It has been nine years since California legends Huey Lewis and the News last put out an album, Plan B. Known for their unforgettable presence on countless film soundtracks and for defining 80’s classics like Hip To Be Square, Happy To Be Stuck With You, and the timeless The Power Of Love, the group has sold more than 30 million records across the globe. It continues to hold a spot among the top 200 best-selling bands in history.
This week marks the arrival of their brand-new release, Soulsville, an album that brings together a vibrant collection of soul, blues, and Motown gems from the '60s and '70s, drawn straight from the archives of Stax Records.
Music News sat down with frontman Huey Lewis during the band’s quick trip to London, where they are busy spreading the word about their latest project.
Music News: What sparked your decision to release a covers album and what was the creative process behind it?
Huey: It was actually our manager’s idea to do a Stax tribute style album and we thought why not? It’s something we realised from the onset we had to be really carefully about doing, as above all else you want to do these songs justice. We were reunited with an engineer we worked with previously called, Jim Gaines who is an original Stax engineer so as to be absolutely sure they were recorded in the same vein as the originals and we headed to the famous Ardent studios in Memphis to record the album.
Music News: The album features so many soul and Motown classics, how did you decide what to include and what to leave out?
Huey: As a band we all chose the songs we liked best, which wasn’t easy in itself and we came up with 4 batches of 5. We then had a further cull on these and stripped it back to 14 definitive tracks which make up the final album and we are very proud of the collection we have chosen. We didn’t want to cover the chestnuts, we wanted to go much deeper than that to draw upon those that we love best and feel most passionate about, which is what makes it such a great album.
Music News: Which of the tracks are personal favourites of yours on the album?
Huey: Never Like This Before is one of my favourites, which was in fact chosen by several members of the band, there are four main guys in the band now and our manager makes 5, so that’s a hell of a lot of influence, but you’d be surprised how many we crossed over on and this was one of them.
Music News: How do you think the new album will be received by traditional Huey Lewis and the News fans?
Huey: I’m sure it will sell billions of copies and be the biggest selling album we’ve ever released (laughs). I’m only messing. Obviously we hope our fans and listeners like it, but for us what really matters is that it channels our creativity. As a band we have always focused on producing the music we enjoy and this is a fantastic opportunity for us to sing these songs and our focus in the main has been about doing them justice. Performing and recording them in the style they were meant to be.
Music News: The album is officially released here in the UK on Monday (October 18th) having spent this week in London what has the feedback been so far?
Huey: Well everyone tells us they love it and we’ve had some really great comments about the tracks, so we can only go on what we’ve been told so far.
Music News: As a band your name is synonymous with the blockbuster film favourite, Back to the Future, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. How have the celebrations impacted on your fan base and record sales?
Huey: It’s hard to tell to be honest. It was such a big movie and great to be associated with it, but it’s hard to know what direct impact it’s had on our music if any. We’re actually doing the Today Show over in New York with Michael J Fox and some of the cast which will great fun. For us it’s no biggie as we are in New York anyway for the week, but it’s great that they have managed to get everyone together. It was great to be a part of it and it’ll be great to mark the anniversary.
Music News: The band has survived a total of 32 years in the business which is no mean feat especially in the current market, what is the secret to your success and longevity?
Huey: I would like to think it’s because we have always been honest. If a man says "I’m going to Kansas City to get me a crazy little woman" then you have to believe that he really is going to Kansas City and that he knows just how crazy those little ladies are. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’ve always been honest and made the kind of music we want to make and feel passionate about and it seems to have worked.
Music News: There have been a number of amendments to the line-up over the years, how do you think the sound of the band has changed in relation to this?
Huey: There are four key members in the band now. We introduced a new horn section 16 years ago and it’s then that the sound really changed. Having a horn section means each note is played one at a time which is very rare and quite a unique sound especially nowadays. I think we’ve also gone from being a pure rock & roll band to incorporate more rhythm and blues and now full on stax.
Music News: How do you think the music industry has changed over the last 32 years?
Huey: It’s more about television than it’s ever been. Music used to be the art form of blind people such as Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles. Now it’s all about visuals and imagery. The music video is as important if not more so than the track or music itself. I guess it’s technology that has developed and everything has a drum machine in it now and synthesizers that replicate the sound for you as a band. I think it’s had a huge effect on the way music not only sounds but is listened to as well.
