I want a new drug
| I want a new drug | |
|---|---|
| Huey Lewis & the News | |
| publication | December 1983 (USA) |
| length | 4:46; as single 03:29; Maxi single 05:32 |
| Author (s) | Chris Hayes , Huey Lewis |
| Publisher (s) | Chrysalis Records |
| album | Sports |
| Cover versions | |
| 1985 | Weird Al Yankovic (parody) |
| 1987 | Asleep at the wheel |
| 1998 | Elio e le Storie Tese |
| 2005 | Mardo |
| 2006 | Mellani Day |
| 2006 | Glen Phillips |
| 2006 | Bing Ji Ling |
| 2013 | Kyle Hendricks |
| 2014 | Ben Rector |
I Want a New Drug is the title of a song written by Chris Hayes and Huey Lewis that was first recorded by the American band Huey Lewis & the News . It was released as the second single from the Sports album in December 1983 and reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 .
background
The Heart of Rock & Roll and I Want a New Drug were the first two songs written for the album, and both were written on the band's tour bus. I Want a New Drug was recorded by the band in 1982 at the Record Plant studio in Sausalito . Johnny Colla wrote the arrangement for the wind instruments within 5 minutes and then tripled the recording of his saxophone soundtrack. However, the album was only released in September 1983. I Want a New Drug was released in December 1983 after the first success of the single Heart and Soul , which was previously released in August 1983 .
The version of the song contained on the Sports album had a length of 4:46 minutes, the single offered a version shortened to 3:29 minutes. For the release as a maxi-single an “Extended Mix” with a length of 5:32 minutes was created. In some countries (including Australia and New Zealand ) the song appeared as I Want a New Drug Called Love or I Want a New Drug (Called Love), in the Spanish-speaking area ( Peru , Mexico , Spain ) as I Want A New Drug (Yo Quiero Una Nueva Droga) . In Australia, the song was also released in an instrumental version as the B-side of the maxi single known as Dance Mix .
Musicians involved in the first recording
- Huey Lewis - vocals , harmonica
- Mario Cipollina - bass
- Johnny Colla - guitar , saxophone
- Bill Gibson - drums , percussions
- Chris Hayes - guitar
- Sean Hopper - keyboards
- Tower of Power brass section
- Emilio Castillo (tenor saxophone)
- Richard Elliot (tenor saxophone)
- Stephen 'Doc' Kupka (baritone saxophone)
- Greg Adams (trumpet)
- Lee Thornburg (trumpet)
Litigation
In 1984, Ray Parker, Jr. was commissioned by the producers of the film Ghostbusters to develop the theme song for the film. Later that year he was sued by Huey Lewis & the News, alleging that the songs Ghostbusters and I Want a New Drug had similarities . According to the band, the plagiarism was particularly harmful because Ghostbusters reached number 1 on the charts, where it stayed for three weeks. The parties reached an out-of-court settlement in 1995.
In an article in Premiere Magazine, the film producers later admitted that they used the song I Want a New Drug temporarily as background music for numerous scenes. They also said they offered Huey Lewis & The News to write the main subject matter for the film, but the group refused. To help him write the theme song, they then provided Ray Parker Jr. with excerpts from the film, which still contained the music by Huey Lewis & The News.
The dispute flared up again in 2001 after Huey Lewis spoke about the plagiarism proceedings in an interview in the context of the VH1- produced series Behind the Music , although the out-of-court settlement had not been disclosed. Among other things, Lewis had said in the interview: "The attack wasn't because Ray Parker Jr. stole this song, it was more symbolic of an industry that wants something - they wanted our impulse and they wanted to buy it. he is not for sale. In the end, I suspect, they were right. I suspect it was for sale because they basically bought it in the end. "
Cover versions
Various artists recorded cover versions of the song, for example Asleep at the Wheel (1987) or Elio e le Storie Tese (1998 as La donna nuda ). Weird Al Yankovic released a parody of the song titled I Want a New Duck in 1985 .
Others
For Yankovic 'parody of the song "revenge" Huey Lewis 2013 in a video parody of American Psycho , which was published on Funny or Die . Based on the scene in which the main character of the film, Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale ), talks about the importance of the Huey Lewis & the News album Fore! and in particular lecturing the song Hip to Be Square before he kills his visitor with an ax, Lewis Yankovic gives a lecture on the meaning and effect of the film in an identically designed scene while he puts on a rain jacket and fetches an ax. After Yankovic asked him why the whole apartment was covered with newspaper and whether this was "a Huey-Lewis - & - the-News joke or something", Lewis replied, "No, Al." Then he showed Yankovic a short excerpt from American Psycho, then also takes up the ax and kills Yankovic. The clip ends with Lewis saying, "Try parodying one of my songs again, you stupid bastard!" A drug jar featured in the clip reads, "Lewis, Huey New Drug."
reception
I Want a New Drug reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the band's highest-ever chart single in the United States. In Germany the song reached number 27 in the charts. In the United States, the song was awarded a gold single on January 30, 1989 for more than 500,000 copies sold.
Web links
- Official music video (tape.tv)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Chart sources (albums): DE / AT / CH / UK / US , accessed November 23, 2012.
- ↑ a b c Linernotes by Gary Graff in the booklet of the CD Sports - 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
- ↑ Booklet of the original CD edition
- ↑ a b Information about the single, discogs.com , accessed on June 2, 2016
- ↑ Answers.com, "Ray Parker Jr. Biography"
- ↑ Who Ya Gonna Call? Ghostbusters Exclusive! Inside story of a comedy classic . In: Premiere Magazine . June 2004.
- ↑ Teri Vanhorn: RAY PARKER JR. SUING HUEY LEWIS OVER 'GHOSTBUSTERS' COMMENT March 23, 2001, mtv.com, accessed June 2, 2016. Originally quoted : “The offensive part was not so much that Ray Parker Jr. had ripped this song off, it was kind of symbolic of an industry that wants something - they wanted our wave, and they wanted to buy it. ... It's not for sale. ... In the end, I suppose they were right. I suppose it was for sale, because, basically, they bought it. "
- ↑ Database on coverinfo.de , accessed on June 2, 2016
- ↑ Video on YouTube.com , accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ For comparison: Original scene from American Psycho (German version), YouTube , accessed on June 3, 2016
- ^ RIAA database , accessed on June 2, 2016