn't felt good to make that happen, right, I said, you got a brand new record, and you got that done, so it felt good I had.
We had. These were seven tunes on our new record that we had cut before this happened. And what we were just taking our own sweet time. We're doing seventy five to eighty shows a year and trying to stay out of the limelight while we make another record, just keeping everybody alive fingering. The longer we stay away, the better if we're good when we come back. And my band, we were as good as we've ever been two years ago.
We were still improving. And but now that this happened, you know, we figured what and we were recording songs along with I mean, some of these songs we've been playing for ten years, you know, but we record them a little bit as we went because we have lives as well, you know, and doing seventy five shows, you don't have a lot of time to get in the studio. But we had these seven songs done. So now when this happened, we said, what the hell, let's release this song. So well.
I was going to say, are you big on vacations? But I guess living in Montana, that's sort.
Of like you your quiet place here.
I mean, now, how does it feel to slow down and just well, you know, I miss I don't miss doing five shows a week, you know, but I miss doing one and I miss my guys, you know, the camaraderie of all that we did together. I miss that. And I feel bad for my twenty five guys who you know are gone. And the fans have been great. I mean the letters and stuff, the support I get. You know, it's funny because you do this stuff, you know, just day to day, and you don't think about your
impact or any of that crap. I don't. You don't think about it at all. And now that I'm not doing it day to day and I get these letters and stuff. Wow, you know, it's really moving to say. I mean, people with cancer, people who have you know, we've lost people and all that stuff, how your music consoles them and so on. So it's really a wonderful thing. So I try to remind myself that I have, in spite of this, lots to be thankful for. You know, there's always somebody up worse off.
So amen.
Amen.
Yeah, you didn't know.
You was a joy bringer, Hugh Lewis.
You heard what I said.
I said you didn't You didn't know you were a joy bringer.
It's funny because I'm sitting here listening to you for the last two hours, and I was like, Hugh really doesn't understand the impact of his music and how certainly.
It's a select amount of bands or artists who can evoke such joy that whatever.
You're doing at that moment when their song comes on happiness, everything just stops.
And that's y'all.
Wait and prepping for this interview, you know, you go through the go through the catalog, you know, and I'm listening to songs and I'm like, damn, I haven't heard this song in a long time. And then like, you know, like Heart and Soul came on and.
Happiest moments in my life.
Yeah, I'm like, I like I the song came on and I vividly remembered, like I used to sleep with the radio on when I was a kid, and I remember that song coming on and it was two o'clock in the morning when the song came on, and the first lyric and yeah it's two o'clock, and then like all that ship just came rushing back, and then like Jacob's Ladder comes on, Like fuck, I remember driving down this riding down this street. You know, it's just like you're the soundtrack of my.
Like you're very sweet to say that, you're very very sweet and that means a lot, really mean it. Thank you very much.
Thanks well on behalf of the U the Supreme team.
While on pay Bill Boss Bill, the audience can see it. Sugar Steve, we would like to thank you so much for coming on the show. There's been a major education.
It's been wonderful and it seemed like went by like that. It seemed like five minutes.
You never boarded Montana. You want to come hang out with us? You just come hang out with us?
Yes, yeah, what's that?
Sorry, anytime you're in Montana you're bored because there's a lot the wildlife, you can come hang out with us.
Anytime you want, or if you're lonely, you just want us to come over your hand.
Yeah, I got it.
Here we go.
All well, thank you very much and we appreciate it to this gang.
Before we before we log off, I just want to ask you, as as the the the boss of all of us, can we have a couple of shows off? That was a Huey Lewis reference.
And horribly and I won't edit that out.
No, you won't be keeping that. No, we will see you on the next go around, y'all. This is the supreme.
That one wasn't as big a hit as.
I will say.
That is one of my favorite who loosened to the new songs?
I thought it was a good one too. A couple of days off.
We're gonna have to pay for that, I know we.
Don't anyway set around. Thank you very much. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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