A version of "Whispering Grass" was recorded in 1975 by the British actors
Windsor Davies and
Don Estelle. Davies and Estelle played the characters of Battery Sergeant Major Williams and Gunner "Lofty" Sugden, respectively, in the
BBC sitcom ''
It Ain't Half Hot Mum'', which had begun the previous year and which centered on a British Armed Forces
concert party stationed in Burma during the Second World War. The series proved extremely popular, and had made household names of Davies and Estelle. Estelle was a trained singer and wanted to use his new-found fame to launch a recording career, but producer
Wally Ridley decided that it would be better to record an album capitalizing on the sitcom's success, featuring the cast of the show performing monologues and popular songs from the 1940s era. Issued on
EMI Records, the ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' album was recorded in a single day at EMI's
Abbey Road Studios in London on January 25, 1975. Davies and Estelle had been planning a cabaret act based on their characters from the TV show, and "Whispering Grass" was one of the songs that they had planned to include in their show. According to Estelle, when Ridley asked for suggestions for songs to include on the ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' record, Estelle put forward "Whispering Grass". The backing vocals on the track were by the
Mike Sammes Singers, Ridley saw the song's potential as a single, and "Whispering Grass" was released on April 25, 1975, with the full credit of "Windsor Davies as B.S.M. Williams and Don Estelle as Gunner Sugden (Lofty)". It reached number one on the
UK Singles Chart for three weeks from 7 June 1975.{{cite book
Personnel •
Don Estelle – vocals •
Windsor Davies – vocals • The
Mike Sammes Singers – backing vocals • Richard Leonard – piano
Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications ==References==