Originally recorded by Stephens' group the New Vaudeville Band in 1967 as a neo-British music hall number, this version of the track became a hit in Australia and South Africa.

The first single version of "There's a Kind of Hush" was recorded in 1966 by Gary and the Hornets, a teen/pre-teen male band from Franklin, Ohio whose version—entitled "Kind of Hush" produced by Lou Reizner—became a regional success and showed signs of breaking nationally in January 1967; the single would reach No.

However an expedient cover by British invasion group Herman's Hermits[1] was released in the US in January 1967 to reach the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100 in three weeks and proceeded to a peak of #4—affording the group their final US Top Ten hit—with Gold certification for US sales of one million units awarded that April.

[12] The Carpenters' version has a notable country pop feel, but was not particularly successful for their usual standard in that time.

"There's a Kind of Hush" would remain the Carpenters' final top twenty hit until 1981's "Touch Me When We're Dancing".