7 And 7 Is Love — DeepCutsArchive

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7 And 7 Is Love — DeepCutsArchive

"7 and 7 Is" is a song written by Arthur Lee and recorded by his band Love on June 17 and 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", an outtake 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. The recording also featured on the band's second album, Da Capo. Arthur Lee wrote "7 and 7 Is" at the Colonial Apartments on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. The song was inspired by his high school girlfriend Anita "Pretty" Billings, with whom he shared a birthday of March 7. Describing how the song came to him, Lee stated: "I was living on Sunset and woke up early one morning. The whole band was asleep. I went in the bathroom, and I wrote those words. My songs used to come to me just before dawn, I would hear them in dreams, but if I didn't get up and write them down, or if I didn't have a tape recorder to hum into, I was through. If I took for granted that I could remember it the next day—boink, it was gone." The lyrics describe 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. Lee's original version of the song was a slow folk song in the style of Bob Dylan. Its arrangement developed as the band experimented in the studio. Bassist Ken Forssi had received a bass fuzz effect unit from an endorsement deal the band had signed with Vox, and Lee suggested Forssi use it on "7 and 7 Is". Lead guitarist Johnny Echols recalled: "We started playing [with it] and at first it sounded strange, but Kenny started doing this sliding bass thing with it. As we played it we could hear that this was something different, something new." Love recorded "7 and 7 Is" on June 17 and 20, 1966, at Sunset Sound Recorders, with Jac Holzman producing and Bruce Botnick engineering. The fuzz bass was ultimately abandoned as it overpowered the other instruments, but Forssi was able to achieve a similar sound with the feedback caused by his semi-acoustic Eko bass. Echols also used feedback, as well as extensive reverb and tremolo, saying he had wanted to use a surf guitar effect in a different context. The sessions were tumultuous due to the song's fast and intense drum part, with Lee and drummer Alban "Snoopy" Pfisterer taking turns trying to accomplish it. Pfisterer later said: "The session was a nightmare ... I had blisters on my fingers. I don't know how many times I tried to play that damn thing and it just wasn't coming out. Arthur would try it; then I'd try it. Finally I got it. He couldn't do it." Echols praised it as Pfisterer's best performance. Estimates in the number of takes the song required range from 20 to 60; however, most of these were only false starts. The song took 4 hours to record according to Echols, who also claimed that the session took longer due to Holzman and Botnick objecting to the band's experimentation: "they kept stopping us, saying, 'It's feeding back!' We'd say, 'It's supposed to feed back.'" In what has been called a "flirtation" with musique concrète, the track climaxes with the sound of an atomic explosion before a peaceful conclusion, in a blues form, which then fades out. Botnick said the explosion was taken from a sound effects record and may have been a gunshot slowed down. During live performances, Echols would recreate the sound by kicking his amplifier with the reverb turned all the way up. Described as garage rock and proto-punk, the song was later covered by numerous bands, most notably The Ramones, Alice Cooper, Jared Louche and The Aliens, The Electric Prunes, Billy Bragg, The Sidewinders, The Fuzztones, Robert Plant, Rush, Alice Bag, The Bangles and Deep Purple, as well as a re-recording by Lee himself. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Sacred Cow Music Jukebox series Sacred Cow Music presents popular music heard world-wide spanning the past 100 years. All genres are represented. Our goal is to introduce musical hits that made the charts, as well as those forgotten memories. www.sacredcowmusic.com

About This Footage

The raw, unbridled energy of proto-punk's earliest stirrings is captured in this rare studio footage from 1966, a pivotal moment in the evolution of rock music. "7 And 7 Is" by Love, directed by Jac Holzman and engineered by Bruce Botnick at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, is a sonic time capsule that distills the creative ferment of the era.

Arthur Lee's songwriting was always marked by an intense personal connection to his art. He wrote "7 and 7 Is" at the Colonial Apartments on Sunset Boulevard, inspired by his high school girlfriend Anita "Pretty" Billings, who shared his birthday of March 7. The lyrics are a scathing critique of teenage life, with Lee's frustration boiling over in lines like "in my lonely room I'd sit, my mind in an ice cream cone." This was no naive romanticism; Lee's songwriting was always rooted in the harsh realities of growing up.

The original version of "7 and 7 Is" was a slow folk ballad in the style of Bob Dylan. But as Love experimented with the arrangement in the studio, something magical happened. Bassist Ken Forssi's innovative use of a bass fuzz effect unit, courtesy of an endorsement deal with Vox, gave the song a revolutionary new sound. Lead guitarist Johnny Echols recalled how Forssi's sliding bass lines transformed the track: "We started playing [with it] and at first it sounded strange, but Kenny started doing this sliding bass thing with it."

This footage is notable not just for its rarity – only 2 minutes and 30 seconds long – but also for its significance. It captures a moment when rock music was on the cusp of a major transformation. Proto-punk, as a genre, was all about pushing boundaries and challenging conventions. Love's "7 and 7 Is" is a prime example of this spirit of experimentation.

Watching this clip, viewers will be struck by the raw energy of Arthur Lee's performance. His voice cracks with emotion as he belts out the lyrics, his guitar work intense and driving. The band's chemistry is palpable, their collective creativity sparking off each other in a way that's both exhilarating and unsettling. This is music that refuses to be contained, music that bursts forth from the speakers like a pent-up explosion.

In many ways, this footage is a precursor to the punk movement of the late 1970s. Love's sound was always on the fringes, but it shared a kinship with the DIY ethos and anti-establishment sentiment that would come to define punk rock. "7 And 7 Is" may have peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in July 1966, but its influence extends far beyond those fleeting commercial success.

As we watch this footage today, we're not just witnessing a rare moment in music history; we're experiencing a piece of ourselves. We see the same creative ferment, the same desire to break free from convention and forge new paths. Love's "7 And 7 Is" is more than just a song – it's a time capsule, a snapshot of an era when rock music was on the cusp of revolutionizing itself.

Curated from public records and music databases.