White Room
| "White Room" | ||||||||
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| Single by Cream | ||||||||
| from the album Wheels of Fire | ||||||||
| B-side | "Those Were the Days" | |||||||
| Released | September 1968 | |||||||
| Format | 7" 45 RPM | |||||||
| Recorded | July 1967–April 1968 at Atlantic Studios in New York City, New York | |||||||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, hard rock | |||||||
| Length | 4:58 3:05 (7" version) |
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| Label | Atco | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Jack Bruce, Pete Brown | |||||||
| Producer | Felix Pappalardi | |||||||
| Cream singles chronology | ||||||||
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"White Room" is a psychedelic rock song by British "supergroup" Cream,[1] written by bassist Jack Bruce and poet Pete Brown. It originally appeared on the US release of their double album, Wheels of Fire, by Atco Records in July 1968 and was released as a single in September 1968 (see 1968 in music), on the same label.
The single reached the top 30 in 7 countries, including Australia, where it topped the Go-Set National Top 40 singles chart.[2] The song was edited for the single release on AM Radio stations, although album-oriented FM Radio stations would play the full album version.
Contents |
[edit] Background and recording
"White Room" was proposed to be released on Cream's 1967 album Disraeli Gears, but was rejected by Atco.[3] The song was similar in style and composition to "Tales of Brave Ulysses", which was written by Eric Clapton with Martin Sharp and was released on Disraeli Gears.
The backing track for "White Room" was recorded while the band was on tour with an 8-track tape recorder, rare at that time.[3] Jack Bruce sang and played bass on the song, Eric Clapton played overdubbed guitars, Ginger Baker played drums and a timpani, and Felix Pappalardi – the group's producer – contributed by playing violas.[4] Clapton played a Fender Stratocaster through a wah-wah pedal to achieve a "talking-effect".[5]
[edit] Charts
| Charts (1968-1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Go-Set Chart | 1[6] |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 19[7] |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 2[8] |
| Dutch Top 40 | 4[9] |
| French Singles Chart | 73 |
| German Media Control Chart | 28 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 2 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 26 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 6[10] |
[edit] Year-End Chart
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 39 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 51 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 81 |
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report | 13 |
[edit] Legacy
"White Room" was placed at #376 on the 2004 List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"White Room" is played after wins at Keyspan Park for the Brooklyn Cyclones.
A cover of "White Room" appeared as a playable track in the 2008 music video game Rock Revolution. The song is also featured at the conclusion of the Entourage episode, "The Resurrection".
"White Room" was prominently featured in the soundtrack of Episode 9 of the ABC TV Network series "Life on Mars."
An instrumental version of the song is featured as the intro to Gary Dell'Abate's audiobook version of They Call Me Baba Booey.[11]
[edit] Other notable recordings
"White Room" has been covered by the following artists: Jeff Healey, as featured on Classic Rock Magazine's Guitarmageddon Vol. 2 compilation giveaway, issue 136, Waylon Jennings, Joel Grey, Frank Gambale (in a jazz fusion style), Iron Butterfly, Flower Travellin' Band on the album Challenge, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band (with Jack Bruce, Peter Frampton on guitar, Gary Brooker on keyboard, Mark Rivera on saxophone and tambourine and two drummers (Ringo and Simon Kirke) doing the triplets in unison), Helloween, Demons and Wizards, Ring of Fire [disambiguation needed 
], Iced Earth, Jimmy Barnes, The Bobs, The Guess Who, The Vines, The Stranglers, Hugh Cornwell and Robert Williams on the album Nosferatu, Vassar Clements and an all star lineup on the album Full Circle, BBM, Sheryl Crow performed it with Clapton during her Central Park concert, Eric Clapton also performed the song on his After Midnight Concert, which was also recorded, Rik Emmett, Faderhead.
[edit] References
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 53 - String Man. : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19835/m1/.
- ^ "Go-Set Number One Singles". Pop Archives. http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/singles.html. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ a b Schumacher, Michael (1995). "Chapter 4: Power Trio (1966–68)". Crossroads: The Life and Times of Eric Clapton (First ed.). New York City, New York: Hyperion Books. pp. 97, 98. ISBN 0-7868-6074-X.
- ^ (1997) Album notes for Wheels of Fire by Cream [CD liner]. Polydor Records (531 812-2).
- ^ Bacon, Tony (1990). "Guitar Madness". The Marshall Cavendish Illustrated History of Popular Music. 11 (Reference ed.). Marshall Cavendish. p. 1079. ISBN 1-85436-024-2.
- ^ http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1969/19690101.html
- ^ http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Cream&titel=White+Room&cat=s
- ^ "The RPM 100" (PHP). RPM Weekly Vol. 10 (No. 12): 5. 18 November 1968. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.5814&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ http://www.top40.nl/
- ^ "Cream - Billboard Singles". Allmusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/cream-p3983/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- ^ They Call Me Baba Booey, Gary Dell'Abate.
| Preceded by Hey Jude/Revolution by The Beatles |
Go-Set National Top 40 number-one singles 1 January 1969 – 15 January 1969 |
Succeeded by Going Up the Country by Canned Heat |
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