Track that would propel them to stardom
Louder Sound profiles Purple’s original take on Hush for their The story behind the song series, with the input from Roger Glover, of all people. The story is reprinted from the Classic Rock magazine issue #297.
Recorded at London’s Pye studio in the spring of 1968, during sessions for their debut album Shades Of Deep Purple, Hush very nearly didn’t happen at all.
The song had been earmarked for the final track-list, but nobody had thought to bring along a copy of Royal’s recording as a guide.
It was left to Simper to hastily phone his friend Rod Freeman, who’d recently been singing Hush with a band. Freeman fetched up with his guitar and dutifully wrote down the chords and lyrics.
Read more in Louder Sound.
Thanks Nick for the very interesting article!
Hush is a beautiful song, but this:
https://youtu.be/u1kZ9zYr7kk?si=jaqURTpuDPoEnr3X
Is so much better than the original.
First and foremost Ian’s voice is way better than RE’s voice.
Rod had a lovely voice, however compared to Ian G it was too weak, especially for this song.
When Purple Mark l made the cover of ‘Help’, Rod’s voice was so sad and longing, actually better suited than the original group’s attempt 😊
https://youtu.be/qsBYen4qXQo?si=nqDqap3nw9UkTThG
See Rod was perfect here,
Whereas the originals:
https://youtu.be/2Q_ZzBGPdqE?si=TCz3VdDTRVlmUnVg
Much more fun really, but the insanity is just beneath the surface!
You can choose to listen to the Beatles and smile and giggle, or being rather worried for their mental health.
Rod and co made it much more serious, without being close to a break down!
(Yes, I know Beatles were hunted by screaming fans, and of course the song was their cry for help!)
However Hush, with Ian as the vocalist is so good, full of life and glint in the eyes 😃
October 19th, 2025 at 06:00