Sunny (Bobby Hebbs)

12 OCTOBER 1966



Bobby Hebb's single ‘Sunny’ was at its peak UK chart position of #12 during this week in 1966 It had reached #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart back in August, and #3 on the R&B chart.

This is a wonderful, thoughtful song, but what makes its UK chart position this week so interesting is the fact that Georgie Fame was at #15 and Cher was at #32 on the same chart - with the same song! We'd already had multiple versions of the same song in the same charts during this year (two covers of the Beatles 'Michelle' and two of 'Girl', and two versions of Bobby Lind's 'Elusive Butterfly') but this was the first time that three versions of a song had charted concurrently in 1966.

'Sunny' was recorded many other times over the years - Boney M had a UK #3 with it in 1977 - and Broadcast Music, Inc. rated it #25 in their 'Top 100 songs of the century'. 

Hebb had written this song as a response to the murders of his brother and John F Kennedy on the same day 1963. It was released a couple of times before Hebb's own version came out - the first as an album track by Mieko 'Miko' Hirota in Japan in 1965, the second on the 1966 Dave Pike album 'Jazz for the Jet Set'. 

This proved to be Hebb's biggest hit, and he had only minor success afterwards.

B-side: 'Bread'
Released: June 1966
Highest chart position: #12 (UK), #2 (US)
Recorded: Bell Sound Studios, New York City 
Length: 2:44
Label: Philips
Writer: Bobby Hebb
Producer: Jerry Ross

Sunny (Bobby Hebbs)