Music Friday: Huey Lewis Claims ‘The Power of Love’ Is ‘Tougher Than Diamonds’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today we have Huey Lewis and the News performing “The Power of Love” from the blockbuster film, Back to the Future. In the chart-topping 1985 hit, Lewis claims that the power of love is a curious thing. It’s “tougher than diamonds, rich like cream.”

Being tougher than diamonds is an impressive claim, indeed. Diamonds possess a number of impressive attributes, including unparalleled beauty, rarity and toughness. Yes, diamonds are the hardest natural substance ever known to man. Based on the song, if diamonds rate a 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, the "power of love" would likely score an 11 or better.

Fans of actor Michael J. Fox and the Back to the Future trilogy may remember that “The Power of Love” was featured in one of the first scenes of the original release (1985). The song plays in the background as Fox’s Marty McFly character is skateboarding to school.

Later in the film, the song surfaces again when McFly and his group are auditioning for the Battle of the Bands. Lewis makes a cameo appearance in the film as a grumpy faculty member who rejects the band before McFly can sing the first verse. Says Lewis, “Sorry, fellas… I’m afraid you’re just too darn loud.”

The backstory reveals that the real reason Marty doesn't sing is because there were no lyrics at the time of filming. Lewis and two collaborators wrote "The Power of Love" especially for Back to the Future, but could only deliver an unfinished song by the time the movie was in post production.

According to songfacts.com, Lewis's family provided inspiration for the lyrics. The singer was newly married and had two young children when he wrote it with his bandmates Johnny Colla and Chris Hayes.

Driven by the film’s universal appeal (it grossed $388 million at the box office), “The Power of Love” charted in 17 countries, including #1 spots on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 58th Academy Awards, but lost to Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me."

“The Power of Love” also makes brief cameos in both Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990).

Huey Lewis was born in New York City in 1950, but was raised in Marin County, CA. In an interview with David Letterman, Lewis said he learned to play the harmonica while waiting for rides as he hitchhiked across the country back to New York City as a teenager. Later in his youth, Lewis stowed away on a plane to Europe and supported himself in Madrid by busking with his harmonica.

Trivia: Lewis, whose birth name is Hugh Anthony Cregg III, scored a perfect 800 on his math SAT, attended Ivy League Cornell University and had aspirations of being an engineer.

We invite you to check out the video of Huey Lewis and the News performing "The Power of Love." The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“The Power of Love”
Written by Johnny Colla, Chris Hayes and Huey Lewis. Performed by Huey Lewis and the News.

The power of love is a curious thing
Make a one man weep, make another man sing
Change a hawk to a little white dove
More than a feeling that’s the power of love

Tougher than diamonds, rich like cream
Stronger and harder than a bad girl’s dream
Make a bad one good make a wrong one right
Power of love that keeps you home at night

You don’t need money, don’t take fame
Don’t need no credit card to ride this train
It’s strong and it’s sudden and it’s cruel sometimes
But it might just save your life
That’s the power of love
That’s the power of love

First time you feel it, it might make you sad
Next time you feel it, it might make you mad
But you’ll be glad baby when you’ve found
That’s the power makes the world go ’round

And it don’t take money, don’t take fame
Don’t need no credit card to ride this train
It’s strong and it’s sudden it can be cruel sometimes
But it might just save your life

They say that all in love is fair
Yeah, but you don’t care
But you know what to do
When it gets hold of you
And with a little help from above
You feel the power of love
You feel the power of love
Can you feel it?
Hmmm

It don’t take money and it don’t take fame
Don’t need no credit card to ride this train
Tougher than diamonds and stronger than steel
You won’t feel nothin’ till you feel
You feel the power, just the power of love
That’s the power, that’s the power of love
You feel the power of love
You feel the power of love
Feel the power of love

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com.

With Tokyo Games in Jeopardy, Medal Design, Recycling Efforts May Have Been in Vain

With the fate of the rescheduled Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in serious jeopardy due to a surge of coronavirus cases in Japan, there's a very real possibility that all the work that went into designing the medals and procuring the recycled precious metal to create them may have been in vain.

The 2020 Summer Olympics were originally slated to begin on July 24, 2020, but those plans were scrapped due to the worldwide pandemic. The organizers reset the opening ceremonies for July 23, 2021, anticipating that COVID-19 infection rates would be low enough a year later to allow for large gatherings. It was the first time in history that the Games had been postponed.

