What You Need To Know About The Huey Lewis And Ray Parker Jr. Controversy

May 2024 · 2 minute read

According to MPRNews, an agreement was reached in 1985 and the copyright dispute was settled out of court, with the stipulation that no one talk about the details, ever. Kinda like Fight Club minus the all the blood. But about a decade-and-a-half later, Lewis did just that in a very public way. 

MTV reported that during a 2001 interview on VH1's Behind the Music, Lewis said, "The offensive part was not so much that Ray Parker Jr. had ripped this song off, it was kind of symbolic of an industry that wants something — they wanted our wave, and they wanted to buy it. ... [I]t's not for sale. ... In the end, I suppose they were right. I suppose it was for sale, because, basically, they bought it."

Due to the confidentiality agreement being breached, Parker's lawsuit claimed it caused him emotional distress. MTV reported the suit said the confidentiality agreement "directly related to [Parker's] comfort, happiness and welfare," and called Lewis' comments "inflammatory, disparaging," and "false." 

In a 2016 interview with Ray Parker Jr. on the Adam Corolla Show (posted on YouTube) Parker said of that lawsuit, "I sued him and I got money," adding, "Oh by the way, I like him. I mean, I've never met him ... for some reason he attacked me and I don't really think I had anything to do with it."

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