7 Rooms of Gloom

"7 Rooms of Gloom" is a song 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]

"7 Rooms of Gloom"
Single by Four Tops
from the album Reach Out
B-side"I'll Turn to Stone"
ReleasedMay 2, 1967
RecordedHitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); 1967
GenreSoul, pop
Length2:46
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)Brian Holland
Lamont Dozier
Four Tops singles chronology
"Bernadette"
(1967)		 "7 Rooms of Gloom"
(1967)		 "You Keep Running Away"
(1967)

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.

Personnel

References
  1. "Four Tops – Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  2. "Official Charts – Four Tops". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  3. "The Four Tops – 7 Rooms Of Gloom". www.top40.nl. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  4. Dahl, Bill (2001). Motown The Golden Years. p. 50. ISBN 9780873492867. Retrieved 14 July 2013. four tops 7 rooms.
  5. "Four Tops – 7 Rooms Of Gloom / I'll Turn To Stone". Discogs. 4 May 1967. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  6. "I'll Turn to Stone". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  7. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 20, 1967. p. 24. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  8. "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Record World. May 20, 1967. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-07-11.


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