Disc #4 SUNNY - the Cover Versions

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The 26 renditions of "Sunny" included on this disc from a variety of artists took quite a bit of time to compile.  How do you sift through about 1,020 recorded (on vinyl or CD) versions along with another 800 or so on YouTube and other on-line venues?    

Back in 2000 I was at a college radio station 91.5 FM in Medford where I interviewed Bobby,  compiling versions of "Sunny" from the library that Bobby and I were considering for the first collection.  Lo and behold, Bobby calls me and says that a fellow in Germany (our good friend now) Rudiger Ladwig, was in the process of doing the same exact thing. Great minds think alike.

Thus was born  A Collection Of Various Interpretations Of Sunny - the first of these compilations which included looks at "Fever" and a second edition of "Sunny" as well.

A Collection Of Various Interpretations Of Sunny

These releases, along with the original draft Bobby and I were working on, and with 14 years of hindsight being 20/20, led up to what you hold in your hands now.

With Track #17 we bring you a special medley of "unreleased" Sunny versions -

Connie Francis on the Ed Sullivan Show

Tom Jones and Ella Fitzgerald duet on the

Tom Jones TV show

Liberace live on television

Moms Mabley's 45 tucked inside the medley

and Jennifer Love Hewitt performing as

Nancy Sinatra on the TV show             American Dreams

The Boney M version is a dance mix by the Boogie Pimps - you can do a web search on Who Sampled Who to have a fun a/b as they call it with both renditions.

Toots and the Maytals take on "Sunny" was done in conjunction with Bobby's publisher, Portable Music, while we utilize Frankie Valli's 2007 remake, done in a samba style rather than the Frank Sinatra kinda rendition Frankie did on his Timeless CD, now on a Frankie Valli boxed set. 

There are a variety of dance mixes of the Marvin Gaye version (which includes the Mercury II mix used in the TV show Ray Donovan in August/September 2014) as well as the multiple James Brown versions (studio, live and remixed galore) and Jose' Feliciano, so the key versions by key artists get new makeovers from samplers and remixers, and it all adds to the Sunny legacy.

How can you argue with renditions by Cher, Bill Cosby, Herb Alpert and the exquisitely sublime/dreamy Johnny Mathis epic. That we had to leave off so many greats - Ferrante & Teicher, guitarist Greg Howe, Pat Martino and John Scofield - indeed, we could do a full boxed set on jazz renditions alone - means that this is one of many entree main course dishes of delicious Sunny selections. 

Melba Moore appears on Bobby Hebb's version while Mieko Hirota and David Pike released earlier 1965 takes on the classic prior to Bobby's worldwide smash.   Hirota is included here, as are four Motown artists - Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops and Mary Wells (after she left Motown for Jubilee.) Wilson Picket's wicked version from the Wicked Pickett classic lp moves nicely into Motown territory, as does Buddy Miles soulful escapade (not included here) from the Electric Flag.

This CD closes out with one of the many dance remixes of Bobby's version, this producer's favorite so far, the Pillow remix.


FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY
Boogie Pimps, Boney M

http://www.whosampled.com/sample/2319/Boogie-Pimps-Sunny-Boney-M.-Sunny/

Disc #3 Demos and the Beatles Tour

     Songwriters who are also hit recording artists often have a cache of material the general public doesn't often hear, "publisher demos" or demonstration tapes for other singers and Artist and Repertoire people at record labels.   Bobby Hebb's dual catalog consists of his studio and live material released to the public, as well as his publishing demos.   This disc is the first major release of those tapes to the public, and what a treasure chest of material it is.
*  *  *  *  *
    "Love You" certainly doesn't sound like a demo. Bobby's heartfelt vocal tears through the speakers with the guitar, drums and bass providing a backdrop to his tour-de-force performance.  It starts this magical ride through Bobby's hidden and unreleased gems followed by this writer's personal favorite, "Don't You Care."

