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"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. Bruce Springsteen covered the song in his 2022 studio album, Only the Strong Survive.^[9]

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.
^ "7 Rooms Of Gloom". Bruce Springsteen. Retrieved 12 June 2024.