Bobby
Hebb (July 26, 1938 – August 3, 2010) was American R&B/soul singer,
musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer known for his 1966 hit
entitled "Sunny".
He
was born Robert Von Hebb in Nashville, Tennessee. Hebb's parents, William and
Ovalla Hebb, were both blind musicians. Hebb and his older brother Harold performed
as a song-and-dance team in Nashville, beginning when Bobby was three and
Harold was nine. Hebb performed on a TV show hosted by country music record
producer Owen Bradley, which earned him a place with Grand Ole Opry star Roy
Acuff. Hebb played spoons and other instruments in Acuff's band. Harold later
became a member of Johnny Bragg and the Marigolds. Bobby Hebb sang backup on Bo
Diddley's "Diddley Daddy". Hebb played "West-coast-style"
trumpet in a United States Navy jazz band, and replaced Mickey Baker in Mickey
and Sylvia. (
At 13, Bobby Hebb (front) tap dancing with Chet
Atkins (left), Erwin Tussey on sax, Grady Martin playing guitar and Tommy
Jackson playing fiddle.)
On
November 23, 1963, the day after John F. Kennedy's assassination, Harold Hebb
was killed in a knife fight outside a Nashville nightclub. Hebb was devastated
by both events and sought comfort in song writing. Though many claim that the
song he wrote after both tragedies was the optimistic "Sunny", Hebb
himself stated otherwise. He immersed himself in the Gerald Wilson album, You
Better Believe It!, for comfort.
"All
my intentions were just to think of happier times – basically looking for a
brighter day – because times were at a low tide. After I wrote it, I thought
"Sunny" just might be a different approach to what Johnny Bragg was
talking about in "Just Walkin' in the Rain".
disc. When Hebb toured with The Beatles in 1966 his "Sunny" was as well received as any Beatles tune, as evidenced by tapes of the concerts. BMI rated "Sunny" number 25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century".
"Sunny"
has been recorded by, among others jamiroquai, Cher, Boney M, Georgie Fame,
Johnny Rivers, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra with Duke Ellington, Ella
Fitzgerald, Electric Flag, The Four Seasons, Leonard Nimoy, two different
versions from Frankie Valli, the Four Tops, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Les
McCann, Wes Montgomery, Dusty Springfield, and Classics IV. One re-recording, a
disco version called "Sunny '76" was a minor hit for Hebb in that
year hitting #94 on the R&B chart. In 2000, Musiq did an updated dance
version retitled "Just Friends (Sunny)," which went to #31 on the U.S.
Billboard charts.
Hebb
also had lesser hits with his "A Satisfied Mind" in 1966 (# 39 on the
Billboard chart and #40 on the R&B chart) and "Love Me" in 1967
(# 84). He was a prolific writer, known in the US as the "song-a-day
man", with over 1,000 compositions to his name. In 1971, Lou Rawls won a
Grammy with "A Natural Man", a song Hebb had co-written with Sandy
Baron.
Six
years prior to "Sunny", Hebb reached the New York Top 50 with a
remake of Roy Acuff's "Night Train To Memphis". In 1972, his single
"Love Love Love" reached # 32 in the UK charts.
After
a recording gap of thirty five years, Hebb recorded That's All I Wanna Know,
his first commercial release since Love Games for Epic Records in 1970. It was
released in Europe in late 2005 by Tuition, a pop indie label. New versions of
"Sunny" were also issued (two duets: one with Astrid NorthAstrid North,
and one with Pat Appleton.
In
2004, Hebb was part of another Grammy-winning team, as one of the performers
included on the Best Historical Album, the compilation Night Train to
Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945-1970. ). In October 2008 he
toured and played in Osaka and Tokyo in Japan.
"We're
in the University of Life and last time I checked, no one is in a hurry to
graduate," Hebb said in 2004. His only regret was that Ray Charles wasn't
one of the 500-plus artists who have recorded "Sunny".
4 comments:
For Bobby Hebb - The "Sunny" Anthology (1960-1976) go here:
http://rapidgator.net/file/62301049/Bobby_Hebb-mp3.rar.html
01. Sunny (45 rpm mix) 02:44
02. I Love Everything About You 02:14
03. Some Kind Of Magic 02:35
04. Love Me 02:05
05. My Pretty Sunshine 02:23
06. You Want To Change Me 02:43
07. Dreamy 02:12
08. Everything Is Coming Up Roses 02:12
09. Yes Or No Or Maybe Not 02:26
10. Good Good Lovin' 02:43
11. A Satisfied Mind 02:45
12. For You 02:40
13. You Don't Know What You Got Until You Lose It 02:32
14. I Am Your Man 02:27
15. Bread 02:25
16. Sunny (album mix) 02:42
17. Love Love Love 03:00
18. Crazy Baby 02:13
19. Bound By Love 02:03
20. I Love Mary 02:35
21. Betty Jo From Ohio 02:18
22. Atlanta, G A. 02:29
23. You Gotta Go 02:45
24. Feel So Good 02:00
25. Night Train To Memphis 01:48
26. You Broke My Heart And I Broke Your Jaw (Bobby & Sylvia) 02:39
27. I Found Somebody 02:46
28. Judy 02:33
29. True I Love You 02:50
30. Proud Soul Heritage 02:58
31. Sunny '76 03:27
Hi Bob...Luigi here thanks for the info on "Johnny Francis" I have seen it before a couple of years ago and also made a comment on it...but i'd forgotten all about it till your reminder...so I left a msg on ther for "Johnny" asking him if he knew if there was any downloads available for any of his workl...will have to see what happens....cheers..and thanks once again....Luigi
Hi BB,
Please, a re-up for Bobby Hebb.
Have a sunny day,
Denis
Hi Denis, Here's Bobby....
https://www.mediafire.com/file/hl3h8qmpuet266k/Bobby+Hebb+-+The+Sunny+Anthology.rar/file
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