Originally released on acid-jazz soul singer Alice Clark's eponymous 1972 Mainstream records release (along with Clark's versions of "Charms of the Arms of Love." and "Hard Hard Promises") Bobby's rendition is so perfect 1960s sunshine pop that any movie set in that time would do well to include the Hebb version on its soundtrack.  Demos of "Charms of the Arms of Love" and "Dreamy" are just superb Bobby Hebb and different than the renditions on Love Games (produced by James Fleming Rasmussen) and Hebb's final Philips 45 (produced by Gamble & Huff,) respectively.    "Who Can I Turn To?" is a mere 41 seconds that is gut-wrenching and makes finding the completed song a necessity. It is just a taste of the magic for those of us who love Bobby's voice and compositions. 
____________________________________________________
If you're wondering why there are two versions of "Got You On My Mind" wonder no more. Bobby actually recorded three. The first is from the Hoss Allen Show live, it is a rave up of the more subdued Jerry Ross production that showed up on the Sunny album (not included here,) while the other song is a Bobby Hebb original from his 1979 Revere Massachusetts Fleetwood sessions which resulted in the 45 RPM "Judy"  b/w Evil Woman.

For fans of the Rich Records Story, which has 6 Bobby Hebb tracks leading off the anthology, we have included 3 out-takes from those sessions that give another perspective on "Feel So Good" (without the backing vocalists,) "Cherry," (without the strings) and "Atlanta GA" (take 3.)  So with this boxed set and with the Rich Records Story you will have the currently available mixes of Bobby's work from the period with John Rich.
____________________________________________________
"I'll Be Anything For You" was recorded by Powerpack on CBS and Tamika Jones (as the title track to her Atlantic album) but Bobby's version is just outstanding and was discovered on an acetate from Europe that Dr. Beatle, Erik Taros, remastered for us.    We don't have Bobby's version of his own "Would You Believe?" that Grady Tate (1968, Sky Records/Buddah) and William Hunt recorded (Streamside #100 (1967) )  but rest assured we are looking for it.  In the 

meantime you can listen to Bobby's work with Sylvia 

Robinson (Bobby and Sylvia - the duo that replaced Love is 

Strange duo Mickey and Sylvia)  and "I Love Mary" on 

Scepter records here on this release.

And then, as a special treat, we close out this disc with 5 songs from Bobby's show in Toronto with The Beatles.  Bobby is backed by Barry and the Remains, his friends from Boston who recorded for Epic four years before Bobby released "Love Games" on epic.   There's a rave-up of "Got My Mojo Workin" and fragments of Van McCoy's "For You," Darlene Love's "Good Good Lovin'" and Bobby's own "Crazy Baby" along with a tremendous, full version of "Sunny" which concludes the disc.  The above photo was taken August 19, 1966 in Memphis, an idea Bobby told us that Beatles' manager Brian Epstein had for a photo of the Fab 4 asking Bobby for an autograph.


1)Love You 2:32 
2)Don't You Care 2:18 
3)Charms of the Arms of Love 3:25 
4)Dreamy 2:20 
5)Feel So Good 2:02 (out-take) 
6)Cherry 2:45 (out-take) 
7)Atlanta GA 2:35 (Take 3) 
8)I Wanna Know 2:57 Bobby and Sylvia/Battle Records 
9)You Broke My Heart 2:41 Bobby Hebb / Sylvia Robinson 
10)I Love Mary 2:35 Scepter Records from vinyl 
11)Got You On My Mind 4:03 Live on Hoss Allen Show 
12)I've Got You On My Mind 4:29 (Bobby Hebb, Fleetwood 1979) 
13)Mojo Working 2013 2:09 produced by Joe Viglione 
14)Mojo Working 2013 2:14 produced by Joe Viglione 
15)Who Can I Turn To (Bobby Hebb) 0:41 Fleetwood Sessions 
16) Of This Love With You (?) 3:40 Bobby Hebb/Fleetwood Sessions 
17)Tree Top High 2:34 Bobby Hebb demo 
18)The London Scene 1:25 Bobby Hebb demo 
19)My Love Is Today 2:11 Bobby Hebb demo 
20)The Right Foot Of Love 2:51 demo 
21)The Sunny Harper 1:49 demo 
22)I'll Be Anything For You 3:04 (from acetate) Bobby Hebb 
23)Just to Go On Loving You 3:14 demo 
24)WCAP Radio on the Beatles/hebb Tour 0:38 
Bobby tell us about playing with the Beatles 
25)WCAP Radio on Hebb / Beatles 0:56 Bobby responds 
26)WCAP 1:01 Gary Sohmers, how was the sound onstage? 
27)WCAP 1:08 BMI Top 25 
28)WCAP radio interview 1:18 Bobby and the Remains 
29)Crazy Baby 1st song onstage 1:25 
30)Narrator leads into M.C. onstage 0:45 
31)For You (Van McCoy) 0:44 Live Beatles 8-17-66 w/The Remains 
32)Good, Good Lovin' (Mann/Weil) Time 1:15 8-17-66 with/The Remains 
33)Got My Mojo Working - 2:41 Live 8-17-66 with Barry and the Remains 
34) Sunny 5:14 Live 8-17-66 with Barry and the Remains 
____________________________________________________
NOT FOR LINER NOTES, for internal use

