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
Format	7" single
Recorded	Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); 1967
Genre	Soul/pop
Length	2:46
Label	Motown M 1110
Writer(s)	Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer	Brian Holland Lamont Dozier
Four Tops singles chronology
"Bernadette" (1967) "7-Rooms of Gloom" (1967) "You Keep Running Away" (1967)

"7-Rooms of Gloom" is a 1967 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song is notable for matching lead singer Levi Stubbs' lamentations of heartache with a dramatic, Gothic-inspired musical arrangement. "7-Rooms of Gloom" reached number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100, and has since been covered by a number of artists, including the band Blondie and solo singer Pat Benatar. The Four Tops did not care for the song, and have not performed it in their repertoire.

The song's "B" side, "I'll Turn To Stone" , was also a hit, reaching #76 on the Billboard Pop chart, and # 50 on its R&B listings that year.

Personnel

• Lead vocals by Levi Stubbs
• Background vocals by Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, and the Andantes (Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps)
• Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers
• Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr.
• Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier