I Can Hear the Grass Grow

On 9 December 1966, the Move released their debut single "Night of Fear" to great commercial success, reaching number two in the UK singles chart on 26 January 1967. The hints of psychedelia in the song led to rumours about the band using LSD or other hallucinogenic drugs, something that drummer Bev Bevan later denounced. Both rhythm guitarist Trevor Burton and bassist Ace Kefford would later admit to using drugs, the latter of which considered it a grave mistake. As with many of Wood's early songs, the basis of "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" was a book of fairy tales which Wood authored while at The Moseley College of Art. The title came from photographer Robert Davidson, who had received a letter from an unknown individual that read "I listen to pop music on the radio because where I live it's so bloody quiet that I can hear the grass grow." He told this to Wood, who was inspired enough to write a song regarding the subject. Although journalists have presumed the song to be about the synesthetic effects of hallucinogenics, Wood has on multiple occasions refuted that claim, accusing the music press of trying to build an association between pop musicians and drugs, and noting that virtually any song could be misinterpreted as being about drug use by someone looking to make that connection. The group entered Advision Studios in London on 5 January 1967 to record the song, along with what eventually would become the B-side, "Wave the Flag and Stop the Train", with producer Denny Cordell and engineer Gerald Chevin. == Release and reception ==

By this point, the Move had recorded approximately ten songs which were to appear on their debut album titled Move Mass in early 1967. However, their manager Tony Secunda thought it would be more commercially successful to continue performing publicity stunts in order to gain publicity for the group. The single was also released in territories such as the United States and Continental Europe. The single was a success, albeit not as big as "Night of Fear". It entered the UK chart on 12 April 1967 at a position of number 39. A rendition of the song was included on Live at the Fillmore 1969, which features Rick Price taking over Kefford's vocals, as Burton had left the band at that point. Further releases Although the track was not released on the band's self-titled debut, Move, it was released on the 2007 Salvo reissue of the album as the 18th and final track. It appeared alongside its B-side, "Wave the Flag and Stop the Train", and also appeared alongside the previous single "Night of Fear" and its B-side, "The Disturbance" (just called "Disturbance" on the reissue). The song was also put onto the reissue's second disc, called "New Movement", which provided new stereo mixes of the album's tracks and related tracks from that era. == Personnel ==

The Move • Carl Wayne – lead, harmony and backing vocals • Roy Wood – lead, harmony and backing vocals, lead guitar • Trevor Burton – harmony and backing vocals, rhythm guitar • Chris "Ace" Kefford – lead, harmony and backing vocals, bass guitar • Bev Bevan – harmony (chorus) vocals, drums Additional personnel • Denny Cordell – producer == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts All-time charts == Cover versions ==

• In 1968, Blues Magoos recorded the song for their third studio album, Basic Blues Magoos. Their version was produced by the band themselves, alongside Art Polhemus and Bob Wyld, and was released as both the third and final single to the album in August 1968 (although it did not chart) and the second track on the album itself on 13 May. • , who covered "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" in 2005The song was covered in 1996 by the British rock band Status Quo, but this rock version of the song was not released as a single. However, it did appear on their twenty-second studio album, ''Don't Stop'', a cover album which was released on 5 February, 1996. The song was the third track on the album, and was produced by Pip Williams. • In 2005, The Fall covered the track on their 24th studio album, Fall Heads Roll. The album was released on 3 October 2005, and contained the song as the eighth track. It was previously released as the sole single from the album on 26 September, and their version charted at number 104 on the UK singles chart and number 20 on the UK Independent Singles Chart. The song was the last from the band to make the UK singles chart, with the band later breaking up in 2018. ==References==