Sports isn't fancy. It's rock music played tightly and with enthusiasm by the band, recorded cleanly. The songs are first-listen friendly and held up after the set became a monster hit, spending more than a year all over Top 40 and rock radio. It ultimately ranks as one of the great pop-rock band albums of the 80s. Huey Lewis and The News earned themselves lots of hits singles, with a couple really good album tracks. It is bar band rock and roll with a shine, as they made a radio-ready album with really great harmonies, and big, fat sugar smack hooks in the songs that are easy to like really quickly. And people did. But here is the hard truth: His two greatest radio songs were not on this record. One came right before and one right after. We discuss.
Released in September 1983, Sports made a slow climb up the charts throughout late 1983 and early 1984. This is a record that predated the explosion of Purple Rain-era Prince, and Bruce Springsteen's Born in The USA, and John Mellencamp's Scarecrow album. It was before Bryan Adams and Reckless. It was an influential part of the hit radio transition from the Cars-y new wave of the early part of the decade, to the heartland rock that had an impact on music and radio in the mid-80s. We talk about the sound, the unassuming innovation that pushed other artists, and the videos that were really a key part of the band's success.
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Ep. 43: The "Play Me 5" Game - Bob Seger
Ep 42: Why the J. Geils Band Matters
Ep. 41: Underrated Rockers: John Waite
Ep. 40: The Scandal Tracks
Ep. 39: The Rock and Roll Gospel of Henry Lee Summer
Ep. 38: 80’s Roots Rock and Roll - What We Were Hearing
Ep. 37: Who Is Truth And Salvage Co. and Why Their New/Old Album Rocks
Ep. 36: 80s Rock Radio Hit Songs That Top 40 Missed (Mostly)
Ep. 35: Muscle Shoals, Bob Seger, and the Odd Story of Old Time Rock and Roll
Ep 34: Why Am I Just Now Discovering Pat Todd and The Rankoutsiders?
Ep. 33: Remembering the Brilliance - and the Chaos - of Jerry Lee Lewis
Ep. 32: More of the Minneapolis Sound (part 3) - Soul Asylum, Gear Daddies, Husker Du, and More
Ep. 31: The Other Minneapolis Sound (part 2) - Americana, Pop Punk, and Rock and Roll
Ep. 30: Mixing Prince and Heartland Rock and Roll in Minnesota
Ep. 29: The Greatness of Joan Jett and Why She Rocks Us
Ep. 28: The Continuing Echo of Tom Petty Lives Through Mike Campbell - and Many Others
Ep. 27: Taylor Hawkins and the Foo Fighters - Only Rock and Roll?
Ep. 26: Georgia Satellites - The Loud Crunch of Lost Rock and Roll
Ep. 25: Huey Lewis and The News - After the 80’s
Ep. 24: Jackson Browne and the 80’s - Rating his Singles and his Decade
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