7 and 7 Is
| "7 and 7 Is" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Single by Love | |
| from the album Da Capo | |
| B-side | "No. Fourteen" |
| Released | July, 1966 |
| Format | 7" 45 RPM |
| Recorded | June 20, 1966 Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood CA |
| Genre | Protopunk, hard rock |
| Length | 2:15 |
| Label | Elektra |
| Writer(s) | Arthur Lee |
| Producer | Jac Holzman |
"7 and 7 Is" is a song written by Arthur Lee and recorded by his band Love on June 20, 1966, at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood. It was produced by Jac Holzman and engineered by Bruce Botnick.
The song was released as the A-side of Elektra single 45605 in July, 1966. The B-side was "No. Fourteen", supposedly the 'answer' to the half-sentence formed by the A-side's title but actually an out-take from the band's earlier recordings. "7 and 7 Is" made the Billboard Pop Singles chart on July 30, 1966, peaking at number 33 during a ten-week chart run and becoming the band's highest-charting hit single.[1] The recording also featured on the band's second album, Da Capo.
The song drew inspiration from a high school sweetheart of Arthur Lee's, Anita "Pretty" Billings,[2] who shared his birthday, March 7. It also describes Lee's frustration at teenage life - the reference to "in my lonely room I'd sit, my mind in an ice cream cone" being to wearing (in reality or metaphorically) a dunce's cap.[3] It took a great deal of work to record, with Love's drummer, Alban "Snoopy" Pfisterer, being unable to cope with its frantic demands after 30 takes or so, and being replaced on drums by Arthur Lee himself. It is not clear whether the version eventually released features Pfisterer or Lee. The song climaxes in an apocalyptic explosion - the supposed sound of an atom bomb - before a peaceful conclusion, in a blues form, which then fades out.[3] The song's use of kicking/dropping a reverb unit to create the explosion sound was one of the first, if not the first, uses of this new device to create a "psychedelic" sound on a recording.[citation needed]
Described as "protopunk", it was later covered by numerous bands, most notably the Ramones, Alice Cooper, and Rush, as well as a re-recording by Lee himself. The song was used in the film Bottle Rocket, handpicked by director Wes Anderson and music composer Mark Mothersbaugh.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc.. p. 424. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- ^ Steven Roby & Brad Schreiber, Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, Da Capo Press, 2010, pp.105-106
- ^ a b Barney Hoskyns, Arthur Lee: Alone Again Or, Mojo Books, 2001, ISBN 1 84195 085 5, pp.47-49
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