Again a bench mark early song that affected me but bought by my old school friend Leo who played this at certain landmark events upon my inner journey if you get my drift! Leo was a peerless guitarist who could pretty much play anything he set his mind to and especially favoured playing perfect Hendrix amongst others and with his family and younger brother Leon we miss him all the time . . . . . 
We loved this . . . . . . 

On this day in music history: July 29, 1968 - “Hush” by Deep Purple is released. Written by Joe South, it is the debut single and biggest hit for the British hard rock band from Hertford, Hertfordshire, UK. Formed in March of 1968, the original line up includes guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord, drummer Ian Paice, bassist Nick Simper and lead singer Rod Evans. Originally calling themselves Roundabout, the band change their name to Deep Purple taking it from the title of the standard best known in its version by brother and sister duo Nino Tempo and April Stevens. The name is suggested by Ritchie Blackmore, as song is a favorite of his grandmother. Deep Purple are quickly signed by EMI Records in the UK, and to Tetragrammaton Records in the US, a newly formed record label co-owned by comedian Bill Cosby and his manager Roy Silver. Working with producer Derek Lawrence (Outlaws, Wishbone Ash), the band begin recording their first album at Pye Studios in London in April of 1968. Not having enough material of their own, the band fill out their album with several covers including the song “Hush”. Written American guitarist Joe South (“Games People Play”, “Walk A Mile In My Shoes”), it is originally recorded by singer Billy Joe Royal (“Down In The Boondocks”) in 1967. One of the main hooks “hush, hush… though I heard her calling my name…”, South takes inspiration from an old gospel song in which the lyric is originally written as “Hush I thought I heard Jesus calling my name”. Royal’s version stalls at #52 on the Hot 100 in October of 1967. Deep Purple record their version of “Hush” on April 21, 1968, with a dramatic re-arrangement, giving it an aggressive and hard rocking edge. Released first on EMI’s Parlophone Records imprint on June 21, 1968, the record fails to chart in their home country. Issued in the US on Tetragrammaton five weeks later, it fares decidely better. Entering the Hot 100 at #83 on August 17, 1968, it leaps up the chart, peaking at #4 on September 21, 1968. The accompanying album “Shades Of Deep Purple” also performs well, peaking at number twenty four on the Billboard Top 200. An instant classic, “Hush” establishes Deep Purple as one the premier British hard rock bands, paving the way for other iconic British bands that follow including Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. The band revisit their first hit in 1988, recording a new version of “Hush” for the album “Nobody’s Perfect”, with the remake peaking at #62 on the UK singles chart and #44 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. The original version is used in numerous films including “Apollo 11”, “When Strangers Appear” and “Beyond The Sea”. Deep Purple’s version of “Hush” is also sampled by the Beastie Boys on their single “Hey Ladies” in 1989. Due to threat of a lawsuit, the original sample is removed from the album and single releases of the song, but remains intact on the audio track for the music video.
thanks as ever to Jeff Harris at his wondrous Behind The Grooves