Song of the Day 9/7: Huey Lewis and the News, “Workin’ for a Living”
For those too young to have lived through their heyday, at least as music fans, Huey Lewis and the News were sort of the Hootie and the Blowfish of their generation — upbeat, major-chord mainstream rock shorn of any rough edges, with enough melody to hum along with and enough energy to be a good-time live act. They also had Lewis, whose regular-guy demeanor was enhanced by his skill with a harmonica.
This song, from the band’s second LP, 1982’s “Picture This,” just missed the top 40 but made it into the Top 20 on the mainstream rock chart. This live version, featuring the Tower of Power horn section, was released as the B-side to “The Heart of Rock & Roll,” one of five Top 10 hits off the band’s next album, the 7-million-selling “Sports.”
In 2007, Lewis (born Hugh Anthony Cregg III) teamed up with Garth Brooks to re-record the song, this time for the country market. Lewis retired in 2018 after being diagnosed with Ménière’s disease, saying he could no longer hear well enough to sing.
Now here’s the best Labor Day song, although it’s British:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJYbFFFZwdE
and here’s the “live” version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdOCWUgwiWs
But it’s actually an anti-union song, sung with tongue in cheek.
I always get my way
If I strike for higher pay…
So though I’m a working man
I can ruin the government’s plan
And though I’m not hard, the sight of my card
Makes me some kind of superman
It was Strawbs’ biggest hit, reaching No. 2 in the UK.
Hi, Alby,
Dave Cousins has said that it’s a pro-union song. Regardless, union workers all over England have adopted this as their unofficial anthem.
And then there’s this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaXHUI6Gl1Q