Glenn Hughes (sometimes known as The Voice of Rock) is an English rock bass… Read Full Bio ↴Glenn Hughes (sometimes known as The Voice of Rock) is an English rock bassist and vocalist, best known for playing bass and performing vocals for funk rock pioneers Trapeze, the Mk. III and IV line-ups of Deep Purple, as well as briefly fronting Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s.

Hughes has carved a distinctive vocal style blending the finest elements of hard rock, soul and funk. That astonishing voice is Hughes' calling card. He's known as a singer's singer: in fact, Stevie Wonder once called Hughes his favorite white singer.

Hughes, a native of Cannock, England, absorbed all kinds of influences, including early British hard rock, the Beatles and, most importantly, American soul and R&B. The sleek Motown sound from Detroit and the gritty Stax/Volt sound from Memphis left their mark on him.

The first important band Hughes was a member of that achieved notable success was Trapeze, while in 1973 he joined one of the most popular bands in the world, Deep Purple. The trailblazing hard-rock legends had just weathered the departure of vocalist Ian Gillan and bass guitarist Roger Glover, but guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice continued with the addition of Hughes and David Coverdale. Any skepticism was squelched with the 1974 release of Burn. This stunning album rejuvenated the band and stands tall among Deep Purple classics.

In the halcyon days, Purple headlined at the famous California Jam in 1974 in front of quarter of a million people. World tours via Purple's own jet plane, 'The Starship' and two more studio albums later, (the Hughes influenced Stormbringer and Come Taste the Band), Deep Purple finally split in 1976.

Now living in Los Angeles, Hughes' first solo album Play Me Out was released in 1977. He joined former Pat Travers guitarist Pat Thrall to form Hughes/Thrall, which released an acclaimed self-titled album in 1982. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Hughes made countless guest appearances (both credited and un-credited) as a vocalist, bass guitarist or songwriter on other artists' albums, in particular he appeared on the vastly underrated Seventh Star, was officially credited as 'Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi'. Hughes and Iommi remained friends and in the past few years they have released one brand new studio album together.

More commercial recognition came when the KLF dubbed Hughes 'The Voice of Rock', proudly featuring him on their international best selling hit single America- What Time is Love'

Since 1992, Hughes has toured extensively in Europe, Japan and South America in support of solo albums such as Blues, From Now On..., Feel, Addiction, The Way It Is, Return Of Crystal Karma, Building The Machine, Songs In The Key Of Rock, Soul Mover and Music For The Divine.

Soul Mover saw the continuation of the successful creative partnership with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith that began with Glenn's live DVD Soulfully Live in the City of Angels (2004). Soul Mover was voted 12th best album of the year by highly influential UK magazine CLASSIC ROCK.

After the release of his album Music For The Divine in 2006, 2007 saw Hughes make successful tours of Russia, South America, Italy, Norway and Spain, along with solo dates in London - at the prestigious Shepherds Bush Empire - Bulgaria and Greece. 2007 also saw Hughes headline at festival appearances in France and Norway. Hughes also took part in the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp in New York, which was highly successful and he also appeared as a guest presenter at the Classic Rock Awards in both 2006 and 2007. Another highlight of a diverse and colorful year were the 2 sold out solo shows at the famous Whisky in Los Angeles and BB King's in New York.

2008 saw Hughes undertake another extensive European tour; including a month long trek across Russia, festival appearances, and his first live shows in Belarus, Estonia and Romania. Another highlight was Hughes' appearance in London at the Childline Charity concert in March 2008 where he performed a short set of Deep Purple classics with Purple drummer Ian Paice. This was particularly poignant as it was the first time the pair had played together since the Purple days. Ironically, in June 2008, Hughes played in Liverpool, England for the first time in over 30 years; a triumphant and emotional return to the city where Deep Purple Mark IV played their final ever concert before disbanding in 1976.

Other highlights of 2008 include Hughes' live on air performance on the USA radio show Rockline, and his first appearance in New Zealand since 1975 with Deep Purple, when Hughes brought the house down at the G-Taranaki Festival in July.

Hughes' album, the 2008 release "First Underground Nuclear Kitchen"

Chad Smith again plays out of his skin on the drums, and Hughes has rarely - if ever - sounded more inspired, written with such grace, or sung with more passion.

Another world jaunt accompanied the release, carrying on into 2009 with tours of Europe, Russia, South America and selected shows in the States including sell out shows in LA and NYC.

