First recorded by Billy Joe Royal (US #52/CAN #45 1967).
Also recorded by Kris Ife (1967).
Other hit versions by Deep Purple (US #4/UK #58/CAN #2 1968), Kula Shaker (US #19/UK #2 1997).
From the wiki: “‘Hush’ was written by Joe South (‘Games People Play’) for singer Billy Joe Royal (‘Down in the Boondocks’, also written by South; ‘Cherry Hill Park’) and was first recorded by Royal in 1967, charting modestly in the Billboard Hot 100.
“British singer Kris Ife covered ‘Hush’ in 1967 in the UK market. It was this version that inspired Deep Purple’s 1968 hit cover, recorded for their 1968 debut album Shades of Deep Purple. The track became the group’s first hit single, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #2 on the Canadian singles chart. Group member Ritchie Blackmore recalls, ‘It was a great song [which] would be a good song [for] our act, if we could come up with a different arrangement…We [recorded] the whole song in two takes.’ ‘Hush’ is one of four songs originally recorded by Deep Purple with vocals sung by Rod Evans before Ian Gillan later performed the group’s vocal leads.
“The English psychedelic rock band Kula Shaker recorded a version of ‘Hush’ in 19967 which charted in the US and also peaked at #2 in the UK, and was used on the soundtrack for I Know What You Did Last Summer.”
Kris Ife, “Hush” (1967):
Deep Purple, “Hush” album version (1967):
Kula Shaker, “Hush” (1997):