Huey Lewis Had a Surprising Hard Rock Mentor
Huey Lewis has walked the line between rock and pop for most of his career. However, some might be surprised to find out he had a notable mentor from the…

Huey Lewis has walked the line between rock and pop for most of his career. However, some might be surprised to find out he had a notable mentor from the hard rock world.
Lewis shared in a new interview with Songfacts that he was close with the late Thin Lizzy singer/bassist Phil Lynott. Lewis heaped loads of praise on Thin Lizzy calling them "unbelievable" and an incredible live band. The singer also called Lynott "an amazing rock star" that he still misses.
"He took me under his wing and really taught me everything - not musically, necessarily - but everything about being a 'rock-and-roll star,' if you will," said Lewis. " ... He taught me everything about how to deal with your band, your crew, the critics, the record label, management, fans."
Lewis had worked on some music with Lynott in late 1985 when the Irish singer was in the United States. Tragically, Lynott died shortly after this session on January 4, 1986.
RELATED: Huey Lewis Once Turned Down a Song Given to Him By Bob Dylan
Back in May, Lewis received quite the shout-out from the Foo Fighters. During their livestream event Preparing Music For Concerts, the band played a spontaneous cover/jam of "Workin' For A Livin'." It was kicked off by guitarist Chris Shiflett. He sang the hook, "I'm takin' what they're givin'/Cause I'm workin' for a livin'" while playing the song's riff. This was met with major approval by guitarist Pat Smear. Dave Grohl then asks if the song was on Huey Lewis & the News' hit 1983 album Sports. Smear clarified "Workin' For A Livin'" was released pre-Sports and said, "I love 'Sports'...the record!" not to be confused with any athletic endeavor.
Lewis took to Twitter following the livestream and wrote, "Thank you to the @foofighters for the flattering words about 'Workin' For A Livin',' 'Sports,' and our music in general. It was an honor to be talked about in your 'Preparing Music For Concerts' video."
The Who’s Live at Leeds was released on May 16, 1970, and it’s one of the greatest live albums of all time.
It saw the band adding heavier guitars to their mod-era classics and to some early rock and roll chesnuts, and it holds up to any of their studio albums. Through the ‘70s, and ever since, rock bands have been releasing live documents of their concerts, and while some of them are little more than “greatest hits” collections with crowd noise, the albums on this list are essential parts of their respective artists’ discographies.
Scroll through the gallery below and see where some of your favorites are ranked in our greatest live albums list.
40. Billy Joel - ‘Songs In The Attic’ (1981)

39. Yes - “Yessongs’ (1973)

38. The Kinks - ‘One For The Road’ (1980)

37. Thin Lizzy - ‘Live And Dangerous’ (1978)

36. Rush - ‘Exit… Stage Left’ (1981)

35. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - ‘The Live Anthology’ (2009)

34. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - ‘Live Rust’ (1979)

33. Lynyrd Skynyrd - ‘One More From The Road’ (1976)

32. Janis Joplin - ‘The Woodstock Experience’ (1998)

31. Ozzy Osbourne - ‘Randy Rhoads Tribute’ (1987)

30. The Runaways - ‘Live In Japan’ (1977)

29. Queen - ‘Live Killers’ (1979)

28. Iron Maiden - ‘Live After Death’ (1985)

27. The Rolling Stones - ‘Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out’ (1970)

26. Otis Redding - ‘Live In Europe’ (1967)

25. The Yardbirds - ‘Five Live Yardbirds’ (1964)

24. Pearl Jam - ‘October 31st, 2009 – The Spectrum, Philadelphia’ (2009)

23. David Bowie - ‘Live Santa Monica ‘72’ (2008)

22. AC/DC - ‘If You Want Blood, You’ve Got It’ (1978)

21. Nirvana - ‘Live At Reading’ (2009)

20. Talking Heads - ‘Stop Making Sense’ (1984)

19. Johnny Cash - ‘At Folsom Prison’ (1968)

18. Elton John - ‘11-17-70’ (1971)

17. Bob Dylan - ‘The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Live 1966, ‘The Royal Albert Hall’ Concert’ (1998)

16. Cheap Trick - ‘At Budokan’ (1979)

15. Bruce Springsteen - ‘Hammersmith Odeon, London ‘75’ (2006)

14. Deep Purple - ‘Made In Japan’ (1973)

13. U2 - ‘Under A Blood Red Sky’ (1983)

12. Aretha Franklin - ‘Live At Fillmore West’ (1971)

11. Motorhead - ‘No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith’ (1981)

10. Bob Marley & The Wailers - ‘Live!’ (1975)

9. Peter Frampton - ‘Frampton Comes Alive’ (1976)

8. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - ‘Live Bullet’ (1976)

7. KISS - ‘Alive’ (1975)

6. Santana - ‘The Woodstock Experience’ (2009)

5. The Allman Brothers Band - ‘At Fillmore East’ (1971)

4. James Brown - ‘Live At The Apollo, 1962’ (1963)

3. Jimi Hendrix - ‘Live At Monterey’ (1986)

2. Led Zeppelin - ‘How The West Was Won’ (2003)

1.The Who - ‘Live At Leeds’ (1970)
