“I’m in awe”: the greatest singer Glenn Hughes ever heard
Even though the band have been through many different incarnations throughout their time together, one thing that has always been essential to the identity of Deep Purple is that they have a powerful frontman there to deliver vocals with immeasurable force.
While many first think of Ian Gillan as being the frontman to have contributed to the most recordings by the band, and therefore the most significant, many of the people who have taken up the role in his absence have been able to deliver to an impressive calibre. However, when he first departed from the band in 1973 after a four-year stint with the group, eyebrows were raised at the decision that guitarist Ritchie Blackmore came to as a resolution.
At the same time as Gillan left the band, bassist Roger Glover also walked out of the door, leaving two roles to be filled by the remaining band members in order to form ‘Mark III’ of the project, but instead of simply picking out direct replacements for the departing components, they recruited one vocalist in David Coverdale, and a bassist who would also take on lead vocal duties in Glenn Hughes.
Both Coverdale and Hughes were exceptional vocalists, but many questioned whether they had the style to fill the shoes of Gillan, straddling the line of having both traditional hard rock and heavy metal credentials.
Against the odds, their first album with this new lineup, 1974’s Burn, was well received by critics and fans, but things immediately began to fall apart with its follow-up, Stormbringer, released later the same year. One of the biggest criticisms of the album was that the band began taking a new direction, presumably to play to the strengths of the new lineup, but throwing in funkier elements didn’t necessarily appeal to fans who wanted the same intensity that ‘Mark II’ had delivered.
Hughes has always been a staunch defender of the record, and even though it incorporates elements of funk and soul into the sound, this is evidently something that he was in favour of, which is further supported by his vocal admiration of one particular singer who was influential in this field.
In a 2023 interview with Classic Rock, Hughes proclaimed that the multi-talented Motown savant Stevie Wonder is perhaps the most influential vocalist in his life, and that his encounter with him during the period in which Deep Purple were making the album ended up being one of the most significant moments in his life.
“I’m in awe of Stevie Wonder,” Hughes proclaimed. “We met him while making Stormbringer with Deep Purple, and we’re friends to this day.” Hughes even went on to continue by saying that not only did he show his respect towards Wonder, but the soul legend appeared to enjoy everything that the hard rock outfit had to offer as well.
Concluding, “He’s repaid the compliment, told magazines that he likes my singing. I was blown away that he would say that.”
For someone as sublime as Stevie Wonder to have said that Hughes was a phenomenal singer himself must have been a moment where the bassist had to pinch himself, but as much as an ego trip as it may have been for him, even being in the presence of someone with a mighty vocal ability like Wonder’s would have been enough to send him to heaven.
