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This article is in the hard copy of Gemmzine and from the forthcoming book:
SUNNY: THE BOBBY HEBB STORY
Chapter 1: Beatles Tape Auctioned in August of 2008
An original 1966 Beatles
audio recording tape and the tape machine it was recorded on at the
last concert in Toronto, Canada, was put up to bid at 10 AM August 11,
2008 with a minimum bid of $10,000.00. One of the fellows involved in
the auction asked me to hear the Bobby Hebb recordings in order to identify Bobby’s five-song set list. It was an honor to hear The Ronettes, The Cyrkle, Barry & The Remains,
Bobby and some of the Beatles along with the interview materials the
audio-documentary producer put together on August 17, 1966 at the Maple
Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada. On or about Wednesday, January 23,
2008 I wrote some information to give to the individuals engaged in
putting the documentary up for auction. This article (written November
14, 2009) is an edit from that essay. This information is part of the
forthcoming book: SUNNY - THE BOBBY HEBB STORY
Backed
by Epic Recording artist Barry & The Remains, there’s a marvelous
performance from the “song a day man” which concludes with an extended
version of his signature tune, “Sunny”. One month before the Beatles
appeared in this Canadian city- one of the fourteen stops on their North
American tour - Hebb was riding high with Cashbox magazine ranking
“Sunny” as the #1 hit in its publication while Billboard had the song at
#2, July 23, 1966…so the song was a constant on the radio smack dab in
the middle of this tour. What is also unique about this event is that
in October of 1965 Paul McCartney’s
song “Yesterday” hit #1 and now – two men who composed songs that
history tells us would be all-time classics of 20th century songwriting –
were appearing on the same tour. Certainly it was “Sunny” that landed
Bobby the gig, but equally important was the respect and admiration The
Beatles had for American rhythm and blues artists. You would have to
call The Ronettes a pop band more than an R & B group, so Bobby was
the sole representative of the sound that helped shape the product the
Beatles would present to the world.
| After
performing a Muddy Waters' song entitled "Got My Mojo Working", Bobby
Hebb says to the crowd "Thank you very much. This is a song you made
possible..." and when Barry Tashian
and The Remains begin the opening chords there's pandemonium from the
audience on a scale equal to the response The Beatles were receiving. Of
all the opening acts on the bill, only Bobby Hebb had the timing
perfect - his song riding the top of the charts just as he's touring
with The Fab Four,
and his uptempo creation with its good-feel modulation and extended
vamp here, as superb a daylight as if The Beatles themselves were
singing “Good Day Sunshine”, the song McCartney say was inspired by
listening to The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Daydream”. That the song has
snow-balled since garnering that applause equal to John, Paul, George
and Ringo – probably a thousand covers 44 years after its first
recordings in 1965 (vibraphonist Dave Pike in America, Mieko “Miko” Hirota in Japan…songs recorded before Jerry Ross
produced Bobby’s hit version) - indicates that Hebb could write a song
on par with John and Paul and without the Beatles machine behind it to
launch it; but a song that could benefit The Beatles tour and stand on
the same platform as “Yesterday”, “Let It Be”, “Revolution” and “Day In
The Life”. |
Bobby Hebb's Concert Performance with The Beatles show
1)Crazy Baby (Bobby Hebb)
2)For You (Van McCoy)
3)Good Good Lovin (Mann/Weil)
4)Got My Mojo Working (Muddy Waters)
5)Sunny (Bobby Hebb)
The Ronnettes are Ronnie-less at this event, so when you hear them perform “Be My Baby” or a cover of The Shirelle’s
“Will You Love Me Tomorrow” you are hearing the back-up singers.
According to Artist’s Facts “Spector did not let Ronnie tour with The
Beatles. He replaced her with another Bennett cousin.” So you had
Estelle Bennet Vann and Nedra Talley Ross along with another Bennett,
but not Ronnie Spector.
Keep in mind that The Cyrkle had the guidance of Brian Epstein
to help them, and on the fourth of June, 1966, their “Red Rubber Ball”
hit #2 on Billboard (as Bobby would a month later with “Sunny”) while
“Turn Down Day” was #16 on August 27th, according to Joel Whitburn’s
essential “The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits”. So The Cyrkle were
riding high at the same time Bobby Hebb was – Mr. Hebb’s second hit from
the Sunny album, the Porter Wagoner cover of the J.H. “Red” Hayes/Jack Rhodes composition “A Satisfied Mind” reaching #39 on November 5 of 1966.
