The Untold Truth Of Huey Lewis And The News

Huey Lewis and the News' third album, Sports, was released on Sept. 15, 1983, and was one of the biggest records of 1984, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. The band would have had the number-one record of the year if it wasn't for Michael Jackson, who released his album Thriller. Sports, however, did really well with five Top 40 singles, including "Heart and Soul," "I Want a New Drug," "The Heart of Rock & Roll," "If This Is It," and "Walking on a Thin Line."

The band was very deliberate with its song choices by the time it made its third album. "It was really a record for its time," Huey Lewis told Billboard. "In the 80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any more records. That was it, period." They had a mission to write songs that would be hits on the radio, but they weren't exactly sure which ones would do the trick. "We just knew we needed a frickin' hit, period. And fortunately we got 'em," he added.