YEAR RELEASED: 1982

NOTABLE TRACKS: “Do You Believe In Love”, “Working For a Living”, “Giving It All Up For Love”, “Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do”.

ALBUM MVP: “Do You Believe In Love”

WHY I LOVED IT: There’s a handful of times throughout this rundown I need remind readers this isn’t a list of the most popular or commercially successful albums of the 80s, but instead are my personal favorites. There are few, very few bands that symbolize the 80’s for me more than Huey Lewis and the News….and I love them for it.  Why wouldn’t I? They were reliably producing some of the catchiest pop tunes to hit radio waves throughout most of the ’80s, and it felt like every single they released became a big hit. That trend started with their “Picture This” album, their second studio effort that started their ascension into the hearts and ears of mainstream America. The best among the album’s singles was “Do You Believe in Love”—their first true breakthrough hit and still my favorite Huey Lewis and the News song (it was No. 48 in my Favorite 100 Songs of the 80s countdown earlier this year.)  Most critics who don’t like Huey Lewis and the News do so because they take the band so seriously. Don’t!

Take their music for what it is. Sure, it’s insubstantial and flimsy of substance but who gives a shit— “Picture This” is deliciously fun with the some of the best produced tracks of the era. 

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS:  “Picture This” enjoyed moderate commercial success but wasn’t nearly as big as their next two albums would become. It spent 35 weeks parked on the Billboard Top 200 but never climbed higher than seven.  “Do You Believe in Love” was the band’s first-ever commercial hit, reaching as high as seven on the Billboard Hot 100.  “Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do” reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 while “Working  For a Living” landed as high as No. 41. “Giving It All Up For Love” was released as a single but didn’t chart.

FUN FACTS:  From Songfacts.com, “Originally, they were known as Huey Lewis & The American Express. Their manager, Bob Brown, had them change it so they wouldn’t get sued. Lewis is very intelligent. He graduated from prep school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey at 16, and enrolled at Cornell after spending some time traveling. He didn’t last long at Cornell, as he was more interested in making music than studying.  Lewis has a very clean-cut image that was congruent with the preppy culture that said no to drugs in the ’80s. This image was a bit deceptive, as Lewis did smoke a lot of pot in his day and was never trying to be a poster boy for clean living. Lewis claimed that the best part of being famous was being able to hang out with his musical idols. A highlight was the “We Are The World” sessions, where he was up until 8 a.m. with Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles and Willie Nelson.”

I love me some Huey Lewis & The News, and this song is my favorite amongst many of their formidable choices.  It’s also mandatory that “The News” gets their props from me. Because Lewis was the face of the group and lead singer it’s easy to only refer to them as Huey Lewis, but the backup vocals of his bandmates are critical to this song’s success, similar to Billy Joel’s doo-woppers in 80s hits like Uptown Girl and The Longest Time.

I didn’t realize until compiling my list this was actually the group’s first top ten hit. I do know it came prior to their commercial giant “Sports” album, easily on my short list of favorite LPs of the decade.

I loved the music video, which was a mainstay in the MTV early days.  The video shows the band do everything together, including serenading a woman in her bed while she lies sleeping and another scene where they’re literally all in the same bed.  She must’ve had too much to drink, as she seems dead to the world.  Either that or she’s creeped out and playing dead.

Such a fun song—during an enjoyable time for pop music.  This song’s impeccable hooks make it amongst the preeminent mainstream hits of the 80s.

Chart Success: “Do You Believe In Love” peaked at number-seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982, where it finished 51^st on the year-end Billboard Hot 100 chart. In total it spent 17 weeks on the charts.

Great Lyrics: In fairness this song is far more about flawless vocal delivery than emotional provoking lyrics.

“I was walking down a one way street
Just a lookin’ for someone to meet
One woman who was looking for a man
Now I’m hopin’ (hopin’) that the feeling is right
And I’m wonderin’ (wonderin’) if you’ll stay for the night
So I’m coming (I don’t want to be lonely baby please tell me)
I want to love you all over.”

Fun Fact: This is the second of two Huey Lewis & The News songs on this countdown, but it wasn’t close to their biggest hit.   The band had eight hits inside the top six including three number-ones: Jacob’s Ladder, Stuck With You and Power Of Love (No. 58 on this countdown).

Being born and raised in the great state of New York, it can’t be overstated how smooth Billy Joel is.  He’s a New York City icon and his music is treasured by New Yorkers everywhere.  If he couldn’t get any cooler, the dude dated supermodels and not just any — we’re talking Elle Macpherson and (future wife) Christie Brinkley. Come on, man!

While Joel is far better known for his music in the 70s (Piano Man, Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, Moving Out—I can go on forever) his Grammy nominated An Innocent Man album in 1983 was a big hit critically and commercially.

While some (perhaps many) prefer “Tell Her About It” or “The Longest Time” my favorite was Uptown Girl.  Not only did I love the song, but the video was one of the hippest I’d had ever seen as a 12-year old and keep in mind—music videos had a much greater influence on pop culture during that era.

The song depicts a mechanic from the wrong side of the tracks in love with the sexy rich girl.  Of course, Brinkley is the hot chick in the video, tho Joel said the song originally started out being written about this then-girlfriend Macpherson.

Uptown Girl ultimately was nominated for a Best Pop Vocal Performance (Male) Grammy in 1984, losing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” because of course.

Chart Success: Peaked at number-three on Billboard and spent 22 weeks on the charts. It finished 39^th on the year-end (1984) Billboard Top 100.

Great Lyrics:  The lyrics “backstreet guy” and “white bread world” in the same verse. I mean, how good’s that?

“Uptown girl
She’s been living in her uptown world
I bet she’s never had a backstreet guy
I bet her momma never told her why

I’m gonna try for an uptown girl
She’s been living in her white bread world
As long as anyone with hot blood can
And now she’s looking for a downtown man
That’s what I am

Fun Fact: Joel’s said in interviews that the song was inspired by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Being armed with that information go back and listen to the song (or even better, watch the video) and you’ll see the homage is unmistakable. The song was a monster hit in the UK, the second-biggest selling single of 1983 behind only Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon.”