White Room
Encyclopedia
"White Room" is a song by British
"supergroup
" Cream
. The song was a psychedelic rock
number 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. The song was edited for the single release on AM Radio stations
, although album-oriented
FM Radio stations
would play the full album version.
, but was rejected by Atco. 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 song makes use of the wah-wah pedal
, which was used by several notable guitarists including Jimi Hendrix
. Eric Clapton uses the wah-wah pedal to achieve "talking-effect" on "White Room".
The backing track for "White Room" was recorded while the band was on tour. It was recorded using an 8-track tape recorder
, which was rare at that time. Jack Bruce
sang and played bass
on the song, Eric Clapton played overdubbed guitar
s, Ginger Baker
played a drum kit
and a timpani
, and Felix Pappalardi
– the group's producer
– contributed by playing viola
s.
"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
.
, 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, , 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
,
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
"supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
" Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
. The song was a psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
number written by bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
Pete Brown
Pete Brown
Peter Ronald Brown is an English performance poet and lyricist.Best known for his collaborations with Jack Bruce, Brown also worked with The Battered Ornaments, formed his own group Pete Brown & Piblokto!, and worked with Graham Bond and Phil Ryan. Brown also writes film scores and formed a film...
. It originally appeared on the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
release of their double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
, Wheels of Fire
Wheels of Fire
Wheels of Fire is the name of a double album recorded by Cream. The release was largely successful, scoring the band a #3 peak in the United Kingdom and a #1 in the United States, and became the world's first platinum-selling double album....
, by Atco Records
Atco Records
ATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who...
in July 1968 and was released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in September 1968 (see 1968 in music
1968 in music
-Events:*January 4 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel Redding.*January 6 – Gibson Guitar Corporation patents its Gibson Flying V electric guitar design....
), on the same label.
The single reached the top 30 in 7 countries, including Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where it topped the Go-Set
Go-Set
Go-Set was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble...
National Top 40 singles chart. The song was edited for the single release on AM Radio stations
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
, although album-oriented
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
FM Radio stations
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
would play the full album version.
Background and recording
"White Room" was proposed to be released on Cream's 1967 album Disraeli GearsDisraeli Gears
Disraeli Gears is the second album by British supergroup Cream. It was released in November 1967 and went on to reach #5 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also their American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller there in 1968, reaching #4 on the American charts...
, but was rejected by Atco. The song was similar in style and composition to "Tales of Brave Ulysses
Tales of Brave Ulysses
"Tales of Brave Ulysses" is a song performed by the 1960s group Cream. The lyrics were written by artist Martin Sharp, and the music was composed by Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce. Arranged by Robert Stigwood, the song is featured on Cream's album Disraeli Gears. Sharp had written the words on the...
", which was written by Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
with Martin Sharp
Martin Sharp
Martin Sharp is an Australian artist, underground cartoonist, songwriter and film-maker. Sharp has made contributions to Australian and international culture since the early 60s, and is hailed as Australia's foremost pop artist...
and was released on Disraeli Gears. The song makes use of the wah-wah pedal
Wah-wah pedal
A wah-wah pedal is a type of guitar effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect, mimicking the human voice...
, which was used by several notable guitarists including Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. Eric Clapton uses the wah-wah pedal to achieve "talking-effect" on "White Room".
The backing track for "White Room" was recorded while the band was on tour. It was recorded using an 8-track tape recorder
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
, which was rare at that time. Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
sang and played bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on the song, Eric Clapton played overdubbed guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
played a drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and a timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, and Felix Pappalardi
Felix Pappalardi
Felix A. Pappalardi Jr. was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bass guitarist.- Early life :Pappalardi was born in the Bronx, New York...
– the group's producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
– contributed by playing viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s.
Charts
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Top 100 | 2 |
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Top 40 | 1 |
Legacy
"White Room" was placed at #367 on the 2004 List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."White Room" is played after wins at Keyspan Park
KeySpan Park
MCU Park is a minor league baseball stadium in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York City, USA. The home team is the New York Mets-affiliated Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York - Penn League...
for the Brooklyn Cyclones
Brooklyn Cyclones
The Brooklyn Cyclones is a minor league baseball team in the Short-Season A classification New York - Penn League, affiliated with the New York Mets. The Cyclones play at MCU Park just off the Coney Island boardwalk in the New York City borough of Brooklyn....
.
A cover of "White Room" appeared as a playable track in the 2008 music video game Rock Revolution
Rock Revolution
Rock Revolution is a music video game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami. It was first revealed on May 15, 2008, and released on October 15, 2008 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...
