"7 Rooms of Gloom" is a song recorded by the Motown Records vocal quartet the Four Tops. It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1967 on the Motown label and reached #14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, 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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top- ...

and reaching #12 and in the Netherlands where it made #23 in the Dutch Top 40. Described as "throbbing with dread over a racing

minor key In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe a chord, scale, or key. As such, composition, movement, section, or phrase may be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor. Intervals Some intervals ...

dominated arrangement" it was written by

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. Du ...

. The single's B-side was "I'll Turn to Stone" also written by Holland-Dozier-Holland with R Dean Taylor. That song made a separate chart entry, and peaked at #76 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #50 on the

R&B Charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. '' Cash Box'' called it a "thumping, fast-moving, blues-oriented rocker" that is a "real powerhouse." '' Record World'' called it "Top notch wailing from the Detroit group." The song begins with

Levi Stubbs Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, who released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. He h ...

doing a spoken recitation, which gets repeated twice with alterations.

Personnel

– lead vocals * Abdul "Duke" Fakir –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Renaldo "Obie" Benson Renaldo "Obie" Benson (June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and the bass singer of Motown group the Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perfo ...

– background vocals *

Lawrence Payton Lawrence Albert Payton (March 2, 1938 – June 20, 1997) was an American tenor, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the popular Motown quartet, the Four Tops. In 1997, at 59 years old, Payton died of liver cancer. Bio ...

– background vocals * Jackie Hicks – background vocals * Marlene Barrow – background vocals * Louvain Demps – background vocals *

Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

– instrumentation

References

1966 songs 1967 singles Four Tops songs Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Motown singles {{1960s-R&B-song-stub