Songs to Dance To: Hush

Tweet

The Kinks had an album called Give the People What They Want. In the case of today’s song, I’m giving @rebelann what she wants, which is a song by this band. She may not like the song, but she will move to it! And so will you! Here we go. Hush - Deep Purple I beg your pardon! Let me explain that comment: Joe South wrote this song. He also wrote that 1970 country crossover hit “Rose Garden” (“I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden”). Deep Purple came up with that name after guitarist Ritchie Blackmore suggested it because the song was his grandmother’s favorite song. If the band had rejected that, we might be talking about “Suglarlump” instead. (For the record, they never recorded the song “Deep Purple,” which might have sounded very interesting, given their take on THIS song!) The Deep Purple version was the second single version, after Billy Joe Royal’s (he’s best known for his hit “Down in the Boondocks”). In fact, Deep Purple heard the Royal recording and thought they should cover it. (And keeping with the “Rose Garden” theme, Joe South wrote it FOR Royal, but Royal didn’t like it, so South turned the paper over and wrote “Hush” instead. ) (Oh, and if you think it’s weird that a hard rock group would record a country song, their follow-up song was a cover of Neil Diamond’s “Kentucky Woman”!!! ) This is one of the very few Deep Purple songs from the era of lead singer Rod Evans (pictured in screen grab) to still get airplay. Most people consider powerhouse vocalist Ian Gillian the voice of Deep Purple. While he sang their classics “Highway Star” and “Smoke on the Water,” even he admitted he was hesitant about singing this because Evans was the only one he wanted to hear sing it. Rod Evans left music in the late 70s, and I mean he LEFT it. He didn’t attend Deep Purple’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and some band members have stated they don’t know if he’s even still alive (although others say that he became a respiratory therapist and lives with his wife in California, quite happily away from the limelight). He sure left a mark on the world of music with this song. Hush Written by Joe South Recorded by Deep Purple From Shades of Deep Purple, 1968 She’s got lovin’ like quicksand: