Night of the Long Grass

"Night of the Long Grass"
Danish picture sleeve
Single by the Troggs
B-side"Girl in Black"
Released19 May 1967 (1967-05-19)
GenrePsychedelic rock
Length3:04
LabelPage One
Songwriter(s)Reg Presley
Producer(s)Larry Page
The Troggs singles chronology
"Give It to Me"
(1967) 		"Night of the Long Grass"
(1967) 		"Hi Hi Hazel"
(1967)

"Night of the Long Grass" is a song by English rock band the Troggs, released as a single in May 1967. It continued their slight dip in chart performance, though still became their sixth top-twenty hit in the UK.[1]

Background and release

Originally towards the end of April 1967, the next Troggs single was announced as "My Lady" backed with "Girl in Black".[2] However, a week before its release, it was announced that they would be changing the A-side and instead release "Night of the Long Grass" as a single.[3] As "My Lady" was withdrawn so soon before its expected release, according to Reg Presley, around 26,000 copies had already been pressed. It was given a release in South Africa as was also "Night of the Long Grass", with the latter backed with "Hi Hi Hazel".[4][5] "My Lady" was later included on the Troggs album Cellophane and a cover by Jet Harris was released as a single in July 1967.[6][7]

Reviewing for Record Mirror, Peter Jones described "Night of the Long Grass" as "much stronger than the mooted "My Lady" single – in fact, it becomes darned infectious after just a couple of plays. Lyrics worth a close listen, with atmospheric guitar and percussion backing… and the vocal comes through as if hidden behind a wall of bricks or grass or something. Curious vocals sounds behind, too".[8] Guest reviewing for Disc and Music Echo, Dusty Springfield wrote "What a creepy beginning! And a lovely, sexy, sinister vocal from Reg. On first hearing though, it's not as catchy as some of their others but it's got lots of nice ideas and their popularity will see it into the chart I'm sure".[9]

Charts

Chart (1967) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 79
Germany (GfK)[11] 23
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 26
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 33
UK Disc and Music Echo Top 30[14] 19
UK Melody Maker Top 30[15] 19
UK New Musical Express Top 30[16] 21
UK Record Retailer Top 50[1] 17

References

  1. ^ a b "TROGGS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  2. ^ "The Face" (PDF). Record Mirror. 29 April 1967. p. 12. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Pet's Follow-up, Single by Burdon, Troggs Late Switch". New Musical Express. 13 May 1967. p. 8.
  4. ^ "The Troggs - My Lady". 45cat. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  5. ^ "The Troggs - Night Of The Long Grass". 45cat. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  6. ^ "The Troggs - My Lady". 45cat. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Jet Harris back" (PDF). Disc and Music Echo. 8 July 1967. p. 7. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  8. ^ "New Singles" (PDF). Record Mirror. 20 May 1967. p. 9. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Troggs – sexy" (PDF). Disc and Music Echo. 27 May 1967. p. 15. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  10. ^ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
  11. ^ "The Troggs – Night of the Long Grass" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  12. ^ "Irish Singles charts 1967-1969". UKMIX Forums. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Troggs" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  14. ^ "Top 30" (PDF). Disc and Music Echo. 24 June 1967. p. 3. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Pop 30" (PDF). Melody Maker. 17 June 1967. p. 2. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  16. ^ "NME Top 30" (PDF). New Musical Express. 17 June 1967. p. 5. Retrieved 11 October 2022.