Song of the Day 3/11: Deep Purple, “Hush”
Of all the illegal acts Donald Trump has committed, its appears lying about his hush-money payment to a hooker is the one that will get him indicted first. It’s worth nothing that a hush-money payment is not illegal, but lying about it so he wouldn’t have to declare it as a campaign expense is. Pretty flimsy charges for a guy who did a long list of things that are worse.
“Hush” was the first single and first U.S. hit for Deep Purple, reaching No. 4 on the Hot 100 in 1968. The band decided to cover it after guitarist Ritchie Blackmore heard Billy Joe Royal’s version of the Joe South composition, released the year before. They gave it a harder rock treatment, distinguished by Jon Lord’s organ solo.
Joe South wrote the song for Royal, who was something of a protege, after Royal rejected “Rose Garden,” the tune that later became a big hit for Lynn Anderson. His version has a Memphis soul feel to it.
Fun fact: Deep Purple was originally called Roundabout, the British term for what Yanks call a traffic circle. When the band decided they needed a new name, each band member posted a suggestion on a bulletin board. The winner was the suggestion of Blackmore, who chose it because it was his grandmother’s favorite song. The band never covered it, for obvious reasons.
Realize it’s sacrilege but the Deepsters had limited appeal for me, John Lord or not. But I loved Hush and for that matter Highway Star. One thing that gets me is they are referred to as a Prog band, and I just don’t see it.
They started out that way, but they’re more often considered one of the Big Three founders of British hard rock, along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.