Robert Alvin Von Hebb (July 26, 1938 – August 3, 2010) was an American R&B and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer, musician, songwriter, recording and performing artist, best known for his 1966 hit " Sunny".

Biography

Hebb was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. His parents, William and Ovalla Hebb, were both blind musicians. Hebb and his older brother, Harold Hebb, 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 Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

record producer

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician, bandleader and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was a chief architect of the 1950s and 60s Nashville sou ...

, which earned him a place with

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

star

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

. Hebb played

spoon A spoon (, ) is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it ...

s and other instruments in Acuff's band. Harold later became a member of Johnny Bragg and the Marigolds. Bobby Hebb sang

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back ...

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

's "Diddley Daddy". Hebb played "West-coast-style" trumpet in a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

band, and replaced

Mickey Baker MacHouston "Mickey" Baker (October 15, 1925 – November 27, 2012) was an American musician, best known for his work as a studio musician and as part of the recording duo Mickey & Sylvia. Early life Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His ...

in Mickey and Sylvia. Bobby hebb guitar

On November 23, 1963, the day after

John F. Kennedy's assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

, Bobby Hebb's brother, Harold, was killed in a

knife fight A knife fight is a violent physical confrontation between two or more combatants in which one or more participants are armed with a knife.MacYoung, Marc, ''Winning A Street Knife Fight'', (Digital format, 70 min.), Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, ( ...

outside a Nashville

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

. Hebb was devastated by both events and sought comfort in songwriting. 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 Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

album ''

You Better Believe It! ''You Better Believe It!'' is an album by Jazz musician and bandleader Gerald Wilson. Recorded in 1961 for the Pacific Jazz label,

'' for comfort. "Sunny" was recorded in New York City after demos were made with the record producer Jerry Ross. Released as a single in 1966, "Sunny" reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 3 on the R&B charts, and No. 12 in the United Kingdom. When Hebb toured with

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

in 1966 his "Sunny" was, at the time of the tour, ranked higher than any Beatles song then on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. BMI rated "Sunny" number 25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century". In 1976, Hebb released a newly recorded disco version entitled " Sunny '76". The single was a minor hit reaching No. 94 on the R&B chart. Hebb also had lesser

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

with his "A Satisfied Mind" in 1966 (No. 39 on the Billboard chart and No. 40 on the R&B chart) and "Love Me" in 1967 (No. 84), and wrote many other songs, including

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American baritone singer. He released 61 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably the song " You'll Never Find Another Love like Min ...

' 1971 hit "

A Natural Man ''A Natural Man'' is a 1915 silent film drama short directed by Ulysses Davis and produced by the Vitagraph Company of America. The General Film Company The General Film Company was a motion picture distribution company in the United States ...

" (co-written with comedian

Sandy Baron Sandy Baron (born Sanford Irving Beresofsky; May 5, 1936 – January 21, 2001) was an American actor and comedian who performed on stage, in films, and on television. He is best known for his recurring role of Jack Klompus on the NBC sitcom ''Sein ...

). Six years prior to "Sunny", Hebb reached the New York City Top 50 with a remake of

's "Night Train to Memphis". In 1972, his single "Love Love Love" reached No. 32 on the UK charts. After a recording gap of 35 years, Hebb recorded ''That's All I Wanna Know'', his first commercial release since ''Love Games'' for

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

in 1970. It was released in Europe in late 2005 by Tuition, a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

label. Two new duet versions of "Sunny" were issued, one with

Astrid North Astrid North (Astrid Karina North Radmann; 24 August 1973, West Berlin – 25 June 2019, Berlin) was a German soul singer and songwriter. She was the singer of the German band , with whom she released five Albums. As guest singer of the band s ...

and the other with Pat Appleton. In October 2008, he toured and played in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

and Tokyo in Japan. Hebb was an active resident of

Cresskill, New Jersey Cresskill is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,155, an increase of 582 (+6.8%) from the 2010 United S ...

Death

Hebb continued to live in his hometown of

, until his death at age 72. On August 3, 2010, Hebb died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

while being treated at TriStar Centennial Medical Center, located in Nashville. He is interred at Nashville's Spring Hill Cemetery.

Discography

Albums

* ''Sunny'' (1966) – US #103, R&B #21 * ''Love Games'' (1970) * ''That's All I Wanna Know'' (2005)

Singles

Selected songwriting credits

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Cooper, Daniel (1998). "Bobby Hebb". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. p. 235,

External links

* * *
Bobby Hebb interview
on Nashville Scene *

' on Tuition Records, Germany * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hebb, Bobby 1938 births 2010 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Burials at Spring Hill Cemetery (Nashville, Tennessee) Deaths from lung cancer in Tennessee Laurie Records artists People from Cresskill, New Jersey Philips Records artists Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Singers from Nashville, Tennessee Smash Records artists