"Grazing in the Grass" is an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

composed by Philemon Hou and first recorded by the South African trumpeter

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

. Released in the United States as a single in 1968, it followed United States trumpeter

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

's vocal performance of "

This Guy's in Love with You "This Guy's in Love with You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and recorded by Herb Alpert. Although known primarily for his trumpet playing as the leader of the Tijuana Brass, Alpert sang lead vocals on this solo recording, arr ...

" to the top spot on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart, ranking it as the 18th biggest hit of the year. The song also reached #15 Adult Contemporary. Masekela included the song in his albums '' Grazing in the Grass: The Best of Hugh Masekela'' (2001), ''

Still Grazing ''Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela'' is an autobiography book by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was released on May 11, 2004 by Crown Archetype. The book was written together with D. Michael Cheers. In this book, Mase ...

'' (2004), and '' Live at the Market Theatre'' (2006). Masekela’s recording was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 2018. A vocal version by

The Friends of Distinction The Friends of Distinction were an American vocal group founded by Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, best known for their late 1960s hits, "Grazing in the Grass", "Love or Let Me Be Lonely", and " Going in Circles". Career The Friends of Distincti ...

, with lyrics by band member Harry Elston, was a US chart hit in 1969. "Grazing in the Grass" has been recorded by many other musicians.

Hugh Masekela recording

The music was inspired by an earlier novelty recording, "Mr. Bull No. 4", by Freddie Gumbi, which Masekela had heard in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

, that started with a

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

. When Masekela was recording his debut album, the running order was short by three minutes and his record company suggested he add the tune. Philemon Hou, an actor and singer who was present in the studio, came up with a new melody while the backing track was already being recorded. The session was held at

Gold Star Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California, United States. For more than thirty years, from 1950 to 1984, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded ...

in Hollywood.

Personnel

*Hugh Masekelatrumpet *

Bruce Langhorne Bruce Langhorne (May 11, 1938 – April 14, 2017) was an American folk musician. He was active in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s, primarily as a session guitarist for folk albums and performances. Biography Early life Langhorn ...

guitar *Al Abreualto sax *William Hendersonpiano *

Henry Franklin Henry "Skipper" Franklin (born Henry Carl Franklin on October 1, 1940) is an American jazz double bassist. Career Franklin played on Hugh Masekela's 1968 number one single, "Grazing in the Grass," as well as with Masekela's band at the Monte ...

bass *Chuck Carterdrums,

Charts

The Friends of Distinction version

recorded a vocal remake of the tune in 1969 on

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

, which was also a Top Ten pop and R&B hit, reaching #3 on the former and #5 on the latter. One of the group's members, Harry Elston, wrote lyrics for the song and sang lead on the Friends Of Distinction's version of it.

Personnel

vocals *Max Bennettelectric bass *Jim Gordondrums * Al Casey and Arthur Wrightguitars *

Gene Cipriano Gene Fred Cipriano (July 6, 1928 – November 12, 2022), known familiarly as "Cip", was an American woodwindist and session musician, playing clarinet, oboe, flute and saxophone among other instruments. He played on hundreds of recording sessions ...

piccolo flute *John Audino,

Anthony Terran Anthony Terran (May 30, 1926 – March 20, 2017) was an American trumpet player and session musician. He was part of the Wrecking Crew, a group of largely uncredited session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who helped famous artists record ...

, Bud Childers, Dalton Smithtrumpets *

King Errisson King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

congas *Douglas Daviscello *

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for f ...

tenor saxophone *Garry Nuttycombeviola *

Harry Bluestone Harry Bluestone (30 September 1907 – 22 December 1992) was a composer and violinist who composed music for TV and film. He was prolific and worked mainly on composing with Emil Cadkin. Earlier on, he was a violinist and freelanced on radi ...

, Jimmy Getzoffviolins *Jack Arnoldpercussion *

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon ...

piano

Legacy

The Friends of Distinction appear, performing the song on Peter Griffin's lawn, in S17 Episode 8 of the adult animated sitcom ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'', as part of a dream sequence. A cover by

Raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

was in the end credits of the animated film ''

The Lion King 1½ ''The Lion King 1½'' (also known as ''The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata'', or ''The Lion King III: Hakuna Matata'') is a 2004 American animation, animated direct-to-video musical film, musical comedy film produced by the Australian branch of Disney ...

''.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* (2016) * {{authority control 1968 singles 1969 debut singles 2004 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles The Friends of Distinction songs Hugh Masekela songs Raven-Symoné songs 1968 songs RCA Victor singles Uni Records singles Hollywood Records singles 1960s instrumentals