Bruce Hornsby began his music career as a songwriter, eventually catching the ear of Huey Lewis, who would produce his debut with The Range. ∙ The band’s biggest hit, “The Way It Is,” went multiplatinum and remained on the charts for more than a year. ∙ “The Way It Is” was sampled in E-40’s “Things’ll Never Change,” Snoop Dogg’s “Can’t Say Goodbye,” and 2Pac’s Grammy-nominated “Changes.” ∙ In 1987, the band earned the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. ∙ Huey Lewis & The News scored a No. 1 hit with Hornsby’s song “Jacob’s Ladder,” which later appeared on The Range’s album Scenes from the Southside. ∙ Hornsby performed extensively with Grateful Dead in the early ’90s, and he credits Jerry Garcia’s “timeless” songwriting for influencing his own work. ∙ Hornsby has composed more than 200 songs for director Spike Lee, including tracks for the Oscar-winning film BlacKkKlansman.