Deep Purple -- "Hush" (1968)

She's got loving like quicksand

Only took one touch of her hand

To blow my mind, and I'm in so deep

That I can't eat and I can't sleep

(At first, I was just going to quote the first two lines above.  But I just can't ignore such a nice example of enjambment, so I included the next line as well.)

Jon Lord of Deep Purple died earlier this week at age 71.  The immediate cause of his death was a pulmonary embolism, but he also was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Jon Lord in 2008

I don't enjoy writing obituary posts, but I have no choice here.  Lord was simply too talented and too unique a performer -- I have to acknowledge his passing, and I'm doing so by featuring "Hush."

Deep Purple's version of the "Hush" is one of the great classic rock singles of all time, and it's Jon Lord's organ playing that makes it so special.  Like many great jazz, blues, and rock organists of the pre-synthesizer era, Lord's instrument of choice was the Hammond B-3 organ.  (Actually, Lord usually played a Hammond C-3, which is mechanically identical to the B-3, but comes equipped with "modesty panels" that hide the performer's lower body from the audience -- very useful for lady church organists.)  

As this interview explains, Lord's signature Hammond sound results from the way he used amplification.  (This is a little "inside baseball" for many of you, no doubt, but anyone who ever tried to play a B-3/C-3 -- which includes me -- will find this very interesting.)

Keith Moon was an absolutely unique rock drummer because he could turn the drums into a lead instrument -- as he did on "I Can See for Miles."  Lord's organ style was very distinctive because he was able to turn the Hammond into a rhythm instrument, which gave the guitarist much more freedom.

"Hush" was written by Joe South, who had a big hit with another of his own compositions, "Games People Play."  It was originally released as a single in 1967 by Billy Joe Royal (of "Down in the Boondocks" fame), but failed to crack the top 40.  

Deep Purple's version of "Hush" -- it's first single -- made it to #4 on the U.S. charts despite the fact that was released on an obscure and short-lived label, Tetragrammaton Records.  (The name supposedly refers to the unspeakable Hebrew name of God.)

I cannot overstate how good a record "Hush" is.  It has not lost a thing in the 44 years since it was released, and it is simply inconceivable to me that any group of musicians in the world could do "Hush" better than this.  

Listen especially at the climax of Lord's organ solo (which almost sounds to me like two organists are playing at once, but which is all him):  Lord somehow ratchets up the intensity of his playing one more notch, then there's a drum roll that has the impact of someone kicking you in the behind, and then the  singer comes back in with "Naaah-nah-nah-naaah" and we are heading into the homestretch:

I also have to share with you a video of Deep Purple playing "Hush" on the Playboy After Dark television show.  It is a 100% live performance, and it's pretty bad -- Lord's organ is mixed way too low, and you can barely hear him.  Even worse is Hugh Hefner's painfully clumsy attempt to engage in small talk with Lord before the group performs.  (Watching this really makes you appreciate Johnny Carson.  Hefner was a major tool.)



(I don't think we got this show in Joplin, Missouri.  The only time I saw it was in Miami, when I represented the Parkwood High School Key Club chapter as a delegate to the organization's international convention in 1969.  We were lucky that night: the show featured Hef's main squeeze of the moment, Barbi Benton -- still the most appealing woman ever to grace the pages of Playboy.)

Barbi Benton

One final note.  Check out the lines quoted at the top of this post.  Can you name another song that mentions "quicksand"?

Of course, I'm referring to Spinal Tap's tribute to BBW, "Big Bottom":

The bigger the cushion

The sweeter the pushin'

That's what I said

The looser the waistband

The deeper the quicksand

Or so I have read

(Yes, 2 or 3 lines should feature "Big Bottom" some day -- and it will, I promise you.)

Click here to order "Hush" from Amazon: