Today's Song of the Day

Do You Believe in Love, Huey Lewis & the News, 1982

Believe me when I say, any child of the 80s has a special relationship with Huey Lewis & the News. For me, the fandom feels super obligatory -- it's definitely a passive sort of devotion. It's a lukewarm love that's a requirement of my 1980s pedigree. I can't really explain it -- it's like I'm a fan but not really. You know what I mean?

I love that this band's meteoric rise and decade-long dominance of the music charts started with this song. This song made them/paved the way for their radio (and Mtv) success. It's a fabulous song, y'all. It's a fun and quirky sing-a-long. It's all doo-woppy and classic but in a fresh way. The narrative is serious but the song is light. It's an earworm for sure -- one that I haven't been able to shake for days now.

This is one of those songs that was written to be a hit, though, and probably would have been a hit no matter the artist. No shade to Huey and the boys but this is Mutt (Lange) gold regardless of the vessel. Surprise, surprise! The Mutt hit factory didn't even write this tune specifically for this band. Huey was elevated by the Midas touch.

BTW, my other favorite Huey Lewis & the News song, Heart and Soul, was also the result of a brilliant professional songwriting team -- Chapman and Chinn.

All hail great songwriters, y'all. Long live the great and powerful Oz.