GRADY TATE
http://www.discogs.com/Grady-Tate-Windmills-Of-My-Mind/release/2435430

Disc 2 Standards and Classics

The familiar voice of Bobby Hebb, known all around the world on his signature standard, “Sunny,” brings a new perspective on classics such as “As Time Goes By,” love theme to the 1942 film Casablanca,  Bobby’s own “A Natural Man,” a co-write with Sandy Baron for which Lou Rawls won the Grammy in 1972 for Best R & B male performance (of Rawls’ 1971 release,) a remake of “Body & Soul” from Nat King Cole’s  King Cole Trio and other delights that have the care and professionalism Bernard Purdie and Bobby Hebb put into all their respective works, the first 7 tracks recorded by the pair at Silvercup Studios, NYC around 2001.

Tracks 8-13 were recorded in 1981 at Dimension Sound Jamaica Plain as well as   Intermedia Studios in Boston where Aerosmith’s "Dream On,” "Sunshine" by Jonathan Edwards, and music from Peter Wolf, Victor “Moulty” Moulton, the Cars and other New England artists was put to tape.  The Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh title “The Best is Yet to Come” is among these unreleased gems along with Bobby’s exquisite take on the Wayne/Edwards classic “See You In September” has all the elements,

“Nancy with the Laughing Face” is Hebb live in Bridgewater, Massachusetts with the Kubota Power Jazz unit, giving a nod in 2000 to Frank Sinatra who, of course, also covered Bobby’s hit, “Sunny.”   “Proud Soul Heritage” and “Love You” are two new renditions of Bobby’s material by daughter Kitoto Von Hebb backed by drummer Steve Holley (McCartney, Elton John, Ian Hunter, etc.,) Peter Calo – music director for Carly Simon, bassist Thomas Hebb, piano legend Dave Maxwell and others.  The live version of “Sunny” was recorded by Bobby on his Japanese tour in 2009 and is the only tune in this set available on iTunes prior to this disc’s release.

1)As Time Goes By (4:05), 2)A Natural Man (5:29), 3)Are You With Me? (3:47) 4)Don't Blame Me (3:50)  5)My Secret Love (5:40)  6)Body & Soul  (5:16)   7)What You Dare To Dream (4:08), 8)What Do I Do Now (4:27)   9)The Best Is Yet To Come   (2:32), 10)See You In September (3:14)  11)I Remember Louis (7:41)  12)Pretty As a Picture (6:37)  13)Big Sis (6:49) 14)Nancy With the Laughing Face (1:56)  15) Proud Soul Heritage- Kitoto 3:46 16)Love You - Kitoto  2:49  17) Sunny  7:32

                                             Drummer/Producer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie

Album conceived and produced by Joe Viglione

Executive Producers: Eric Colodne and Kitoto Von Hebb

Tracks 1-8 produced by Bernard Purdie and Bobby Hebb, Tracks 9-13 produced by Bobby Hebb, arranged by Clifford M. Weeks.                                                                          
Tracks 14-16 produced by Joe Viglione,  

Track 17 produced by Bobby Hebb.

All masters owned and controlled by Bobby Hebb Music. This is the  template for our cd release. Keep in mind that the mastering is yet to be completed. Upon release of this cd we will then offer for release the assembled boxed set of 3 CDs and 1 DVD entitled
SUNNY: Bobby Hebb’s Proud Soul Heritage, Vol. 1

Sunny: The Bobby Hebb Anthology

proposed photos, not finalized versions, just for our internal use to see placement

Disc 1

"Sunny" is one of the most recognizable melodies in the history of pop music, a positive song that has struck a chord with people of all cultures and backgrounds while, simultaneously, becoming a standard in a variety of musical genres.