. 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
Gary Dell'Abate
Gary Patrick Angelo Dell'Abate , also known as "Baba Booey", is an American radio producer, known for being the executive producer of The Howard Stern Show. His autobiography, They Call Me Baba Booey, was released on November 2, 2010.-Early life and career:Dell'Abate was born in Uniondale, New...
's audiobook version of They Call Me Baba Booey
They Call Me Baba Booey
They Call Me Baba Booey is an American autobiography by radio producer Gary Dell'Abate with Chad Millman. In December 2010, infoMania interviewed Dell'Abate about the book. Published by Villard, an imprint of Random House, the book was released on November 2, 2010.-Pre-release:On April 28, 2010,...
.
Other notable recordings
"White Room" has been covered by the following artists: Jeff HealeyJeff Healey
Norman Jeffrey "Jeff" Healey was a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock vocalist and guitarist who attained musical and personal popularity, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
, as featured on Classic Rock Magazine's Guitarmageddon Vol. 2 compilation giveaway, issue 136, Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, Joel Grey
Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
, Frank Gambale
Frank Gambale
Frank Gambale is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released eleven studio albums over a period of more than two decades, and is renowned for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques.-Recording career:...
(in a jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
style), Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
, Flower Travellin' Band
Flower Travellin' Band
is a Japanese heavy psych outfit that was first active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They reunited in 2007. Vocalist Joe Yamanaka died on August 7, 2011 after a battle with lung cancer.-History:...
on the album Challenge
Challenge (album)
Challenge is a 1969 album by Flower Travellin' Band . It featured mainly cover songs, and was a means for producer Yuya Uchida to explore the emerging psychedelic rock movement outside his own career, and to introduce the work of upcoming bands such as Cream to a Japanese audience.This album also...
, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
(with Jack Bruce, Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies...
on guitar, Gary Brooker
Gary Brooker
Gary Brooker, MBE, is an English singer, songwriter, pianist and founder of the rock band Procol Harum. Brooker was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 14 June 2003, in recognition of his charitable services.-Early life:Brooker was born in...
on keyboard, Mark Rivera
Mark Rivera
Mark Rivera is a musician, musical director and corporate entertainment provider. In addition to playing soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, Rivera's musical talents encompass vocals, guitar, percussion and keyboards.-Education:...
on saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
and two drummers (Ringo and Simon Kirke
Simon Kirke
Simon Kirke is an English rock drummer best known as a member of Free and Bad Company.-Biography:...
) doing the triplets in unison),
Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
, Demons and Wizards, , Iced Earth
Iced Earth
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. Originally formed under the name "Purgatory" in 1984, Iced Earth has released a total of ten studio albums, one live album, three EP's, two compilations and boxsets...
, Jimmy Barnes
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
, The Bobs
The Bobs
The Bobs were dubbed the first new wave a cappella group in history when they were founded in San Francisco, California in the early 1980s. Now based in Seattle, Washington, this genre-bending, eccentric vocal group has maintained a healthy cult following in the U.S...
, The Guess Who
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...
, The Vines
The Vines
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Special:LandingCheck?landing_page=L11_1121_WMUK_Jimmy_DDOptimised&utm_medium=sitenotice&utm_campaign=C11_1121_WMUK_DDvOneOff&utm_source=B11_1121_WMUK_Jimmy&language=en&country=GB...
, The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, Hugh Cornwell
Hugh Cornwell
Hugh Alan Cornwell is an English musician and songwriter, best known for being the vocalist and guitarist for the punk/new wave group, The Stranglers, from 1974 to 1990.-Career:...
and Robert Williams on the album Nosferatu, Vassar Clements
Vassar Clements
Vassar Clements was a Grammy Award- winning American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and bluegrass along with roots also in country and other musical...
and an all star lineup on the album Full Circle, BBM
BBM
BBM is the name of the short-lived power trio formed in 1993, by long established artists, bassist Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker and guitarist Gary Moore. They released just one album, entitled Around The Next Dream, which was released on the Virgin record label...
,
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
performed it with Clapton during her Central Park concert, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
also performed the song on his After Midnight Concert, which was also recorded, Rik Emmett
Rik Emmett
Richard Gordon Emmett is a vocalist, guitarist, and founding member of the Canadian rock band Triumph. Emmett left Triumph in 1988 to pursue a solo career. His first solo album, Absolutely, was released in 1990 and became a moderate hit across North America thanks to the hits "When a Heart...
, Faderhead
Faderhead
Faderhead is a German electronic music producer from Hamburg, Germany.-History:After releasing the track "The Protagonist" as a one-off compilation entry on the Advanced Electronics Vol. 3, Faderhead received a deal with Accession Records/Indigo to release his debut album FH1 in 2006...
,