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. 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
Singles - Billboard (United States)