Bobby Hebb is the man who conceived this masterpiece, and the talent behind the song is every bit as fascinating as his creation.   With SUNNY: The Bobby Hebb Anthology we are bringing to you a variety of "Sunny" performances by Bobby as well as other artists who give their perspectives on the song, along with an entertaining overview of some of Mr. Hebb's best known recordings.

The unreleased music in this set puts on display the dexterity of Bobby's voice, guitar playing, overall musicianship and the spirit of the individual who gifted the world with his artistry.
Hitting #1 in Cash Box and Record World, #2 in Billboard and maintaining visibility/listen-ability for five decades, both "Sunny" and Bobby Hebb have entertained listeners for the past half a century.

       Bobby Hebb touring with the Beatles on their final tour in the summer of 1966 backed up by seminal Boston band The Remains on a bill that included separate performances by those Remains along with the Cyrkle and the Ronettes (without Ronnie Spector.)

      

The songs on disc 1 are "the best of Bobby Hebb" - meaning, music for the most part released on 45 RPMs along with key tunes that became popular - Bobby's terrific rendition of the Porter Wagoner classic "A Satisfied Mind" (#40 in America, Philips Records' follow-up to the "Sunny" single,) "Love Love Love" - a song by producer Jerry Ross that hit in England 6 years after the release of the "Sunny" album - made popular again due to the "Northern Soul" phenomenon (a powerful genre of music that was initiated in the northern part of the U.K.) and material that brings to the general audience a solid look at the performances and productions that fans around the world deserve to have as part of their permanent collections.

          The packaging for both the "Sunny" 45 and the Sunny lp turned out to be dramatically different around the world. Our sites - Bobbyhebb.com and SunnytheSong.com have galleries of 45 RPM covers, album covers and the photographs and printing from the sheet music.

 

As there is too much information to put into the liner notes of a boxed set, the boxed-set producer's full liner notes - which could expand when new information becomes available - can be found on 

http://bobbyhebb.com/boxedsetliners

http://sunnythesong.com/boxedsetlinernotes

   Disc #1 brings you the "best of Bobby Hebb."  The original "Sunny" along with material radio listeners and concert goers got to know and love from Bobby.  Also included are many of the Philips 45s that followed "Sunny" and some of Bobby's tremendous unreleased recordings - 'Jenny Baby' and the Carlos Santana-esque "Evil Woman" in its full-length version. Plus there is "Flower" from the 1970 Love Games lp on Epic which became the foundation for Mos Def's wonderful "Priority."    The disc opens with "Sunny" and concludes with Bobby's final recorded composition, "Breeze," which he wrote for President Barack Obama. 

CD #1

1/Sunny (Original) 2:45  Hebb, Bobby   Portable Music, BMI

 

2)You Want To Change Me 2:47  K.Gamble/L.Huff World War III Music, Double Diamond Music, BMI

 

3)Love Love Love 3:02  Ross/Renzetti  Champion Music Co., and Double Diamond Music Co. BMI

 

4/Love Me 2:05   Gamble/Ross  Act Three Music / Downstairs Music BMI

 

5)Dreamy 2:17  Hebb, Bobby  Portable Music/Unichappell Music, Inc. BMI

 

6)A Satisfied Mind 2:44  Hayes/Rhodes, Fort Knox Music Inc., Trio Music Co BMI

 

7)Night Train to Memphis 1:54  Bradley/Hughes/Smith APRS / Forrest Hills Music Co Inc.

 

8)Proud Soul Heritage 3:08   Hebb, Bobby Martien Music Inc. Bobby Hebb Music Inc. BMI

 

9)Ienny Baby 3:54  Hebb, Bobby Bobby Hebb Music BMI

 

1O)Judy 2:37  Hebb, Bobby  Bobby Hebb Music BMI

 

11)My Song To You 2:42   Hebb, Bobby Bobby Hebb Music BMI

 

12)Evil Woman 4:01  Hebb, Bobby Bobby Hebb Music, BMI

 

13)True I Love You 2:57  Hebb, Bobby  Martien Publishing Inc, Bobby Hebb Music Inc. BMI

 

14)My Pretty Sunshine 2:23  Ross/Barkarn   Patlene Music BMI

 

15/Some Kind Of Magic 2:36   Ross/Renzetti/Kornfeld  Act Three Music BMI

 

 

