Huey Lewis Admits Bob Dylan Wrote Him a Song in the '80s, but He Can't Find It: 'Big Mistake'

Huey Lewis doesn't have many regrets in life, but not recording a song Bob Dylan penned for him is definitely one of them.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday, the frontman, 73, recalled the gaff, explaining that he was sent a tune written by the legendary folk-rock singer during the heyday of Lewis' band, Huey Lewis and the News, but never acted on it.

"He sent me a cassette and a lovely note saying he liked the last record and here's a song of mine," Lewis said of the gift from Dylan, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest songwriters in the history of music.

Lewis' story got worse from there. "Not only did I not cut it, I don't know where the cassette is," he admitted.

The "I Want a New Drug" singer went on to stress that he didn't lose Dylan's song. "It's part of my cassette collection, where there's thousands of cassettes there. So I can probably find it," Lewis added.

Asked why he didn't record the song Dylan cut for him, Lewis told Kimmel, 56, "I have no idea," explaining that he "probably" played the song for his bandmates, including keyboardist Sean Hooper, drummer Bill Gibson, bassist Mario Cipollina, lead guitarist Chris Hayes, and saxophonist Johnny Colla. "I can't remember to be honest."

"It was a big mistake, what can I say? I'm sorry," said Lewis. " It was a mistake. Note to self: when Bob Dylan sends you a song, record it."

Lewis and Dylan, 82, have crossed paths in music before, both singing together on 1985's "We Are the World" as part of the starry supergroup USA for Africa.

The process of recording that chart-topping, history-making song was documented in the recent Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop. Lewis, who gave a new interview for the film, revealed in the special that he was panicking when he was given his solo after Prince didn't show up to the session.

“So now I get Prince’s line. I mean, those are pretty big shoes to fill!” Lewis said in the doc. “From that moment on, I was nervous out of my brain.”

Dylan, meanwhile, had his own nerves when recording the song, facing a bit of stage fright when it came time to sing his solo, according to the doc. Though Quincy Jones tried to help talk him through it, Stevie Wonder was ultimately able to assuage Dylan’s nerves. After clearing the room, Wonder sang the lines while mimicking Dylan’s signature delivery to help him hear his part.

Lewis was on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote The Heart of Rock and Roll, the new Broadway musical built around his catalogue of hits.

The show — featuring tunes like "Do You Believe in Love," "Hip to Be Square," "If This Is It," "The Power of Love" and "Stuck with You" — begins performances on March 29 at the James Earl Jones Theatre, ahead of an April 22 opening. Tickets are now on sale.

Featuring a story by Tyler Mitchell and a book by Jonathan Abrams, the musical is directed by Gordon Greenberg. Corey Cott and McKenzie Kurtz star.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

“Musical theater is probably, I think because it's the most demanding, it's also the most rewarding form of artistic expression and it's immensely collaborative,” Lewis told PEOPLE in January. “So we've been working as a group for almost a decade now on this, and very excited to see it all come together.”

Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs weekdays (11:30 p.m. ET) on ABC.