7 Rooms of Gloom
"7 Rooms of Gloom" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Four Tops | ||||
from the album Reach Out | ||||
B-side | "I'll Turn to Stone" | |||
Released | May 2, 1967 | |||
Recorded | Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); 1967 | |||
Genre | Soul, pop | |||
Length | 2:46 | |||
Label | Motown | |||
Songwriter(s) | Holland–Dozier–Holland | |||
Producer(s) | Brian Holland Lamont Dozier | |||
Four Tops singles chronology | ||||
|
"7 Rooms of Gloom" is a song originally recorded by the Motown Records vocal quartet the Four Tops. It was released as a single in 1967 on the Motown label and reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100,[1] and was a Top 10 R&B Hit, charting at #10. It was also a hit in the UK, their seventh, staying for nine weeks in the UK Singles Charts and reaching #12[2] and in the Netherlands where it made #23 in the Dutch Top 40.[3]
Described as "throbbing with dread over a racing minor key dominated arrangement"[4] it was written by Holland–Dozier–Holland. The single's B-side was "I'll Turn to Stone"[5] also written by Holland-Dozier-Holland with R Dean Taylor.[6] That song made a separate chart entry, and peaked at #76 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #50 on the R&B Charts.
Cash Box called it a "thumping, fast-moving, blues-oriented rocker" that is a "real powerhouse."[7] Record World called it "Top notch wailing from the Detroit group."[8]
The song begins with Levi Stubbs doing a spoken recitation, which gets repeated twice with alterations.
In 1985, Pat Benatar covered the song on her album, Seven the Hard Way.
Personnel
- Levi Stubbs – lead vocals
- Abdul "Duke" Fakir – background vocals
- Renaldo "Obie" Benson – background vocals
- Lawrence Payton – background vocals
- Jackie Hicks – background vocals
- Marlene Barrow – background vocals
- Louvain Demps – background vocals
- Funk Brothers – instrumentation
References
- ^ "Four Tops – Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "Official Charts – Four Tops". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "The Four Tops – 7 Rooms Of Gloom". www.top40.nl. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ Dahl, Bill (2001). Motown The Golden Years. p. 50. ISBN 9780873492867. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
four tops 7 rooms.
- ^ "Four Tops – 7 Rooms Of Gloom / I'll Turn To Stone". Discogs. 4 May 1967. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ^ "I'll Turn to Stone". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 20, 1967. p. 24. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Record World. May 20, 1967. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
- v
- t
- e
- Abdul "Duke" Fakir
- Ronnie McNeir
- Roquel Payton
- Harold Bonhart
- Four Tops
- Four Tops Second Album
- On Top
- On Broadway
- Reach Out
- Yesterday's Dreams
- Four Tops Now!
- Soul Spin
- Still Waters Run Deep
- Changing Times
- Keeper of the Castle
- Main Street People
- Meeting of the Minds
- Night Lights Harmony
- Catfish
- The Show Must Go On
- At the Top
- Tonight!
- One More Mountain
- Back Where I Belong
- Magic
- Indestructible
- Christmas Here with You
The Supremes
- The Magnificent 7
- The Return of the Magnificent Seven
- Dynamite
and live albums
- Four Tops Live!
- The Four Tops Greatest Hits
- Live & in Concert
- The Ultimate Collection
- "Baby I Need Your Loving"
- "Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)"
- "Ask the Lonely"
- "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)"
- "It's the Same Old Song"
- "Something About You"
- "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)"
- "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever"
- "Reach Out I'll Be There"
- "Standing in the Shadows of Love"
- "Bernadette"
- "7 Rooms of Gloom"
- "Walk Away Renée"
- "If I Were a Carpenter"
- "Yesterday's Dreams"
- "I'm in a Different World"
- "It's All in the Game"
- "Still Water (Love)"
- "A Simple Game"
- "Keeper of the Castle"
- "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)"
- "When She Was My Girl"
- "Loco in Acapulco"
This 1960s R&B/soul music song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e