The group's first release as Deep Purple, was the single "Hush." Written and originally recorded by American country artist Joe South, the song was later covered by Billy Joe Royal as a short, snappy pop/soul number. Royal's was the only version the group knew, and they extended it into a lengthy rock jam that included a 90-second Hammond organ solo - a touch which, at the time, was unheard-of. "It was my idea to do 'Hush,'" Ritchie claims. "I heard it in Hamburg. So I mentioned it to the band, and we did it."
Recorded at Highleigh Manor, a spooky tenth-century manor house in the quaint English village of Balcombe, "Hush" was completed in just two takes, during the non-stop 48-hour session that produced all the tracks on Purple's first album, "Shades Of Deep Purple."
Released in the U.K. in June of '68 on Parlophone Records, "Hush" missed the U.K. pop chart by miles. Much to the band's astonishment, however, the song became a Top 5 smash in the United States and won them a deal with the Tetragrammaton label.
