Huey Lewis and the News to Drop First Album of Originals in 18 Years

BMG

Huey Lewis and the News have signed a new recording agreement with BMG. Under the deal, the rock band will release its 10th studio album in Spring 2019. It’ll be the first one of originals in 18 years — 2010’s “Soulville” saw Lewis and the News cover songs from the Stax Records catalog.

This is great news for fans of the News. The group had previously canceled all of their 2018 shows after Lewis lost his hearing and said he couldn’t hear music well enough to sing.

“Right now, I’m cautiously optimistic about my hearing and just taking it day by day,” Lewis told TheWrap Friday. “Some days are better than others, but overall things have been improving. I’m hoping to stabilize, and get back to writing, recording and performing soon.”

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Back in April, Lewis said he lost his hearing at the beginning of 2018 prior to a show in Dallas.

While the singer noted at the time that he could “still hear a little, one on one, and on the phone,” as far as music is concerned, the “lower frequencies distort violently, making it impossible to find pitch.”

Lewis added that he has sought help at the House Ear Institute, the Stanford Ear Institute and the Mayo Clinic, and that his doctors “believe I have Meniere’s disease and have agreed that I can’t perform until I improve. Therefore the only prudent thing to do is to cancel all future shows.”

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According to the Mayo Clinic, Meniere’s disease is “a disorder of the inner ear that causes episodes in which you feel as if you’re spinning (vertigo), and you have fluctuating hearing loss with a progressive, ultimately permanent loss of hearing, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), and sometimes a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ear.”

There are currently no concert dates listed on the band’s website calendar.

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“We’re very excited about our new album, and honestly feel that it’s among our best work — we cannot wait to get it out to fans!” Lewis said on Friday. “We’re equally excited to be with BMG, whose reputation as a ‘music-first’ label precedes them admirably.”

Huey Lewis and the News was formed from two rival Bay Area bands in 1979. They’ve been together since, selling more than 20 million albums in the process.

Here is the complete lineup: Huey Lewis (vocals and harmonica), Johnny Colla (saxophone, guitar and vocals), Bill Gibson (drums, percussion and vocals), Sean Hopper (keyboards and vocals), Stef Burns (guitars and vocals) and John Pierce (bass). The live show features their long-time horn section of San Francisco bay area luminaries including Rob Sudduth (tenor saxophone), Marvin McFadden (trumpet), and Johnnie Bamont (baritone saxophone).

All 16 EGOT Winners, From Audrey Hepburn to Alan Menken (Photos)

Richard Rodgers, composer (1902-1979)
Emmy: Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composed, "Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years" (1962)
Grammy: Best Show Album, "The Sound of Music" (1960); Best Original Cast Show Album, "No Strings" (1962)
Oscar: Best Song, "It Might As Well Be Spring" from "State Fair" (1945)
Tony: three for "South Pacific" (1950); one each for "The King and I" (1952), "The Sound of Music" (1960) and "No Strings" (1962)
Helen Hayes, actress (1900 - 1993)
Emmy: Best Actress, "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars: Not a Chance" (1953)
Grammy: Best Spoken Word Recording, "Great American Documents" (1977)
Oscar: Best Actress, "The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932); Best Supporting Actress, "Airport" (1970)
Tony: Best Actress in a Drama, "Happy Birthday" (1947); Best Actress in a Drama, "Time Remembered" (1958)
Rita Moreno, actress (1931 -)
Emmy: Supporting Actress, Variety or Music, "The Muppet Show" (1977); Lead Actress for Single Appearance in a Comedy or Drama, "The Rockford Files" (1978)
Grammy: Best Recording for Children, "The Electric Compan" (1972)
Oscar: Best Supporting Actress, "West Side Story" (1961)
Tony: Best Supporting Actress in a Play, "The Ritz" (1975)
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John Gielgud, actor (1904 - 2000)
Emmy: Best Actor in a Miniseries or Special, "Summer's Lease (1991)
Grammy: Best Spoken World Album, "Ages of Man" (1979)
Oscar: Best Supporting Actor, "Arthur" (1981)
Tony: Outstanding Foreign Company, "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1948); Best Director of a Drama, "Big Fish, Little Fish" (1961)
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Audrey Hepburn, actress (1929 - 1993)
Emmy: Best Individual Achievement, Informational Programming, "Gardens of the World With Audrey Hepburn" (1993)
Grammy: Best Spoken Word Album for Children, "Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales" (1994)
Oscar: Best Actress, "Roman Holiday" (1953)
Tony: Best Actress in a Drama, "Ondine" (1954)
Marvin Hamlisch, composer (1944–2012)
Emmy: Four awards, two for work on "Barbra: The Concert" (1995) and one each for "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies" (1999) and "Timeless: Live in Concert" (2001)
Grammy: Four awards in 1974, including Best New Artist, Song of the Year ("The Way We Were"), Best Album of the Original Score ("The Way We Were") and Best Pop Instrumental Performance ("The Entertainer")
Oscar: Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Song, "The Way We Were" (1973) and Best Adapted Score, "The Sting" (1973)
Tony: Best Musical Score, "A Chorus Line" (1976)
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Jonathan Tunick, music director and composer (1938 - )
Emmy: Music Direction, "Night of 100 Stars" (1982)
Grammy: Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals, Cleo Laine's "No One Is Alone" (1988)
Oscar: Best Adapted Score, "A Little Night Music" (1977)
Tony: Best Orchestrations, "Titanic" (1977)
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Mel Brooks, performer, writer and director (1926 - )
Emmy: Best Writing in Variety, "The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special" (1967); three awards for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy, "Mad About You" (1997-99)
Grammy: Best Spoken Comedy Album, "The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000" (1998); Best Long-Form Music Video, "Recording 'The Producers'" (2002); Best Musical Show Album, "The Producers" (2002)
Oscar: Best Original Screenplay, "The Producers" (1968)
Tony: Best Musical, Original Score and Book of a Musical, "The Producers" (2001)
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Mike Nichols, performer, director and producer (1931 - 2014)
Emmy: Best Director of Miniseries, Movie or Special, "Wit" (2001); Best Made for Television Movie, "Wit" (2001); Best Directing of Miniseries, Movie or Special, "Angels in America" (2004); Best Miniseries, "Angels in America" (2004)
Grammy: Best Comedy Performance, "An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May" (1961)
Oscar: Best Director, "The Graduate" (1967)
Tony: Best Director of a Play, "Barefoot in the Park" (1964), "Luv" and "The Odd Couple" (1965), "Plaza Suite" (1968), "The Prisoner of Second Avenue" (1972), "The Real Thing" (1984), "Death of a Salesman" (2012); Best Musical, "Annie" (1977); Best Play, "The Real Thing" (1984); Best Director of a Musical, "Monty Python's Spamalot" (2005)
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Whoopi Goldberg, performer and producer (1955 - )
Emmy: Best Special Class Special, "Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel" (2002); Best Talk Show Host, "The View" (2009)
Grammy: Best Comedy Recording, "Whoopi Goldberg: Original Broadway Show Recording" (1985)
Oscar: Best Supporting Actress, "Ghost" (1990)
Tony: Best Musical (producing), "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (2002)

