Four Chords & Several Years Ago Explained

Four Chords & Several Years Ago
Type:	cover
Artist:	Huey Lewis and the News
Cover:	Huey Lewis & the News - Four Chords & Several Years Ago.jpg
Released:	May 10, 1994
Recorded:	October 1993–February 1994
Studio:	The Site (San Rafael, California) Studio D Recording (Sausalito, California)
Genre:	Rock, R&B
Length:	48:52
Label:	Elektra
Producer:	Stewart Levine
Prev Title:	Hard at Play
Prev Year:	1991
Next Title:	Time Flies... The Best of Huey Lewis & the News
Next Year:	1996

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 ...").

It 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

1. "Shake, Rattle and Roll" (Charles E. Calhoun) – 3:07
2. "Blue Monday" (Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino) – 2:41
3. "Searching for My Love" (Bobby 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" (Rudy Clark) – 2:32
7. "Mother in Law" (Allen Toussaint) – 2:43
8. "Little Bitty Pretty One" (Robert Byrd) – 2:04
9. "Good Morning Little School Girl" (Sonny Boy Williamson) (credited as "S.L. Hopkins")– 4:02
10. "Stagger Lee" (Harold Logan, Lloyd Price) – 2:36
11. "She Shot a Hole in My Soul" (Mac Gayden, Chuck Neese) – 2:38
12. "Surely I Love You" (James Bracken, Marion Oliver) – 2:51
13. "You Left the Water Running" (Oscar Franck, Rick Hall, Dan Penn) – 3:06
14. "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash" (Charles E. Calhoun) – 2:57
15. "Function at the Junction" (Edward Holland, Jr. Shorty Long) – 3:13
16. "Better to Have and Not Need" (Don Covay, Erskin 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, 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, CA) and Studio D Recording (Sausalito, CA).
• Mixed by Daren Klein at Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, CA).
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
• 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^[1]	61
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[2]	19
Japanese International Albums (Oricon)^[3]	2
US Billboard 200^[4]	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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Billboard . Google Books. June 11, 1994. 2015-09-30.
2. Web site: Oricon Archive - Huey Lewis and the News. Oricon. April 8, 2017.
3. Web site: Google Translate . 2015-09-30.
4. Huey Lewis and the News Chart History (Billboard 200) . Billboard. March 19, 2020.