Music News: What do the next few years hold for Huey Lewis and the News?
Huey: Well we hope this album is well received and that we go on to make many more, and potentially a tour.
ON THE RISE
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Lettie Law is a vessel for God’s message and she spreads it through her music. She gives Him all the credit for the songs she releases, which she says come to her from Him directly. Her latest single, “Forward Ever Backward Never Jesus” is one that celebrates the ever lasting power she believes He has.
When I spoke to Lettie, I could feel how strong and at peace she was just from our conversation. She shared a variety of stories of her life with me and God was the constant throughout all of them. She has a writing process for her songs but as earlier mentioned, she always credits Him with giving them to her.
“I write songs as they come to me from the Divine. Something is whispering to me to tell me what to write, how to sing it and what instruments go with it. Sometimes I’ll get partial parts of a song gradually but for this song, everything came together at the same time. It all comes from Heaven and I give out what I receive from the Almighty.” she said.
Sharing God’s message is a part of every song Lettie releases but this one was specifically crafted to encourage people who are dealing with everything happening in the world today. Lettie sees all the turmoil people are going through in the world and wants people to know that they will make it through any situation they find themselves in.
“No matter what is going on in life at this current time, you can look to God. If yesterday was not good for you, you don’t need to look back. Look to God and there is no way He will not deliver you. Keep moving forward and doing your best and look to God.” she said.
Lettie believes that music and singing can bring people joy, hope, courage and also healing. The latter can come in the emotional sense but also the physical sense too. During our conversation, she shared a story about how one of her other songs, titled “Yaweh” had a large impact on someone’s life.
“My favorite thing about music is how it can be healing. Not all diseases are physical. A woman called me had shared how she had been dealing with insomnia for eight years and had taken all kinds of medication for it. But once she started listening to my song, she would sleep like a baby.” she said.
Lettie Law knows about the power of God and music from firsthand experience. She shared that while she enjoyed singing in front of the congregation at church as a child, this changed as she began to get older. She became more shy and reserved not just in church but in life and in general.
Her shyness and reluctance to sing became the catapult that would push her to sing as God wanted her to after she went through a life altering situation.
“I ended up getting sick and my son suggested I record one of the songs I had written in the books I had from years ago. But once I started recording more, the sickness left my body. But recording and singing in public are very different. So it became a tug of war between me and the Lord because He wanted me to sing publicly but I didn’t want to.” she said.
“A different situation happened and I ended up in a coma and I could hear various voices around me as I faded in and out. I thought I was dying but I woke up on this side and realized I was still alive. The Lord asked me ‘Are you ready to do My work now?’ And I said ‘Of course! I’ll sing in front of the congregation. I will tell my story to the world. Wherever you send me, I am going.’ And when I woke up, all my family members who I had heard while I was fading in and out apologized because I heard them planning for my funeral and things like that. So the Lord spared my life and I’m not shy anymore. The Lord gave me strength and I chose life.” she said.
As Lettie said, she truly did go wherever God sent her. She’s since sung at Boston College, in Connecticut, at churches and even a club.
“University students love Christ. They were singing and dancing and they wanted me to come back. In the club, people were drinking and smoking and couples were dancing and it was nice because everybody belongs to the Almighty. God sees a sinner and knows one day they will become one of His children.” she said.
Lettie Law is West African with her father being from Nigeria and her mother being from Cameroon. The range of the diaspora is felt throughout “Forward Ever Backward Never Jesus” whose production is far from traditional Gospel instrumentation and blends a variety of musical styles. The positive and uplifting atmosphere is felt through both the instruments and the lyrics.
For many Gospel artists, their foundation was laid by someone older than them that raised them in church and likely also had them singing in church as child. For Lettie, this person was her father.
“He played a very big role in introducing me to Gospel and the Almighty. He introduced me to reading the Bible and he and my Mom introduced me to reading hymns.” she said.
Lettie Law has a 10 track album coming soon which will include songs like “Prayer is a Masterkey” and “God is Our All in All.” Her journey with Gospel has encapsulated her whole life and her ongoing faith continues to motivate her to keep making more music.
“I am just a vessel for His word and His message.” she said.
“Forward Ever Backward Never Jesus” is available on streaming services now.
You can experience more of God’s messages through Lettie Law by following her on these platforms.
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