Huey Lewis has been a rock icon since the ’80s and does his best to enjoy his position as the genre’s elder statesman, even as he battles hearing loss.
A new Broadway musical titled “The Heart of Rock and Roll” debuts April 22nd, uses songs from Lewis’ catalog and offers some “relief” to Lewis as he deals with “terrible hearing.” ” was given.
During the performance “Good morning America” Lewis was asked if working on the show was “therapeutic” for him.
“‘Therapeutic’ may be the wrong word because ‘therapeutic’ means to get better,” he says. “I’m not getting better. But it was kind of a relief for me. Do something creative, keep yourself busy, and try not to worry about your terrible hearing.”
Huey Lewis told GMA that working on a Broadway musical based on his music while battling hearing loss “was kind of a relief for me.” (Bruce Grikas/Getty Images/File)
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Lewis was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease in 2018. According to the Mayo Clinic, Meniere’s disease is an “inner ear problem that can cause vertigo (also known as vertigo) and hearing loss” and is “thought to be a lifelong condition.” The exact cause is unknown.
Huey Lewis & the News canceled all remaining shows for 2018 because he was on tour at the time of his hearing loss.
In a statement the band released on X and later on Twitter, Lewis explained that he lost “most” of his hearing before the show in Dallas, meaning he could no longer “hear music well enough to sing.”
“I feel very sorry about this and would like to sincerely apologize to all the fans who have already purchased tickets and were planning to come see us. I will focus on my recovery and will do so as soon as possible.” I hope you can recover and play again,” Lewis wrote.
Lewis was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, an inner ear problem that causes hearing loss, in 2018. (Andrew Chin/Getty Images/File)
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A year after his diagnosis, Lewis spoke out about how severely his hearing loss affected his mental health..
“this [diagnosis] I’ve ruined everything. This completely ruined everything,” Lewis told Whitefish Review, a literary magazine based in Montana, where Lewis lives. “I’m trying not to let this get me down.”
“For the first two months I was suicidal,” Lewis continued. “I can honestly tell you that. I thought, ‘Oh no, I have no choice but to kill myself.'” In fact, I was thinking about my own mortality. Like medicine, I thought it was the easiest way. ”
A year after her diagnosis, Lewis admitted she had “suicidal thoughts” and said it “completely ruined everything”. (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images/File)
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Six years after her diagnosis, Lewis is trying to focus on the good things while she can.
In an interview with rolling stone When asked this month how he was coping with his diagnosis, he replied: “To the best of my ability. Remember that there are many people out there who are in a much worse situation than I am. I have two wonderful children who have made me feel this way. I feel sorry for myself, but musicals were a great therapy for me. ”
However, fans shouldn’t expect to see Lewis jump on stage to participate.
Lewis said she is dealing with her hearing loss “as best I can.” (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images/File)
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“I tried,” he told Rolling Stone magazine. “I can’t hear the notes well enough. When I’m in my pocket and I sing a song, the song just starts singing on its own. It’s a wave you ride, and lo and behold, it’s the most fun thing in the world.” It won’t happen to me anymore. ”
He continued, “I can sing, but I can’t sing anything. I can’t hear the notes. The bass part (he imitates the hurricane-like sound of scratching a turntable) It’s all distorted.” But when I play the song on my boombox, I can’t tell what it is. But I literally don’t understand my songs. ”
According to the Mayo Clinic, there is no cure for Meniere’s disease. Although some treatments can help manage symptoms of vertigo, they cannot treat hearing loss.
Lewis told Rolling Stone that his hearing “continues to deteriorate” and he is considering surgical intervention.
Lewis said she is considering cochlear implants because her hearing “continues to deteriorate.” (Zach Pagano/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images/File)
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“I’m going to see a doctor in 10 days and consider a cochlear implant. It’s very difficult to determine how much benefit you’ll get from it. It’s a difficult decision, because once your hearing is cut off, I’ll never go back. I have to decide how much better I will be, but I can’t tell anyone.”
For now, the musical has given Lewis purpose.
“Zen Buddhists say you need three things: what you love, what you want, and what you should do,” he told The New York Times. “I have so much to love. So this is what I want and what I have to do. It prevents me from reflecting on myself.” [expletive] Hearing. “
Set in the ’80s, the songs include “Hip to Be Square,” “Stuck with You,” “I Want a New Drug,” “Do You Believe in Love,” and “The Contains songs from Lewis’ catalog, including “The Heart of Rock and Roll.” The film tells the story of a down-and-out rocker who is torn between reviving his music career and getting a job at a cardboard company.
