I Want a New Drug theme song of the 1984 film "Ghostbusters" was released, Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. for copyright infringement, claiming that Parker had stolen the melody from "I Want a New Drug". Lewis had been approached to compose the main theme song for the film, but had to decline because of his work on the soundtrack for "Back to the Future". The two parties settled out of court. Details of the settlement (specifically, that Columbia Pictures paid Lewis a settlement) were confidential until 2001, when Lewis commented on the payment in an episode of VH1's "Behind the Music". Parker subsequently sued
Ray Parker Jr. #1 for three weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and at #1 for two weeks on its Black Singles chart. The song was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1984 but lost to Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from "The Woman in Red". Parker's song secured him a 1984 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Other hits from this period included "I Still Can't Get Over Loving You" (Pop #12) and "Jamie" (Pop #14). Parker was one of the first black artists to venture into the then-fledgling world of