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

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"The Power of Love"
Song
B-side"Bad Is Bad"

"The Power of Love" is the title of a 1985 single by Huey Lewis and the News written for and featured in the film Back to the Future. It gave the band their first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and later peaked at #9 in the UK, while appearing on UK editions of the band's fourth studio album, Fore!. The song was nominated for an Academy Award at the 58th Academy Awards.

Background

The song appears early in Back to the Future as Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) skates to school, then when he and his band played the song for a Battle of the Bands auditions (which Lewis, himself, is judging), and later when Marty returns to his neighborhood. In the sequel, Back to the Future Part II, the 2015 version of Marty barely plays the song on his guitar just after being fired, but because his hand was damaged from his 1985 accident with a Rolls Royce, he cannot play the guitar well. It is hard to tell that he is playing "Power of Love." 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, featured in the bonus features of the Back to the Future Part II disc, shows the band playing in a nightclub, with Dr. Emmett Brown showing up in the DeLorean, apparently after time-traveling, and a couple stealing it for a joy ride.

The track has recently been covered by UK guitar indie band The Pigeon Detectives. The cover has been included on the BBC Radio One compilation CD Radio 1 Established 1967. It was also covered by Drive-Thru Records band The Early November on the 2005 compilation, Punk Goes 80's. In 2008 it was covered by Canadian band After The Anthems and was released as a single to Canadian radio.

The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is known for naming each episode after an '80s hit song, named an episode after this song.

It appears in the singing video game called Karaoke Revolution. It is also used in every episode of Sidescrollers on the gaming website Screwattack. In addition, a cover of the song was used in the original version of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em".

Chart performance

Chart (1985) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 6
U.S. Billboard Dance Club Play 22
U.S. Billboard Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 23
UK Singles Chart 9
Preceded by Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
August 24 1985 – September 6 1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single
July 20 1985 – August 2 1985 		Succeeded by

External links

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