Huey Lewis and the News (album)

In 1979, the band's name was Huey Lewis and the American Express. Under this name they released a single and secured their recording contract with Chrysalis Records at the end of the year. The album was recorded within three weeks and the producer was Bill Schnee, who had produced for Boz Scaggs and Pablo Cruise.

Chrysalis did not like the addition 'American Express' to the band's name, fearing that the credit card company of the same name could sue them. In January 1980, the band changed their name to 'Huey Lewis and the News'.

The album reached No. 203 on the Billboard album chart. Prior to the album's release, the track "Who Cares?" was used in the 1979 motion picture Rock 'n' Roll High School.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Billboard	favorable

Billboard states that producer Bill Schnee mastered the "clean, sparse rock" that every rock band was trying to achieve at the time by "skinning the uptempo, light rockers down to basic guitars and vocals." In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine says the News turn out "hard-driving covers and originals in a workmanlike fashion" but their "debut suffers from an uneven selection of material."

Record World called the lead single "Some of My Lies Are True (Sooner or Later)" a "fun rocker" in which "the driving rhythm guitars buttress strong lead and harmony vocals."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mario Cipollina, Johnny Colla, Bill Gibson, Chris Hayes, Sean Hopper and Huey Lewis, except where noted.

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Some of My Lies Are True (Sooner or Later)"		3:23
2.	"Don't Make Me Do It"		2:55
3.	"Stop Trying"		3:28
4.	"Now Here's You"	Cipollina Colla Gibson Hayes Hopper Lewis John McFee	4:14
5.	"I Want You"	Brian Marnell	2:47

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Don't Ever Tell Me That You Love Me"	2:54
2.	"Hearts"	2:49
3.	"Trouble In Paradise"	3:11
4.	"Who Cares?"	3:54
5.	"If You Really Love Me You'll Let Me"	1:53

Singles

"Some of My Lies Are True (Sooner or Later)" was written in San Francisco by the band and recorded in Los Angeles within three weeks, and the track was released as the album's first single. The song is about people betraying other people, including friends, old friends, and enemies. The B-side for the single was "Don't Ever Tell Me That You Love Me". Videos were shot for both songs and were later included on the band's 1985 VHS compilation, Video Hits. In 1986, remixes of the songs were included as B-sides to the singles "Hip to Be Square" and "Stuck with You", respectively.

A live recording of the song "Trouble in Paradise" was later included on the charity album We Are the World.

Personnel

Huey Lewis – vocals, harmonica
Chris Hayes – lead guitar, backing vocals
Johnny Colla – rhythm guitar, saxophone, backing vocals
Mario Cipollina – bass
Bill Gibson – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Sean Hopper – keyboards, backing vocals

Production

Bill Schnee – producer, engineer, mixing
Kirk Butler – assistant engineer
Bill Cooper – assistant engineer
Tim Dennen – assistant engineer
Studio 55 (Los Angeles, California) – mixing location
Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California)
Billy Bass – art direction, cover concept
Rod Dyer – design
Bill Murphy – design
Ron Slenzak – photography
Chris Welch – liner notes
Bob Brown – management

References

"Huey Lewis discography".
"Huey Lewis discography".
"Huey Lewis discography".
Sheff, David (August 16, 1982). "To Get His News on the Air, Rocker Huey Lewis Had to Wait for a Commercial Break". People. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
Whitburn, Joel (1998). Bubbling Under Singles & Albums. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 15. ISBN 0-89820-128-4.
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Huey Lewis and the News – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
^ "Top Album Picks: First Time Around – Huey Lewis and the News". Billboard. 92 (27): 66. July 9, 1980. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
"Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. July 26, 1980. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-02-20.

v t e Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis Johnny Colla Bill Gibson Sean Hopper John Pierce Stef Burns James Harrah Marvin McFadden Rob Sudduth Johnnie Bamont Mario Cipollina Chris Hayes Ron Stallings
Studio albums	Huey Lewis and the News Picture This Sports Fore! Small World Hard at Play Four Chords & Several Years Ago Plan B Soulsville Weather
Live albums	Live at 25
Compilations	The Heart of Rock & Roll – The Best of Huey Lewis and The News Time Flies... The Best of Huey Lewis & the News Greatest Hits & Videos
Singles	"Do You Believe in Love" "Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do" "Workin' for a Livin'" "Heart and Soul" "I Want a New Drug" "The Heart of Rock & Roll" "If This Is It" "Walking on a Thin Line" "The Power of Love" "Stuck with You" "Hip to Be Square" "Jacob's Ladder" "I Know What I Like" "Doing It All for My Baby" "Perfect World" "Give Me the Keys (And I'll Drive You Crazy)" "Couple Days Off" "It Hit Me Like a Hammer" "(She's) Some Kind of Wonderful" "But It's Alright" "Little Bitty Pretty One"
Related articles	Discography Songs The Heart of Rock and Roll (musical) Clover
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