Huey Lewis Released What ‘May Be’ His Last Album

Huey Lewis and The News released Weather, the album that just might be the last in a career that has spanned four decades. The reason being the band’s frontman can no longer hear his own music. Huey Lewis was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease two years ago. A disorder affecting the inner ear that can trigger spells of dizziness and hearing loss. Lewis said, “I can’t hear the notes- I just hear cacophony.”

Lewis can still hear out of his left ear, but he says it’s sporadic and distorted. His left ear was once his good ear. Lewis lost most of his hearing in his right ear about 35 years ago, the same time that the 1985 film Back To The Future featured the Huey Lewis and the News song “Power of Love,” put the band in the spotlight. In 2018, the band called off a tour, announcing that Lewis “can’t hear music well enough to sing.”

The band is releasing its first record in nearly 20 years. It’s a collection of seven songs that the band worked on before Lewis’ hearing problems worsened. “It may be [my final album]. It’s hard for me to find pitch so I can’t sing to the music.” The diagnosis was “incredibly depressing” at first, he says. “I spent two months in bed, really, fasting and trying all kinds of protocols, including steroids.” Lewis says that over time he’s found ways to cope with hearing challenges. “First of all, you can kind of get used to almost anything,” he says. “And number two, I remind myself that there’s lots of people that are worse off than I am … I’m still, overall, a lucky guy.”

“I’m hoping to recover my hearing so we can get the band back together and play live, but can’t right now, and I can’t tell you that I’m certain that I ever will again,” he says. “In the meantime, I’m staying as creative as I can.”