Artist · chart history
Huey Lewis and the News
Band San Francisco United States Formed 1978 American pop rock band
Huey Lewis and the News formed in 1978 in San Francisco, United States. Huey Lewis and the News has 19 chart appearances on 10 radio countdowns from 8 stations on RockLists, spanning 1980–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “The Heart of Rock and Roll”, which appears on 5 lists with a best position of #33. The station that charted Huey Lewis and the News most often is WMGK (Philadelphia, PA), with 5 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1985.
Huey Lewis and the News are San Francisco's good-time rock and roll band, a crew that started life in 1978 as Huey Lewis & the American Express and plays like it grew up on old R&B, doo-wop and pop records. Lewis sings lead and blows harmonica, fronting a tight unit of Johnny Colla on guitar and sax, Chris Hayes on guitar, Sean Hopper on keyboards, Mario Cipollina on bass and Bill Gibson on drums, everybody chipping in on harmonies. Call it roots rock, power pop or blue-eyed soul; it's music for people who like their rock with a grin.
The first two albums earned good notices and a lot of attention for Lewis's easy charisma, but not much of an audience. Sports, in 1983, changed that, with MTV spinning the videos and the singles stacking up: "Heart and Soul", the wry "I Want a New Drug" and the finger-snapping "The Heart of Rock and Roll".
Then "The Power of Love" landed in Back to the Future, went to number one and picked up an Oscar nomination, and Fore! added two more chart-toppers. The band has been quiet since 2018, when Lewis was diagnosed with Meniere's disease, though Weather, recorded before his hearing loss, came out in 2020.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Huey Lewis and the News on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Heart of Rock and Roll | 5 | #33 | – | – | |
| 2 | The Power of Love | 4 | #18 | – | 1985 | |
| 3 | I Want A New Drug | 4 | #30 | – | – | |
| 4 | Hip To Be Square | 1 | #214 | – | – | |
| 5 | Back In Time | 2 | #17 | – | – | |
| 6 | Who Cares | 1 | #81 | – | 1980 | |
| 7 | Stuck with You | 1 | #433 | – | – | |
| 8 | Heart and Soul | 1 | #475 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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