This Week's "Oldie But Goodie": Grazing in the Grass
"Grazing in the Grass" is an instrumental composed by Philemon Hou, and first recorded by South African jazz” trumpeter Hugh Masekela in 1968. It was released as a single and included on his 1968 album, The Promise of a Future.
The music is said to have been inspired by an earlier novelty recording, "Mr. Bull No. 4", by Freddie Gumbi. Philemon Hou, an actor and singer who was present in the studio during the recording of the album, came up with “the new melody”.
There are strong similarities between Grazing in the Grass and "Mr. Bull No. 4", which also starts with a cowbell.
"Grazing in the Grass" by Hugh Masekela was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Friends of Distinction recorded a vocal remake of the song in 1969 which was a Top Ten pop and R&B hit. One of the group's members, Harry Elston, wrote lyrics for their version and sang lead vocals.
I’ve posted both the original Hugh Masekela, and the The Friends of Distinction versions of “Grazing in The Grass” below. I’ve also posted "Mr. Bull No. 4", by Freddie Gumbi.
Per the note at the "Mr. Bull No. 4" YouTube link:
According to the original Mercury Records LP (pictured): "Mr. Bull is a nickname of the artist, Freddie Gumbi. The traditional African is very fond of giving descriptive and humorous names to his children and, in this case, the story goes that when Freddie Gumbi was a youngster a mad bull jumped over the kraal wall and chased him and his parents and he was immediately tagged with the nickname Mr. Bull. Freddie comes from a Zulu tribe and his tunes are all based on traditional Zulu themes which he has modernized to suit the city going African."