Bobby Hebb
b. 26 July 1941, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. An accomplished musician and songwriter, Hebb appeared on the GRAND OLE OPRY at 12 and studied guitar with Chet Atkins. He later moved to New York, ostensibly to play with Mickey And Sylvia. When that duo split, a new combination emerged: Bobby And Sylvia. This short-lived unit was followed by several solo Hebb releases which culminated in Sunny (1966). Written in memory of his brother Hal, who died the day after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, this simple, melancholic song reached number 2 in the US and number 12 in the UK. It was recorded by many artists, including Cher and Georgie Fame, whose version reached number 13 in the UK in 1966. Despite his tag as ‘the song a day man’, Bobby chose the country standard, A Satisfied Mind, as the follow-up. It fared less well commercially, although the singer later secured a reputation in UK northern soul circles with Love Me and Love Love Love, which reached the Top 40 in the UK in 1972. Hebb returned to the fringes of the soul chart with Sunny 76, a reworking of his best-known moment.