Download Instrumental    Huey Lewis and The News – one terrific bar band made good!  This song, “The Heart of Rock & Roll”, is one of their most popular.  They have no hidden agendas and don’t delve into any political nonsense.  They’re all about straight up rock’n’roll music with no baggage attached.  As the song proclaims, “its still that same old back beat rhythm, that really drives ’em wild”.

“Rock and Roll” as a music genre came into its own in the late 40’s to the mid-1950’s.  It’s origins were gospel, rhythm and blues, jazz, jump blues and… country music.  That’s pretty much everything, isn’t it?  In the early days of rock’n’roll, the lead instrument was usually a sax or piano.  Sadly, those instruments faded into a backup role when the electric guitar came along.  While I love the thrill of a gut-wrenching guitar solo, it’s always nice when a sax makes an appearance, as it does in this song.  And then there’s the drums!  A rock beat is nothing more than a blues rhythm accented by a backbeat on 2 and 4.  And underneath it all, you have the bass holding it all together.  So there you have it – your basic rock band – two guitars, bass, and a drum kit.   But if a band is smart, they’ll throw in a keyboard or tenor sax just to keep things interesting.

Huey Lewis and The News are still touring – they’re on the road right now even as I type these words.  I did read, however, that they had to cancel a few dates because of “medical issues” with Mr. Lewis.  Hope he’s all right.  We need ya out there rattling our souls, Huey!

Singers without a band – put these backup tracks in your set list.  Makes a great opening number!