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I Can Hear the Grass Grow

1967 single by The Move

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ5976561 ↗
Source-derived summary

"I Can Hear the Grass Grow " is the second single by the Move, written by Roy Wood and produced by Denny Cordell. The song was recorded on the 5th of January, 1967 in Advision Studios in London, was first released on 31 March, through Deram Records, with the B-side, "Wave the Flag and Stop the Train". The song would become another hit for the band following their debut, "Night of Fear", making it to number five on the UK Singles Chart on 10 May, staying there for a total of ten weeks.

"I Can Hear the Grass Grow" was the second of a string of four consecutive top-5 singles from the band in the United Kingdom, from 1966 to 1968. The song would later become one of the group's signature tunes, and was covered by acts such as the Blues Magoos (in 1968), Status Quo (in 1996), and The Fall (in 2005). It would later appear on the 2007 reissue of the group's debut, self-titled studio album, Move.

Background

On 9 December 1966, the Move released their debut single "Night of Fear" to great commercial success, reaching number two in the UK singles chart on 26 January 1967. The hints of psychedelia in the song led to rumours about the band using LSD or other hallucinogenic drugs, something that drummer Bev Bevan later denounced. Both rhythm guitarist Trevor Burton and bassist Ace Kefford would later admit to using drugs, the latter of which considered it a grave mistake. The newfound success led to songwriter and lead guitarist Roy Wood to believe in himself as a true songwriter, as "Night of Fear" was only the third or fourth original composition that he had written.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “I Can Hear the Grass Grow” as 1967 single by The Move. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1967, 1966, 1968, 1996—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1967. The account is most persuasive where Hear, Grass and Grow can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as 1967 single by The Move. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5976561. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1967, 1966, 1968 and 1996.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “I Can Hear the Grass Grow” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.