It was always easy to laugh at Huey Lewis and the News back in the ’80s.
To some they seemed marginally new wave, marginally radio rock, marginally soulful. But — as with Michael McDonald, Hall and Oates, and Lionel Ritchie — who’s laughing now? The music has withstood the scorn of the period’s cool police, and it remains.
And a few things about Huey Lewis and the News are worth noting. Huey Lewis has been praised by famous rock groupies for just being the man he is. Members of the News backed Elvis Costello on his debut album. Also, along with fellow musicians Lyle Lovett and Tom Waits, Lewis appeared in “Short Cuts,” the Robert Altman film mashup of several Raymond Carver short stories.
As the man said, “It’s hip to be square.”
Huey Lewis and the News performs at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Road, Wallingford, Saturday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $45 to $65. Information: 203-265-1501, livenation.com.