16)Evesything Is Coming Up Roses 2:10  Penn/Oldham  Press Publishing Co Inc BMI

 

17)1 Love Everything About You   L Oldham/D Pennington  Screen Gems/EMI Music Inc BMI

 

18)Bound By Love 2:02    D Carter Press Publishing Co Inc BMI

 

19)Good, Good Lovin 2:44   Mann/Weil  Screen Gems/EMI Music Inc

 

20)Cold Cold Nights 3:22  Hebb, Bobby/Medley, Phil  Portable Music BMI

 

21)Flower 3:25   Bobby Hebb   Beresofsky/Hebb Unlimited LLC  BMI

 

22/Good Morning World 3:57  Bobby Hebb    Bobby Hebb Music, BMI

 

23)That's All I Wanna Know 4:33   Composer/Music: James Carr  Lyrics: Roosevelt Jamison

Publisher: Moring Music Ltd.

 

24)Trust Integrity and Rife Love 4:12 Torpedo Boyz w/Bobby Hebb

Hebb/ SCHUHMANN/Steen    Bobby Hebb Music BMI / BMG Platinum Songs, BMI

 

25)Sunny 4:20 Denny Jiosa w/Bobby Hebb  Hebb, Bobby Portable Music BMI

 

26/Breeze 3:33  Hebb, Bobby Bobby Hebb Music BMI

Writer: Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff
Publisher: EMI Blackwood Music, Inc./Mijac Double Diamond Music/One Song Publishing/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Co.
http://songwritershalloffame.org/index.php/songs/detailed/C134/P780/

Sunny: The Bobby Hebb Anthology

Disc 1  The Best of Bobby Hebb

 

"Sunny" is one of the most recognizable songs in the history of pop music,

a positive composition that has struck a chord with people of all cultures and backgrounds while, simultaneously, becoming a standard in a variety

of musical genres.

 

Bobby Hebb is the man who conceived this masterpiece, and the talent behind the song is every bit as fascinating as his creation.   With SUNNY: The Bobby Hebb Anthology we are bringing to you a variety of "Sunny" performances by Bobby as well as other artists who give their perspectives on the song, along with an entertaining overview of some of Mr. Hebb's best known recordings.

The unreleased music in this set puts on display the dexterity of Bobby's voice, guitar playing, overall musicianship and the spirit of the individual who gifted the world with his artistry. Hitting #1 in Cash Box and Record World, #2 in Billboard and maintaining visibility/listen-ability for five decades, both "Sunny" and Bobby Hebb have entertained listeners for the past half a century.

 

Bobby Hebb - touring with the Beatles on their final tour in the summer of 1966 - was backed up by seminal Boston band The Remains on a bill that included separate performances by those Remains along with the Cyrkle and the Ronettes (without Ronnie Spector.)

 

SUNNY: THE BEST OF BOBBY HEBB

 

 Disc #1 brings you the "best of Bobby Hebb” which includes the original "Sunny" along with material radio listeners and concert goers got to know and love from the original hit artist.  Also included are many of the Philips 45s that followed "Sunny" and some of Bobby's tremendous unreleased recordings - 'Jenny Baby' and the Carlos Santana-esque "Evil Woman" – here for the first time in its full-length version. Plus there is "Flower" from the 1970 Love Games lp on Epic, a song which became the foundation for Mos Def's wonderful "Priority."  The disc opens with "Sunny" and concludes with Bobby's final recorded composition, "Breeze," which he wrote for President Barack Obama.        

 

Also included is Bobby's terrific rendition of the Porter Wagoner classic "A Satisfied Mind" (#40 in America, Philips Records' follow-up to the "Sunny" single,) along with "Love Love Love" - a song by producer Jerry Ross that hit in England 6 years after the release of the "Sunny" album - made popular again due to the "Northern Soul" phenomenon, a powerful genre of music that was initiated in the northern part of the U.K.

          The packaging for both the "Sunny" 45 and the Sunny lp turned out to be dramatically different around the world. Our sites - Bobbyhebb.com and SunnytheSong.com have galleries of 45 RPM covers, album covers and the photographs and printing from the sheet music.

 

As there is too much information to put into the liner notes of a boxed set, the boxed-set producer's full liner notes can be found on 

 

http://bobbyhebb.com/boxedsetliners

http://sunnythesong.com/boxedsetlinernotes

 

These notes will expand when new information becomes available