Huey Lewis will be inducted into the People’s Music Hall of Fame in at the Eccles Theater Salt Lake City Feb. 7.
The Sound Support Foundation and Adam Reader — aka the Professor of Rock, who has built a rock and pop history channel on YouTube with over 1.2 million subscribers — launched the People’s Music Hall of Fame to honor musicians who have shaped music throughout the generations and haven’t been recognized yet by the likes of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The foundation began in 2023 as the nonprofit extension of Caleb Chapman’s Soundhouse, which Caleb Chapman started in 1998 to provide music training to Utah students who couldn’t otherwise afford it. It has since contributed to the wellbeing of thousands of kids and has become the nation’s most award-winning music program for ages 10-18.
Many alumni have become part of successful bands, such as Imagine Dragons and The Moth & The Flame, or have been featured on shows like “American Idol” and “The Voice.” Currently, hundreds of Soundhouse musicians perform at the biggest festivals in the world as part of ensembles.
Lewis is the first inductee into the People’s Music Hall of Fame. The ceremony features more than 200 Soundhouse musicians performing his music with special guests, including Tyler Glenn, vocalist of Neon Trees; Tom “Bones” Malone of The Blues Brothers; Marc Russo of The Doobie Brothers and Tower of Power; and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
The Soundhouse artists comprise six Park City locals: Charley Chambers, John Gallagher, Augie DePaul, Quinlin Grady, Melanie Martin and Jose Becerra.
“This extraordinary evening promises a unique blend of star power and fresh talent, creating a once-in-a-lifetime experience for attendees,” Chapman said. “The purpose of the evening is very much twofold: One is to celebrate Huey Lewis and his career and contributions, and another is to recognize the incredible accomplishments of our young musicians here in Utah and raise much-needed scholarship funds to continue supporting them and to grow the impact of music performance education. It’s an incredible opportunity to celebrate one of music’s most beloved icons while supporting a meaningful cause.”
Sponsors have covered the expenses of the event, so 100% of the proceeds fund music scholarships. In addition, an anonymous foundation will match every dollar raised through the ceremony, up to $250,000.
Ben Hammond, who has created more than 50 sculptures of football players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has sculpted two bronzes depicting Lewis on a large plaque. One plaque will return home with Lewis, while the other will remain with the Sound Support Foundation. Though the People’s Music Hall of Fame does not yet have a physical building, Chapman said he has interested donors and hopes to build a location to house awards and memorabilia and act as a music venue in five to 10 years.
Huey Lewis and the News debuted in 1978. Four years later, the band made headlines when “Do You Believe in Love” hit No. 7. That song came out on the gold album, “Picture This,” which hit No. 13 on the albums chart. Since then, Lewis has earned three No. 1 hits, 12 top-10 tunes and one Grammy for Best Music Video for “The Heart of Rock ’n’ Roll” in 1986. He has appeared in a number of television shows and movies, including “Back to the Future,” “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?,” “Just Shoot Me!,” “The King of Queens” and “The Blacklist.”
“I got to know Adam Reader,” Chapman said, “and we’ve been talking for a few years about how there are so many incredible artists that have really impacted not just our lives but culture and music and, really, our entire society. … Huey Lewis certainly is one of those artists that we feel like has not quite gotten his due for the impact that he and his band had on the music industry over the last several decades. He had two consecutive albums with four songs in the top 10 in one of the most competitive decades of music, and when you look at it, we’re going to be playing two hours of hits of Huey Lewis. There are not that many music artists that you can play songs for two hours, and every song is recognizable. His catalogue is just one of the greatest. It’s really timeless music.”
Russo recorded with Lewis on “Trouble in Paradise,” and Malone has worked with Lewis on various occasions as a music director and member of the house band on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” Glenn, as well as “some incredibly mind-blowing young vocalists” from Soundhouse will sing the tunes.
The students are excited to perform legendary music with such well-known artists, as they take turns playing hits through various ensembles during the event, he said.
“(These inductees) had an impact in the past, but their music continues to have an impact rolling forward, and nothing shows that better than watching these incredibly talented young musicians get up and just pour their hearts into these hits that were penned by Huey Lewis,” he said. “We’ve been doing shows for decades here in Utah, and a lot of times, people come to see the celebrities that they perform with, but they always leave talking about the kids. They’re the real stars of the show.”
Performing with celebrities motivates the young musicians to ensure their performance is on par with that of the guest artists, Chapman said.
“It allows them to have that extra motivation to really rise to the occasion, and that’s where the moments of magic really happens: These kids are inspired by the guest artists, and then the guests artists are inspired by the incredible performance of these kids. Doing that together on stage is energizing in so many ways and inspiring,” he said. “Nobody really believes how good they are till they see them in person, so it’s an exciting night for everybody.”
Now, that’s the “Power of Love.”
Huey Lewis’ induction into the People’s Music Hall of Fame
- When: 7:30-10 p.m. Feb. 7
- Where: Delta Hall at the Eccles Theater, Salt Lake City
- Tickets: $20
- Tickets available at arttix.org