"I’m one of millions of people who loved Dwight Clark” -Huey Lewis
Huey Lewis and the News have a new album, Weather, coming out this Friday, the group’s first new original songs since 2001’s Plan B Lp!
It’s got me thinking about Huey, who I first met in maybe 1982 at MTV, and I’ve been binge-watching a ton of his interviews. This one grabbed my attention, immediately making me think “Huey Lewis talking about Dwight Clark?? I need to share this with my iHeart 80s Radio fam!"
You’ll love this revealing look at the two legendary Bay Area icons, Huey Lewis and San Francisco 49er Dwight Clark. This report was done by NBC Bay Area News for their special, “Hero in the End Zone,” a tribute to 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark after his death in 2018.
Huey Lewis and the News go way back with the 49ers, Huey could often be seen on the sidelines of games, sometimes even as a “photographer” when the NFL was picky about who could be on the field! Huey was at Candlestick Park in 1982 when Dwight Clark made The Catch. Here Huey shares details about his friend like that he could sing, seriously really sing. Huey remembers how Dwight rallied the 49ers and remained positive and caring right up until he passed away after a two-year battle with ALS, about which Huey describes Dwight “fought it hard.”
What’s fascinating to me is Huey talking about Dwight, sheds a lot of light on Huey. You get a sense of Huey’s humor, how dedicated he is to his loved ones, that he is the kind of person to be there for his friend to the point of physically carrying him when moving became difficult for Dwight. You see how much Huey knows about football and how humble he is comparing his workouts to Dwight’s. Huey talks about his hearing loss, calls it tragic, yet he too shows a strength facing down his opponent.
You can feel the depth of Huey’s love for his “pal” Dwight Clark when he can barely get through saying that hearing from Dwight about his ALS diagnosis hit him like a rock. There is so much humanity here. One of my favorite lines is where Huey says, Dwight’s "not gone, he’s just dead. He’s not gone.”
Whether you’re a fan of Huey Lewis and the News, or the San Francisco 49ers, or just plain awesome people, set time aside to watch this interview I promise it’s worth it (see below)
If Huey talking about Dwight Clark’s singing got you insanely curious like it did me, here’s Dwight rocking like a boss with The News on their rendition of the Lee Dorsey classic (also done by Devo) Working In The Coal Mine. This is from “In Concert Against Aids” a benefit organized by rock promoter Bill Graham, done at the Bay Area club Slim’s (opened by Boy Scaggs in 1968!) in San Francisco.
Photo Credit: Getty Images