Lewis said the musical “has a lot of similarities to my life.” (Bruce Grikas/WireImage/File)
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“This story actually had a lot of similarities to my life,” Lewis told Rolling Stone magazine. “This character is the same age I was when I started the band. I had a small day job and started doing news. I had been playing in bands for 12 years. News was about the end “So I feel all the anxiety, the ambition, the worry.” [the main character] Bobby does. ”
Lewis told the outlet that he was “concerned about the integrity of the song,” but that on Broadway “you have to push the boundaries of what the song is and be open-minded like that.” I understand,” he said. And I’m more open to this because, partly because of my condition, I can’t go on the road. ”
However, he admitted that he made changes along the way, saying, “We changed some of the choreography a little bit, like the way Bobby did it when he was a rock star and the way he held the microphone. The lyrics changed a little bit on every song. It was a difficult balancing act, because it’s important that the song moves the story forward, but you don’t want to lose the integrity of the song. ”
He also collaborated with bandmate Johnny Cora and production musical director Brian Youcifer to contribute a new song to the show called “Be Someone.”
Lewis (right) is pictured with “The Heart of Rock and Roll” stars Corey Cott and Mackenzie Kurtz. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images/File)
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“I put the part on my iPhone and sang it and sent it to Johnny, and Johnny demoed it all and tweaked it,” Lewis told The New York Times.
“You can sing to yourself, but you can’t sing to anything because you can’t hear the pitch. I just changed the lyrics two days ago. You have to decide the battle yourself,” he added. .
The 73-year-old told GMA he was never interested in musical theater and described himself as a “rock ‘n’ roller.”
His perspective changed when a neighbor showed him “Mamma Mia,” and “I fell in love with it.”
Despite his hearing loss, Lewis was able to contribute new songs to the musical. (Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images/File)
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“And I started to appreciate Broadway,” he said.
Lewis made his Broadway debut playing Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago.
“I fell in love with everything about Broadway,” he told GMA. Great people, smart, intelligent, humble, talented, and fun. ”
Fans of Lewis and music history will also enjoy the Netflix documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop,” which was released in January.
Lewis played Billy Flynn in “Chicago” on Broadway. (James Devaney/WireImage/File)
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The documentary features the African famine charity song “We Are” written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and featuring some of music’s biggest names, including Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, and Tina. It features the recording of “Are the World”. Turner.
Prince was also scheduled to appear on this song, but he declined to participate. She was then given the singing part to Lewis.
On the Apple Music podcast Huey’s 80s Radio with Huey Lewis, Lewis and Kenny Loggins reflected on their work on the song and their appearance in the documentary.
After watching the documentary, Lewis said, “This was the first time I learned that you were the one who recommended me for Prince’s line.It appeared in the documentary, but I had no idea about it until then.” He talked about Loggins.
Lewis learned in the documentary The Greatest Night in Pop that his friend Kenny Loggins encouraged him to sing the part originally intended for Prince. (Charlie Galley/Getty Images, Netflix)
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Loggins acknowledged this and said, “Michael [Jackson] came up to me and said, “Prince won’t come here.” Who should sing the solo line? I said, “The best singer here is Huey Lewis.”
“I knew that night that this was the career milestone of my life,” Lewis recalled on “GMA,” and 40 years later, it still is.
He said it was “fun” to be in the room with the stars, adding: “During the break, we just hung out. Bruce Springsteen is very funny. He’s really good at jokes. It was fun to do that. It was really fun,” he recalled. It was just a great night. ”
“Of course everyone was on their best behavior,” he added. “I was nervous. Stevie Wonder wasn’t nervous. When you’re that talented, you don’t have to be nervous.”
Cover of the “USA for Africa We are the World” record album. The music on this album was intended to raise awareness and funds for the 1985 Global Hunger Relief Program. (Blank Archive/Getty Images/File)
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Lewis said on his podcast, “I saw each voice reflected on Stevie Wonder’s face, and it was amazing. And then halfway through, he said, ‘Oh my gosh, there are so many stars. Stars.’ “There are a lot of them,” he said. Just thinking about it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. ”
Lewis has one regret after a great experience.
“I didn’t introduce myself to Ray Charles or have a chat with Ray Charles. Ray Charles is my lifelong singing hero and I was in awe and just followed him. I was just following him,” he told GMA.
“The Heart of Rock and Roll” opens on April 22nd at the James Earl Jones Theater in New York.
