The Power of Love (Huey Lewis and the News song)

"The Power of Love"
Single by Huey Lewis and the News
from the album Back to the Future: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
B-side	"Bad Is Bad"
Released	June 1985
Format	7-inch, 12-inch
Recorded	May 30, 1985
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:53
Label	Chrysalis
Writer(s)	Huey Lewis, Chris Hayes, Johnny Colla
Producer(s)	Huey Lewis and the News
Certification	Gold (RIAA)[1]
Huey Lewis and the News singles chronology
"Walking on a Thin Line" (1984) "The Power of Love" (1985) "Stuck with You" (1986) French-language cover French 7-inch single cover.

"The Power of Love", also called "Power of Love",^[2] is a 1985 single by Huey Lewis and the News, written for and featured in the 1985 blockbuster film Back to the Future. It gave the band their first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100,^[3] their second number-one hit on the U.S. Top Rock Tracks chart, and was a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart, where it appeared on UK editions of the band's fourth studio album, Fore!. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 58th Academy Awards.

Use in Back to the Future

The song appears early in Back to the Future as Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) skateboards to school. Later in the film, McFly and his band play a hard rock version of the song for a Battle of the Bands audition (at which a character played by Huey Lewis himself is judging, and tells Marty's group that they are "just too darn loud"), and later when Marty returns to his neighborhood. In the sequel, Back to the Future Part II, the 2015 version of Marty attempts to play the song on his guitar just after being fired, but ends up playing it very poorly due to his damaged hand from his 1985 accident with a Rolls-Royce. Finally, it can be briefly heard playing in the car where Needles and his buddies are driving when Needles challenges Marty to the fate-determining car race near the end of Back to the Future Part III.

The music video shows the band playing in a nightclub with Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) showing up in his DeLorean, apparently after time-traveling, and a couple stealing it for a joy ride.

Track listings

7" Chrysalis / HUEY 1 United Kingdom "The Power of Love" - 3:53 "Bad Is Bad" - 3:46 7" Chrysalis / HUEY 3 United Kingdom "The Power of Love" "Do You Believe in Love?" also released as a 7" picture disc HUEYP 3 1986 re-issue 7" Chrysalis / 107 614 Canada "The Power of Love" – 4:21 "Finally Found a Home" – 3:41 7" Chrysalis / CHS-42876 Canada "The Power of Love" - 3:53 "Bad is Bad" - 3:46

12" Chrysalis / CS 42889 United States "The Power of Love" (Long version) – 7:10 "The Power of Love" (Instrumental) – 4:12 "The Power of Love" (Short version) – 4:18 remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez 12" Chrysalis / HUEYX1 United Kingdom "The Power of Love" – 7:10 "Bad Is Bad" – 3:46 "It's All Right" (Live version) (Curtis Mayfield) – 3:03 "I Want a New Drug" (Live version) – 5:57 12" Chrysalis / HUEYX3 United Kingdom "The Power of Love" (Extended version) "Do You Believe in Love?" "Back in Time" 1986 re-issue 12" Chrysalis / 601 822 Germany "The Power of Love" – 7:10 "It's All Right" (Live version) (Curtis Mayfield) – 3:03 "I Want a New Drug" (Live version) – 5:57 Track 1 remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez

Charts and certifications

"The Power of Love" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 46 for the week ending June 29, 1985, with Billboard calling the song "an out-of-the-box monster hit".^[4]

Weekly charts Chart (1985) Peak position Australian Kent Music Report 1 Austrian Singles Chart 24 Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[5] 17 Canadian RPM Top Singles 1 Dutch Singles Chart 25 Finnish Singles Chart[6] 23 French Singles Chart 38 German Singles Chart 16 Irish Singles Chart 5 Italian Singles Chart[7] 11 New Zealand Singles Chart 3 South African Singles Chart[8] 4 Swiss Singles Chart 11 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[9] 9 US Billboard Hot 100[3] 1 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs 22 US Billboard Adult Contemporary 6 US Billboard Top Rock Tracks 1 Zimbabwe Singles Chart[10] 7

Year-end charts Chart (1985) Position Australia (ARIA)[11] 24 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 11 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 29 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 15 Chart (1986) Position UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] 84 Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Canada (Music Canada)[16] Gold 50,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Silver 250,000 United States (RIAA)[18] Gold 500,000 ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Cover versions

• In 2005, a cover version by Drive-Thru Records band The Early November appeared on the compilation album, Punk Goes 80's.
• In 2007 The Pigeon Detectives covered the song on BBC Radio 1's 40th anniversary compilation Radio 1 Established 1967.
• In August 2011, American indie rock band The Hold Steady performed a version of the song for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series.^[19]

See also

• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s
• List of number-one singles of 1985 (Canada)
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1985
• List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1980s

References

1. RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Power of Love, RIAA.com. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
2. Denisoff, R. Serge; Romanowski, William D. (1991). Risky Business: Rock in Film. Transaction Publishers. p. 495.
3. DeKnock, Jan (August 23, 1985). "Huey Lewis and the News Rise to No. 1 Spot on 'Power of Love'". Chicago Tribune (Tribune Company). Retrieved January 30, 2009.
4. "Billboard Hot 100 Singles". Billboard 97 (26): 64, 67. June 29, 1985. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
5. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Huey+Lewis+And+The+News&titel=The+Power+Of+Love&cat=s (Retrieved September 17, 2012)
6. source: Pennanen, Timo: Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 2006. ISBN 9789511210535. page: 280
7. http://books.google.ca/books?lr=&rview=1&id=hiQEAAAAMBAJ&q=huey+lewis#v=snippet&q=huey%20lewis&f=false
8. ""Power of Love" on the South African Singles Chart". Springbok Radio. November 22, 1985. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
9. "Archive Chart: 1986-03-15" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
10. • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 91. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. "RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985". RPM. 1985-12-28. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
13. http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/?chart=3874
14. "1985 The Year in Music – Top Pop Singles". Billboard 97 (52): T–21. December 28, 1985. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
15. "Top 100 Singles". Music Week (London, England: Spotlight Publications): 24. 24 January 1987.
16. "Canadian single certifications – Huey Lewis & The News – Power of Love". Music Canada. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
17. "British single certifications – Huey Lewis & The News – Power of Love". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Power of Love in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
18. "American single certifications – Huey Lewis & The News – Power of Love". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
19. "The Hold Steady covers Huey Lewis & The News". Retrieved March 24, 2013.