Four Chords & Several Years Ago

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Four Chords & Several Years Ago is the seventh album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, released in 1994. The title is a play on the first sentence in Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address ("Four score and seven years ago ..."). The album is a collection of 1950s and 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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original artist	Length
1.	"Shake, Rattle and Roll"	Charles E. Calhoun	Big Joe Turner	3:07
2.	"Blue Monday"	Dave BartholomewFats Domino	Fats Domino	2:41
3.	"Searching for My Love"	Bobby Moore	Bobby Moore & the Rhythm Aces	2:50
4.	"(She's) Some Kind of Wonderful"	John Ellison	Soul Brothers Six	3:06
5.	"But It's Alright"	J. J. JacksonPierre Tubbs	J. J. Jackson	2:54
6.	"If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody"	Rudy Clark	James Ray	2:32
7.	"Mother in Law"	Allen Toussaint	Ernie K-Doe	2:43
8.	"Little Bitty Pretty One"	Robert Byrd	Thurston Harris and the Sharps	2:04
9.	"Good Morning Little School Girl"	Sonny Boy Williamson	Sonny Boy Williamson I	4:02
10.	"Stagger Lee"	Harold LoganLloyd Price	Lloyd Price	2:36
11.	"She Shot a Hole in My Soul"	Mac GaydenChuck Neese	Clifford Curry	2:38
12.	"Surely I Love You"	James BrackenMarion Oliver	Rosco Gordon	2:51
13.	"You Left the Water Running"	Oscar FranckRick Hall Dan Penn	Otis Redding	3:06
14.	"Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash"	Charles E. Calhoun	The Clovers	2:57
15.	"Function at the Junction"	Edward Holland Jr.Shorty Long	Shorty Long	3:13
16.	"Better to Have and Not Need"	Don CovayErskin Watts	Don Covay	3:32
17.	"Going Down Slow"	James B. Oden	St. Louis Jimmy Oden	2:00
Total length:	48:52

Personnel

Huey Lewis & the News

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

Additional personnel

Marvin McFadden – trumpet (4–7, 10, 11, 13)
Linda Tillery – backing vocals (4, 6, 10, 11, 15, 16)
Jeanie Tracy – backing vocals (4, 6, 10, 11, 15, 16)

Production

Producer – Stewart Levine
Executive producer – Bob Brown
Engineer – Daren Klein
Assistant engineers – Jim Champagne, Kevin Scott and Jim "Watts" Vereecke
Recorded at The Site (San Rafael, California) and Studio D Recording (Sausalito, California)
Mixed by Daren Klein at Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, California)
Mastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California)
Technicians – Ralph Arista and Jim Moran
Art direction – Robin Lynch
Design – JoDee Stringham
Photography – Dennis Keeley
Management – Bob Brown Management

Charts

Chart (1994)	Peak position
European Top 100 Albums	61
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	46
Japanese Albums (Oricon)	19
Japanese International Albums (Oricon)	2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	21
US Billboard 200	55

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1994	"(She's) Some Kind of Wonderful"	Adult Contemporary	7
The Billboard Hot 100	44
"But It's Alright"	Adult Contemporary	5
The Billboard Hot 100	54
1995	"Little Bitty Pretty One"	Adult Contemporary	27