7 Rooms of Gloom
1967 single by Four Tops
| "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 | ||||
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"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.
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- Abdul "Duke" Fakir
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The Supremes
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and live albums
- Four Tops Live!
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- The Ultimate Collection
- "Baby I Need Your Loving"
- "Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)"
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- "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"
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