Legendary Composer speaks in Rockport
by Joe Viglione
Songwriter Bobby Hebb gave a talk and performance on
Tuesday, May 13, 2003, at the Emerson Inn by the Sea
in Rockport, Massachusetts.
This was part of the "KnowYour Neighbor" series promoted by Leslie Wind which over the past two years has brought people of interest
from the Cape Ann area to the hotel. Bobby "broke all
attendance records" according to Ms. Wind, and the
singer whose song "Sunny" hit #1 in Cashbox in 1966
gave the audience fascinating bits and pieces of his
life while painting the stories with beautiful piano
lines before going into the full performance of a song.
He opened with Jimmy Van Heusen's "Here's That Rainy
Day" (one could see it was still cloudy outside in
this beautiful room overlooking the Atlantic Ocean)
and followed that with "I'll Do Anything For You" from
his 1970 Love Games album on Epic. It was a
biographical trip down memory lane a la Kinks'
frontman Ray Davies' evenings of stories and song, but
this was even more special as friends and neighbors
were up close and personal hearing about life on the
road with the "King of the Hillbillies", Roy Acuff, or
how Bobby learned the piano from his parents, both
blind people. Since it was a couple of days after
Mother's Day Hebb talked about roots, and was specific
that it was not a racial term but that he was talking
about the love we have for our moms and dads, our own
personal roots.
Scheduled to be a forty-five minute event, the
intimate and insightful chat ran from 7 PM to 8:30 in
the function hall outside of the dining room.
Bobby>talked about touring with The Beatles in 1966,
performing with Sylvia Robinson of "Pillow Talk" fame
-Hebb replaced Mickey Baker in the duo that hit with
"Love Is Strange" so Mickey & Sylvia became
Bobby & Sylvia - and the singer gave deep insight on
the creation of two legendary songs. He played his
original version of "A Natural Man" then went into the
tempo that won Lou Rawls a Grammy for his rendition of
that Sandy Baron co-write. Bobby also told the crowd
about the Broadway show he was writing with the late
comedian, Baron, embellishing his stories with runs on
the piano and more songs. The "Sunny" tale was, of
course, most interesting. Realizing at the end of the
evening that he had played only portions of "Sunny",
Bobby went back to the piano and played an exquisite
and lengthy version. It may be the only time he has
ever performed that song on piano in public. The #25
all time song of BMI, the Performance Rights
Organization, is always performed by Hebb on guitar.
The "Know Your Neighbor" series has included a
lecture by concentration camp survivor Will Schick, as
well as performances by the trio "John, JOsh &
Caroline" and author of "Avenging Annie" Andy Pratt.
Future dates in the series can be obtained by phoning
the Inn at 1-800-964-5550 or by e mailing Leslie Wind