After what Huey Lewis learned that an inner ear syndrome called Ménière's disease had caused hearing loss significant and had left him unable to play or listen to music, he faced the difficult task of having to tell people.
Lewis, whose wry lyrics and booming voice powered 1980s pop hits like “I Want a New Drug” and “If This Is It”he turned to people like Tico Torres, the veteran drummer of Bon Joviwhom he had met on golf tours.
Lewis recently recreated that momentous conversation with Torres.
“He says, 'Hey, Huey, how are you?'” Lewis recalled. “I tell him, 'Tico, it's not good.' And he began to explain. I said, 'I've lost my hearing and I can't hear tone. I can not sing'”.
Then, imitating Torres' voice, Lewis said, “When I'm done, he says, 'What are you going to do to him?'”
“So that's my mantra,” Lewis continued. “What do you do? Actually, it's a very good question. I don't know. Still working on it”.
Lewis had already paused his stage career before going public with his diagnosis in 2020. But he continued working on a new Broadway musical, “The Heart of Rock and Roll,” which is based on many of the songs he made famous with Huey Lewis and the News.
The musical, which has just premiered, turns Lewis songs like “Hip to Be Square” and “Workin' for a Livin'” in a fictional story set in the 1980s about a couple torn between pop star ambitions and corporate opportunities.
It is a project that has been in development for more than a decade, and it began before Lewis found out about the illness that has turned his life upside down.
As Lewis, 73, explained, “Zen Buddhists say you need three things: something to love, something to hope for, and something to do.”
“I have a lot to love,” he continued. “So this is my hope and my thing to do. It prevents me from reflecting on my (damn) ear.”
In person, Lewis can hear well enough to carry on conversations. He uses a discreet disc-shaped device, which transmits to a hearing aid in your ear.
Lewis is also candid about the hopelessness he felt after learning he might never be able to play music again. Although he had experienced hearing loss in his right ear since the 1980s, he said the hearing in his left ear suddenly became distorted before a show in Dallas in January 2018.
“I contemplated my disappearance,” he said. “I layed down in the bed. I tried acupuncture, head massage, chiropractors and a totally organic diet.” Lewis said they all had the same results: “Nothing.”
He said talking to his older children — son Austin and daughter Kelly — is what finally gave him the confidence to move forward. “They said, 'Come on, Dad. Get out of bed, dad,'” she explained.
By the time Lewis felt able to resume his work, “The Heart of Rock and Roll”—years after it began development—was ready for him to return.
Lewis said “The Heart of Rock and Roll” has given him a new appreciation for his own music because the show presents it in new ways.
“Watching songs take on another life is like watching your kids grow up and get a job,” he said.
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