Workin For A Livin

Huey Lewis wrote this song with his guitar player Chris Hayes, who was with the band from 1980-2001. The song is a straightforward tribute to the working man, but it took on new meaning when the band ran into problems with their record company in late 1982. Huey Lewis & the News had released two albums for Chrysalis Records, but after recording Sports, Chrysalis started crumbling. The band knew they had a great album, and years in the business taught them that struggling record companies are where great albums go to die. So instead of handing the tapes over to Chrysalis, the band kept them and went on tour, which they called the "Workin' for a Livin'" tour. Since their only real hit was "Do You Believe In Love?," they struggled to fill small venues, worked six nights a week, and stayed at cheap hotels while playing songs that would later become huge hits. Once they were convinced Chrysalis had sorted out their issues, the band turned over the tapes and Sports was released in September 1983.

Garth Brooks recorded a duet of the song with Huey Lewis for his 2007 album The Ultimate Hits. This version made #19 on the Country charts.

This plays on the season 3 premiere of Stranger Things, "Suzie, Do You Copy?," while Nancy rushes to her job at the newspaper office.