Huey Lewis American rock musician, songwriter, actor Date of Birth: 05.07.1950 Country: USA

Biography of Hue Lewis

Hue Anthony Cregg III, an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor, was born on July 5, 1950, in New York. His father was a naturalized Irishman from Boston, and his mother was a Polish immigrant named Magda Cregg. Hue spent his childhood in Marin City, California, where he attended Strawberry Point Elementary School and Edna Maguire Junior High School. He excelled in mathematics and graduated with the highest score in the subject among all his classmates.

After his parents' divorce when he was 13, Hue continued his education at Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. During this time, he developed an interest in playing the harmonica while hitchhiking across the country to New York. His love for traveling led him to the decision to hitchhike through Europe, and he eventually settled in Madrid, where he performed in public for the first time. His earnings as a street musician allowed him to return home.

Upon returning to the United States, Hue enrolled in the prestigious Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, as part of the university's engineering program. It was there that he met musicians Lance and Larry Hoppen, who would later perform with Orleans and King Harvest, respectively. Although initially involved in the fraternity Eta Lambda Nu, Hue gradually lost interest in his studies and began dedicating more time to music. He played in a band called Slippery Elm and, in December 1969, left university to move to San Francisco with the group. Along the way, Hue took on various jobs, including gardener, carpenter, and fruit picker.

In 1971, Hue joined the band Clover, and around the same time, he adopted the stage name "Huey Lewis." He chose the surname Lewis in honor of his stepfather, Welsh poet and author Wyndham Lewis. In 1976, Clover traveled to Los Angeles to pursue their musical career and later embarked on a journey to England after meeting musician Nick Lowe. However, despite their efforts, the band's folk-rock performances in local pubs failed to gain significant success. They recorded several albums, but none of them became popular, leading to the eventual dissolution of the group.

Hue later participated in the recording of an album by Thin Lizzy, playing harmonica on several tracks. He then performed in clubs in the suburbs of Los Angeles. After recording the song "Exo-Disco," Hue caught the attention of Phonogram Records, who signed him to a contract. In 1979, he formed the band Huey Lewis and the American Express, and after a few performances, his manager convinced him to change the group's name to Huey Lewis and The News. The release of their album "Picture This" in 1982 marked their breakthrough, eventually achieving gold status. The single "Sports" became one of the most popular pop releases of all time, selling over ten million copies in the United States alone. In 1986, the album "Fore!" also achieved multi-platinum status.

In 1985, during the height of his success, Hue made his acting debut in the film "Back to the Future." The film featured his song "Power of Love." He was later invited to appear in the film "Short Cuts" in 1993. Additionally, Hue had roles in movies such as "Sphere" (1998), "Shadow of a Doubt" (1998), "Dead Husbands" (1998), "Duets" (2000), and TV shows like "Just Shoot Me!" (2002) and "One Tree Hill" (2004).