Some people have impossible dreams, something stirring deep inside them that forces them to throw common sense, logic, money, and time out the window in order for them to pursue it. It’s hard to understand what motivates such a person, what sets them on such an arduous path that they must see it to completion. And when they reach that pinnacle, standing on the mountaintop and surveying all they have accomplished for the sake of that dream, do they feel satisfied? Was it all worth it? These are the deep thoughts that occur when one man sets out to visit all the places name checked by Huey Lewis And The News in the song “The Heart Of Rock & Roll.”
This daring dreamer is named Michael Feld, who took his devotion to Mr. Lewis And The News to new heights when he committed himself to traveling to all 14 cities mentioned in that song and to record himself performing the song at each location. Like a modern day Fitzcarraldo, Feld had an impossible dream of music that was equal parts inspiration and pure madness, and yet he saw it through. As he writes in the video’s description:
10,484 miles on 11 planes. 636 miles on 4 trains. 962 miles in 5 rental cars.
All in the name of Huey Lewis & the News.
I really love Huey Lewis and the News. Last summer, while out doing karaoke (and singing Huey of course) I started thinking how great it would be to visit all the cities listed in the song. Why those places? What connected them to Huey Lewis? What rock & roll magic could be found in those disparate places?
So I set out on a journey to make a music video where I’d travel to all 14 cities listed in the song, not only as a tribute to Huey Lewis but to prove that the heart of rock & roll is indeed still alive and beating. And after completing my journey, I can tell you first hand that Huey Lewis’ message still rings true, 31 years after the song’s release.
This video is a tribute to the music of Huey Lewis & The News, the spirit of travel and adventure and to the amazing people, communities and parts of the country that the song sent me. Because after all, “They say the heart of rock & roll’s still beating and from what I’ve seen I believe them.”
Was it all worth it? The hours logged, the miles traversed, the posings with Naked Cowboys? The sheer infectious energy of Feld would suggest yes, he has seen his dream to fruition and it is a glorious sight to behold. Oh, and it appears that Huey Lewis And The News also approve of this tribute to the song as the band happily tweeted about it. It may be hip to be square, but it is certainly even hipper to be an impossible dreamer who brings his visions into reality.
The Heart of Rock & Roll from Michael Feld on Vimeo.