Oh,
to go back in time and change releases! "A Satisfied Mind" was a #1
Country hit for Porter Wagoner in 1955, and though Bobby Hebb certainly
had big country leanings – his work with honky-tonk piano legend Poppa John Gordy and the King of the Hillbillies, Roy Acuff
proof of that – the Mercury subsidiary, Philips Records, should have
followed the smash pop song with “Love Love Love” (which would hit #35
in the U.K. six years later thanks to the Northern Soul movement
re-igniting the production from the original Sunny album) or the non-lp
single “Love Me”, a Jerry Ross/Kenny Gamble
re-write of “Sunny”. Add to this the fact that Bobby turned down
“Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” (though the instrumental was recorded for
him) as it was too much of a novelty song for his repertoire, and you
see how history changes in the blink of an eye in the record industry. But
on the concert stage on this tape Hebb's voice and sound are
phenomenal. To hear this vintage concert after recording many Bobby Hebb
performances live (since1995) well, as you can imagine the renditions
are different, soulful and exciting.
 The
Hebb show with The Beatles opens with a Bobby Hebb original, "Crazy
Baby", the tenth track on the "Sunny" album. It is followed by a
beautiful version of Van McCoy's "For You", the twelfth track on "Sunny"
(McCoy, of course, scored with "The Hustle" during the disco era, a #1
hit in May of 1975). The next track is a cover of a Darlene Love
& The Blossoms Reprise 45 RPM which may have been a minor hit.
"Good Good Lovin" was the flip of their "That's When The Tears Start"
circa 1963 and was written by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil.
At a minute and 29 seconds it is the shortest song on the Sunny album,
track 5. It’s also interesting to note that Bobby would have a song from
a Ronettes related artist, Darlene Love, in his set and give it that
soul stir that separates his music from that of the legendary “Wall of
Sound”.
Bobby likes to call "Got My Mojo Working" by another
name "Mojo Workout", but the similar song by the title "Mojo Workout"
was inspired by Muddy Waters where Bobby actually plays the original
Muddy Waters tune "Got My Mojo Working".
"Mojo Workout" is the title of a Sundazed Paul Revere & The Raiders release, written by Larry Bright and recorded by one of Hebb's friends and mentors, Bill Cosby
(on Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings) as well as Larry Bright (credited
on AMG to Julianna Bright). According to Bright's bio on AMG:"Once in
the studio, Bright, inspired by Muddy Waters' "mojo song" (he didn't
know the title) decided to make up a mojo song of his own: "Mojo
Workout." After local black-owned Tide Records picked it up, the track
received heavy airplay on KGFJ, the major R&B station in L.A. Jim Randolph, a black disc jockey at the station, thought
Bobby played "Got My Mojo Working" considerably in his days at The Blue Morocco with Sylvia Robinson (of Pillow Talk fame). Bobby replaced Mickey "Guitar" Baker
in Mickey & Sylvia (they, of course, hit with "Love Is Strange"),
Bobby & Sylvia releasing one 45 RPM together, but Bobby being
nicknamed "Mojo" while performing at that venue. You can hear the "Love
Is Strange" guitar riff in Dave "Baby" Cortez's
hit "Rinky Dink" from 1962. That's because it is Bobby Hebb on lead
guitar; Bobby did a LOT of sessions for other artists: soul pioneer Roscoe Shelton, for John Lee Hooker (while Hooker was using another name on the Excello label), spoons for Bo Diddley
as well as the aforementioned Poppa John Gordy (whose son, John Gordy
Jr. became a huge football star), and others. "Rinky Dink" hit #10 in
Billboard August 11, 1962. "Love Is Strange" hit #11 January 12, 1957
for Mickey & Sylvia. Just to give this music a little historical
perspective.
Columbia artist The Cyrkle's performance included covers of The Four Seasons and The Beach Boys, credible covers that showed their falsetto vocal prowess. The group was highly creative. And The Remains on the tape sound like the early Rolling Stones. Barry and Billy Briggs
have appeared on this writer’s television program, Visual Radio, and
we've videotaped the group live, so – again - being able to compare
something from decades before is totally amazing.
Hebb
biographer Joseph Tortelli noted that this month, November 2009, The
Rolling Stones have a 40th Anniversary Boxed Set commemorating “Get Your
Ya Yas Out.” Tortelli feels that the 1969 Rolling Stones tour and the
1966 Beatles/Bobby Hebb tour are two vital and unexplored concert tours.
There’s no argument on that here…in fact, I feel that these tours have
been under appreciated because of the lack of music available to the
public from these giants of the recording industry. There’s no doubt in
my mind that scholars hundreds of years from now will appreciate the
material that sees release, possibly long after those of us living in
this time-line have shed this mortal coil. Just as being with the late Jimmy Miller in the late Allen Klein’s office as Klein’s son Jody played us Sam Cooke
productions in 1986 or 1987…material human ears had not heard in
decades – it was an honor for me to be among the first to hear this
tape, as well as Little Walter DeVenne’s legendary live tape of Jimi Hendrix with Little Richard,
discovered (or made public) by my show, Visual Radio, while
interviewing DeVenne. There’s lots more Beatles stuff in the vaults.
Hoping that this article whets your appetite I remain, Joe Viglione. |
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