Four Chords & Several Years Ago

Four Chords & Several Years Ago is the seventh album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, released in 1994 (see 1994 in music). The title is a play on the first sentence in Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address ("Four score and seven years ago ...").

It is a collection of 1960s rhythm & blues covers influential to the members of the group during their early years. It is the last album to feature founding member and bassist, Mario Cipollina, who left the band after the subsequent tour.

Track listing

1. "Shake, Rattle and Roll" (Charles E. Calhoun) – 3:07
2. "Blue Monday" (Bartholomew, Domino) – 2:41
3. "Searching for My Love" (R. Moore) – 2:50
4. "(She's) Some Kind of Wonderful" (John Ellison) – 3:06
5. "But It's Alright" (J.J. Jackson, Pierre Tubbs) – 2:54
6. "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" (Clark) – 2:32
7. "Mother in Law" (Allen Toussaint) – 2:43
8. "Little Bitty Pretty One" (Byrd) – 2:04
9. "Good Morning Little School Girl" (Sonny Boy Williamson I) (credited as "S.L. Hopkins")– 4:02
10. "Stagger Lee" (Logan, Price) – 2:36
11. "She Shot a Hole in My Soul" (Gayden, Neese) – 2:38
12. "Surely I Love You" (Bracken, Oliver) – 2:51
13. "You Left the Water Running" (Frank, Hall, Penn) – 3:06
14. "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash" (Calhoun) – 2:57
15. "Function at the Junction" (Holland, Shorty Long) – 3:13
16. "Better to Have and Not Need" (Don Covay, Watts) – 3:32
17. "Going Down Slow" (St. Louis Jimmy Oden) – 2:00

Personnel

Huey Lewis & The News

• Huey Lewis - lead vocals, harmonica
• Mario Cipollina - bass
• Johnny Colla - rhythm guitar, saxophone, background vocals
• Bill Gibson - drums, percussion, background vocals
• Chris Hayes - lead guitar, background vocals
• Sean Hopper - keyboards, background vocals

Additional personnel

• Marvin McFadden - trumpet
• Linda Tillery - background vocals
• Jeanie Tracy - background vocals

Production

• Producer: Stewart Levine
• Executive producer: Bob Brown
• Engineer: Daren Klein
• Assistant engineers: Jim Champagne, Kevin Scott, Jim "Watts" Vereecke
• Mixing: Daren Klein
• Mastering: Bernie Grundman
• Art direction: Robin Lynch
• Design: JoDee Stringham
• Photography: Dennis Keeley

Charts

Singles - Billboard (United States)

References