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Scott Rudin, producer (1958 - )
Emmy: Best Children's Program, "He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'" (1984)
Grammy: Best Musical Theater Album, "The Book of Mormon" (2012)
Oscar: Best Picture, "No Country for Old Men" (2007)
Tony: 12 awards, for producing musicals "Passion" (1994) and "The Book of Mormon" (2012) and the plays "Copenhagen" (2000), "Doubt" (2005), "The History Boys" (2006), "God of Carnage" (2009), "Fences" (2010), "Death of a Salesman" (2012), "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" (2015), "Skylight" (2015), "The Humans" (2016) and "A View From the Bridge" (2016)

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Robert Lopez, composer (1975 - )
Emmy: Best Music Direction and Composition, "Wonder Pets" (2008, 2010)
Grammy: Best Musical Theater Album, "The Book of Mormon" (2012); Best Compilation Soundtrack, "Frozen" (2015), Best Song for Visual Media, "Let It Go" from "Frozen" (2015)
Oscar: Best Original Song, "Let It Go" from "Frozen" (2014)
Tony: Best Score, "Avenue Q" (2004); Best Score and Best Book of a Musical, "The Book of Mormon" (2011)
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John Legend, songwriter and producer (1978-)

Emmy: Outstanding Live Variety Special, "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert"

Grammy: Best New Artist (2005); Best R&B Album, "Get Lifted" (2005); Best R&B Vocal, "Ordinary People" (2005); Best Male R&B Vocal, "Heaven" (2006); Best R&B Duo or Group, "Family Affair" (2006); Best R&B Vocal or Group, "Stay With Me by the Sea" (2008); Best R&B Album, "Wake Up!" (2010); Best R&B Song, "Shine" (2010); Best R&B Vocal, "Hang On in There" (2010); Best Song Written for Visual Medium, "Glory" (2015)

Oscar: Best Original Song, "Glory" from "Selma (2014)

Tony: Producer of Best Play Revival, "August Wilson's Jitney" (2017)
Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer and producer (1948-)

Emmy: Outstanding Live Variety Special, "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert"

Grammy: Best Cast Album, "Evita" (1980); Best Cast Album, "Cats" (1983); Best Contemporary Composition, "Lloyd Webber: Requiem" (1985)

Oscar: Best Original Song, "You Must Love Me" from "Evita" (1996)

Tony: Best Score, "Evita" (1980); Best Score, "Cats" (1983); Best Score, "Sunset Boulevard" (1995)
Tim Rice, lyricist and producer (1944-)

Emmy: Outstanding Live Variety Special, "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert"

Grammy: Best Cast Album, "Evita" (1980); Song of the Year and Song for Film or TV, "A Whole New World" (1993); Best Album for Children, "Aladdin" (1993); Best Cast Album, "Aida" (2000)

Oscar: Best Original Song, "A Whole New World" from "Aladdin" (1992); "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from "The Lion King" (1994); "You Must Love Me" from "Evita" (1996)

Tony: Best Book and Best Score, "Evita" (1980); Best Score, "Aida" (2000)
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Alan Menken, composer (1949-)

Emmy: Original Song in a Children’s, Young Adult or Animated Program, “Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventures” (2020)

Grammys (10): Best Recording for Children and Song for TV or Film, "The Little Mermaid" (1990); Best Recording for Children, Song for TV or Film, Instrumental for TV or Film, "Beauty and the Beast" (1992); Song of the Year, "A Whole New World," Best Recording for Children, Song for TV or Film, Instrumental for TV or Film, "Aladdin" (1993); Best Song for TV or Film, "Colors of the Wind" (1995); Best Song for Visual Medium, "I See the Light" (2011)

Oscars (8): Best Score and Song, "The Little Mermaid" (1989); Best Score and Song, "Beauty and the Beast" (1991); Best Score and Song, "Aladdin" (1992); Best Score and Song, "Pocahontas" (1995)

Tony: Best Score, "Newsies" (2012)
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