SPORTS (ALBUM)

'''Sports''' is the third album by American rock band Huey Lewis & The News, released in 1983 (see 1983 in music). This was the album that truly broke the band into the big time, going to #1 on the Billboard 200 on June 30, 1984 and making the band internationally known. The album has been certified 7 x Platinum by the RIAA but has unofficially sold 10 million copies in the United States alone. ''Sports'' was the second biggest selling album of the year next only to ''Thriller'' and spawned four Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and an additional Top 20 on the same chart. It also did very well internationally, with most of its singles reaching chart peaks in various countries.
The album's biggest hit "I Want a New Drug" was certified gold with sales of a million copies and was also the centre of a law suit against artist Ray Parker Jr. who had plagiarized the song for his 1984 hit "Ghostbusters". The case was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
During the band's 1984-1985 ''Sports'' tour, Huey Lewis & The News were the biggest grossing touring act in America.
The album cover was seen in an episode of Futurama.

Contents

Track listing

1983 Release

1999 Expanded edition

Personnel

Production

Charts

Track listing

1983 Release

#"The Heart of Rock & Roll" (Colla, Lewis) – 5:03
#"Heart and Soul" (Chapman, Chinn) – 4:13
#"Bad Is Bad" (Call, Ciambotti, Hopper, Lewis, McFee, Schriener) – 3:48
#"I Want a New Drug" (Hayes, Lewis) – 4:46
#"Walking on a Thin Line" (Pessis, Wells) – 5:11
#"Finally Found a Home" (Brown, Hayes, Lewis) – 3:43
#"If This Is It" (Colla, Lewis) – 3:54
#"You Crack Me Up" (Cipollina, Lewis) – 3:42
#"Honky Tonk Blues" (Williams) – 3:26

1999 Expanded edition

A remastered "Expanded Edition" of ''Sports'' was released on June 29, 1999, and included five previously unreleased tracks.
#"The Heart of Rock & Roll" (Colla, Lewis) – 5:03
#"Heart and Soul" (Chapman, Chinn) – 4:13
#"Bad Is Bad" (Call, Ciambotti, Hopper, Lewis, McFee, Schriener) – 3:48
#"I Want a New Drug" (Hayes, Lewis) – 4:46
#"Walking on a Thin Line" (Pessis, Wells) – 5:11
#"Finally Found a Home" (Brown, Hayes, Lewis) – 3:43
#"If This Is It" (Colla, Lewis) – 3:54
#"You Crack Me Up" (Cipollina, Lewis) – 3:42
#"Honky Tonk Blues" (Williams) – 3:26
#"The Heart of Rock & Roll (session take)" – 5:12
#"Walking On A Thin Line (session take)" – 5:39
#"If This Is It (live in San Francisco, 2/21/85)" – 4:25
#"Heart and Soul (live in San Francisco, 2/21/85)" – 4:25
#"I Want A New Drug (live in Los Angeles, 1/15/84)" – 5:27

Personnel

'Huey Lewis & the News'

★ Huey Lewis - harmonica, lead vocals

★ Mario Cipollina - bass, backing vocals

★ Johnny Colla - guitar, saxophone, backing vocals

★ Bill Gibson - percussion, drums, backing vocals

★ Chris Hayes - guitar, backing vocals

★ Sean Hopper - keyboard, backing vocals
'Additional personnel'

★ John McFee - pedal steel, steel guitar

Production

★ Producers: Huey Lewis & the News

★ Reissue producer: Kevin Flaherty

★ Engineers: Jim Gaines, Jeffrey Norman, Jesse Osborne

★ Assistant engineers: Jeffrey Norman, Jesse Osborne

★ Mixing: Larry Alexander, Bob Clearmountain

★ Mastering: Ted Jensen

★ Remastering: Bob Norberg

★ Compilation: Kevin Flaherty

★ Art direction: Sam Gay, Lisa Glines

★ Graphic design: Bunny Zaruba

★ Design: Bunny Zaruba

Charts

'Album' - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1984	The Billboard 200	1

'Singles' - Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	"Heart And Soul"	Mainstream Rock	1
1983	"Heart and Soul"	The Billboard Hot 100	8
1983	"I Want A New Drug"	Mainstream Rock	7
1984	"I Want a New Drug"	The Billboard Hot 100	6
1984	"The Heart of Rock & Roll"	The Billboard Hot 100	6
1984	"If This Is It"	Adult Contemporary	5
1984	"If This Is It"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	19
1984	"If This Is It"	The Billboard Hot 100	6
1984	"Walking on a Thin Line"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	16
1984	"Walking on a Thin Line"	The Billboard Hot 100	18
1985	"The Heart of Rock & Roll"	Hot Dance Music/Club Play	22
1985	"The Heart of Rock & Roll"	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	23