2010 was one of the most exciting and prolific years in Hughes' career as it saw him recording and touring in a new supergroup project, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION with guitar star Joe Bonamassa, keyboard player Derek Sherinian (Dream Theatre) and drummer Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin legend John Bonham. The band released their debut album on September 20th, 2010. The album went to #13 in the Official UK Album Chart and #1 in the Official UK Rock Album Chart. Produced and mixed by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, The Black Crowes, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Journey etc), this is yet another world-class musical statement that raises the bar for rock singing.

In November 2010, Hughes was awarded the ChildLine Award at Classic Rock's Roll of Honour.

Hughes and Black Country Communion released their second album, "2", in 2011, followed shortly afterwards, by their debut live tour encompassing the USA, UK and Europe. Their third release, "LIVE OVER EUROPE", recorded live while on the European leg of their debut tour, reached the Top 5 spot world-wide with releases on DVD, CD, Blu-ray and Vinyl.

Hughes had his AUTOBIOGRAPHY published in 2011, in both hard and soft cover editions. The Number 1 best seller is available at all good retailers, both online and at traditional brick & mortar stores!

In November 2011, Black Country Communion won the prestigious Classic Rock Breakthrough Artist of the Year award at the Classic Rock Awards in London, with Glenn collecting the award on behalf of the band.

2012 saw Hughes touring Russia as a solo artist and also South America as a member of the Rock and Roll AllStars, featuring his good friends Gene Simmons, Matt Sorum, and Joe Elliot amongst others. Hughes also did solo shows and guest appearances in the UK, Israel, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, China and Armenia but his main focus in 2012 was the writing, recording and press promotion for the third Black Country Communion album, "AFTERGLOW". Released worldwide in late October 2012, and again produced by Kevin Shirley, the album was another huge success for the band, and is possibly the most Hughes dominated album of the three, with many of the songs written solely by Glenn.

2013 saw Hughes embarking on some exciting new projects, with the best yet to come from this most eclectic, talented and inspired musician and songwriter.

Land Of The Livin'
Glenn Hughes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

LAND OF THE LIVIN' (Wonderland)

Holy Moses, I think I do relate
In the early morning
I'll be on the interstate
I feel the rush over me again
I love the taste of the cinnamon

I just wanna be free
In the land of the living
I just wanna believe
That we live in wonderland
We live in wonderland
I just wanna be free
In the land of the living
I just wanna believe
We live in wonderland
We live in wonderland

Down in the valley or
Up on the boulevard
My inhibitions, I know I will discard
I said yeah yeah yeah
And I don't want to compromise
I just want you to realize

I just wanna be free
In the land of the living
I just wanna believe
That we live in wonderland
We live in wonderland
I just wanna be free
In the land of the living
I just want to believe
That we live in wonderland
We live in wonderland

I just want to be free

I feel the rush over me again
I love the taste of the cinnamon

Now I just wanna be free
In the land of the living
I just wanna believe
That we live in wonderland
We live in wonderland
I just want to be free
In the land of the living
I just want to believe
That we live in wonderland
We live in wonderland

I just wanna be free
In the land of the living
Everything's going to be alright

Yeah yeah, it's all right
It's going to be alright

Overall Meaning

The song "Land of the Livin'" by Glenn Hughes is a song that brings a message of freedom, of living in the moment, and finding wonder in life. The song opens with the singer Holy Moses claiming that he deeply relates to the circumstance at hand; he describes feeling the rush of cinnamon that symbolizes not just the sensation but also the new awakening feeling he’s experiencing. He then goes on to state that all he wants is to be free and live in the land of the livin', where everything is beautiful and free of the shackles of stress and anxiety. Throughout the song, there is a constant repetition of the desire to be free.

The line, "I just want you to realize," leaves the listener with an impression of how important it is to be your true self and to not compromise who you are for what society or anyone else thinks you should be. The song suggests that freedom is the key to living a fulfilling life, regardless of the challenges you face. The song is catchy and upbeat with a message that is relevant and relatable; it's a song that anyone can find joy in listening to, as it encourages us to embrace life and let go of our inhibitions.

Line by Line Meaning

Holy Moses, I think I do relate
I deeply connect with what's happening

In the early morning
At the beginning of the day

I'll be on the interstate
I'll be driving on the highway

I feel the rush over me again
I feel excitement inside me

I love the taste of the cinnamon
I enjoy the flavor of the spice

I just wanna be free
I want to feel liberated

In the land of the living
In this world of existence

I just wanna believe
I want to have faith

That we live in wonderland
That this world is a magical place

We live in wonderland
This world is a magical place

Down in the valley or
In the lowlands or