But the risks have only gotten worse. Earlier this month, a new state of emergency was declared in several areas in Japan, including the Olympic and Paralympic host city of Tokyo. A recent survey of Japanese citizens showed that 77% believe the Games should be cancelled or postponed.

The Games came with a price tag of $12.35 billion, but beyond the possible loss in revenue are the squandered efforts related to the precious medals that would have been awarded to the 5,000 Olympic competitors.

In 2017, the Tokyo 2020 Medal Project was established to encourage Japanese citizens to donate their used mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops and games units so they could be harvested for the small amounts of precious metals they contained. The goals was to produce the first Olympic medals fabricated 100% from recycled material.

By the end of March 2019, the collection goal had been achieved. Nearly 80,000 tons of devices were collected, yielding 32kg of gold, 3,500kg of silver and 2,200kg of bronze. The donations included 6.21 million devices.

Despite being a country with virtually no precious metal mining, Japan’s discarded small consumer electronics is believed to contain the equivalent of 16% of the world’s gold reserves and 22% of the world’s silver reserves.

If the Games are cancelled, the beautifully designed medals by Junichi Kawanishi may not see the light of day.

The front of the 2020 medal depicts Nike, the mythical Greek goddess of victory, standing in front of the Panathinaikos Stadium. The back features a raised, pebble-like center, reflective Olympic rings, and a checkered Tokyo 2020 “ichimatsu moyo” emblem inside a swirl design. Kawanishi designed the medals to resemble rough stones that have been newly polished, and now “shine with light and brilliance.”

Olympic gold medals, in general, are made mostly of silver, containing just six grams of pure gold. The silver medals are pure silver. The bronze medals are made from gunmetal, a corrosion-resistant form of bronze that contains zinc. Olympic gold medals were once made of solid gold, with the last ones awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, back in 1912.

Credits: Images courtesy of Tokyo 2020.

Packers' Aaron Jones Scores TD and Celebrates by Showing Off Logo Necklace

With the help of 320-pound offensive guard Elgton Jenkins, Green Bay Packers star running back Aaron Jones showed the world a very special piece of jewelry he was wearing under his #33 jersey during his team's 32-18 thumping of the Los Angeles Rams in Saturday's divisional-round playoff game.

On the very first play of the third quarter, Aaron Rodgers handed off to Jones, who busted through the middle of the line and scampered 60 yards to the Rams' 15 yard line. Two plays later, the man they call "Showtyme" plunged one yard into the end zone, giving the Packers a 25-10 lead.

As he celebrated the touchdown, the elated four-year veteran attempted to dig into the neckline of his jersey, but was having trouble getting a grip on the jewelry underneath because his gloves were too bulky. Fortunately, Jenkins — the 6' 5" lineman — knew exactly what to do.

In a quick seven-second sequence, Fox TV cameras caught the moment when Jenkins successfully pulled out a diamond-and-emerald encrusted necklace featuring the Packers' iconic "G" logo.

The spectacle caught the attention of Emmy Award-winning TV and radio personality, Bryant McFadden, who mentioned the celebration and the jewelry while hosting a post-game analysis for CBS Sports HQ, the network's streaming video sports channel.

"He scores a lot of touchdowns, man, and he also has a lot of cool jewelry," said McFadden. "That's awesome…that little Green Bay [logo] in diamonds. I couldn't rock it, but he can."

Jones shared the Fox video clip on his Instagram Story while giving a shoutout to Jenkins and the jewelry firm that designed his necklace. He wrote, "My bro @elgton74 had to pull it out for me! @shopgld"

@shopgld is the Instagram handle for GLD, a Miami-based jewelry firm that specializes in over-the-top, diamond designs for celebrities and sports stars. A sample of the Packers' logo design is shown on the company's website.

GLD shared the Fox celebration clip on its Instagram page along with this caption, "Shout out to the legend @showtyme_33.. Yea you see that packers chain baby. Every TD it’s coming out."

Aaron Rodgers and the top-seeded Green Bay Packers will take on Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in pursuit of a Super Bowl title.

We're guessing that Jones's Green Bay bling will be making a few more cameos along the way.

See Jones's touchdown run and end zone celebration, below. The sequence starts at the 18:30 mark.

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube / CBS Sports HQ; Pendant photo via Instagram / Shopgld.