Sports
Studio album by Huey Lewis & The News
Released	October 1, 1983
Recorded	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California; The Plant Studios, Sausalito, California
Genre	Rock
Length	37:46
Label	Chrysalis
Producer	Huey Lewis & The News
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (B+) link Rolling Stone link
Huey Lewis & The News chronology
Picture This (1982) Sports (1983) Fore! (1986)
Singles from Sports
"Heart and Soul" Released: 1983 "I Want a New Drug" Released: 1984 "The Heart of Rock & Roll" Released: 1984 "If This Is It" Released: 1984 "Walking on a Thin Line" Released: 1984

Sports is the third album by American rock band Huey Lewis & The News, released in 1983 (see 1983 in music). This was the album that truly made the band famous, going to #1 on the Billboard 200 on June 30, 1984 and making the band internationally known. The album has been certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA. Sports was the second biggest selling album of 1984, next only to Michael Jackson's Thriller, and spawned four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and a fifth that went top 20. It also did very well internationally, with most of its singles reaching chart peaks in various countries.

The album's biggest hit, "I Want a New Drug", was certified gold with sales of a million copies and was also the center of a law suit against artist Ray Parker Jr. who was accused of plagiarizing the song for his 1984 hit "Ghostbusters". The case was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.^{citation needed}

Another single, "The Heart of Rock & Roll", was ranked at #6 in Blender magazine's list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever", with its worst moment coming in "the second verse, when that cheeky Huey almost uses the word 'ass'".^[1]

During the band's 1984-1985 Sports tour, Huey Lewis & The News were the highest grossing touring act in America.

Track listing

1. "The Heart of Rock & Roll" (Colla, Lewis) – 5:03
2. "Heart and Soul" (Chapman, Chinn) – 4:13
3. "Bad Is Bad" (Call, Ciambotti, Hopper, Lewis, McFee, Schriener) – 3:48
4. "I Want a New Drug" (Hayes, Lewis) – 4:46
5. "Walking on a Thin Line" (Pessis, Wells) – 5:11
6. "Finally Found a Home" (Brown, Hayes, Lewis) – 3:43
7. "If This Is It" (Colla, Lewis) – 3:54
8. "You Crack Me Up" (Cipollina, Lewis) – 3:42
9. "Honky Tonk Blues" (Williams) – 3:26

1999 Expanded edition

A remastered "Expanded Edition" of Sports was released on June 29, 1999, and included the following session takes and live versions of their hit singles as bonus tracks.

10. "The Heart of Rock & Roll (session take)" – 5:12
11. "Walking on a Thin Line (session take)" – 5:39
12. "If This Is It (live in San Francisco, 2/21/85)" – 4:25
13. "Heart and Soul (live in San Francisco, 2/21/85)" – 4:25
14. "I Want a New Drug (live in Los Angeles, 1/15/84)" – 5:27

Personnel

• Huey Lewis - harmonica, lead vocals
• Mario Cipollina - bass, backing vocals
• Johnny Colla - guitar, saxophone, backing vocals
• Bill Gibson - percussion, drums, backing vocals
• Chris Hayes - guitar, backing vocals
• Sean Hopper - keyboard, backing vocals

Additional personnel

• John McFee - pedal steel, steel guitar

Production

• Producers: Huey Lewis & the News
• Reissue producer: Kevin Flaherty
• Engineers: Jim Gaines, Jeffrey Norman, Jesse Osborne
• Assistant engineers: Jeffrey Norman, Jesse Osborne
• Mixing: Larry Alexander, Bob Clearmountain
• Mastering: Ted Jensen
• Remastering: Bob Norberg
• Compilation: Kevin Flaherty
• Art direction: Sam Gay, Lisa Glines
• Graphic design: Bunny Zaruba
• Design: Bunny Zaruba

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Sports in popular culture

• The album appeared in the Futurama episode "The Luck of the Fryish" where it is noted that it has not held up to the test of time alongside the other contents of Fry's Ronco Record Vault.
• The album is critiqued by the character, Patrick Bateman, in both the book and film versions of American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis
• In the first Back to the Future film, a poster of the album cover can be seen in Marty's bedroom.

References