Produced by Jerry Ross, Arranged by Joe Renzetti, the team from the "Sunny" album,
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/4gV6udxJ0qa7AxawFVBaGc
YouTube https://youtu.be/m4vjNeZKYVs?list=RDm4vjNeZKYVs
%20Bobby%20Hebb%20-%20Love%20Me%20(1966)%20-%20YouTube.png)
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/4gV6udxJ0qa7AxawFVBaGc
YouTube https://youtu.be/m4vjNeZKYVs?list=RDm4vjNeZKYVs
%20Bobby%20Hebb%20-%20Love%20Me%20(1966)%20-%20YouTube.png)
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/4gV6udxJ0qa7AxawFVBaGc
Where Are You, Track 2 on the original Sunny album
Where Are You?
Liner notes by Joe Viglione, 4:12 am St. Patty's Day March 17, 2026
Sublime "Sunshine Pop" production from Jerry Ross, the master of the genre, this song was written the year before Bobby Hebb was born (in 1937, Hebb's birthday July 26, 1938.) Written for the film Top of the Town - composed by Jimmy McHugh, with lyrics by Harold Adamson, Mr. Hebb crossed musical boundaries, his 2nd hit being country - "A Satisfied Mind" (a #1 hit for Porty Wagoner 11 years earlier in 1955, which we will discuss later A Satisfied Mind by Porter Wagoner - Songfacts https://www.songfacts.com/facts/porter-wagoner/a-satisfied-mind )
Bobby's voice at about 27 years of age in 1965/1966 is a man singing beyond his age, with the perfect voicings of Ashford and Simpson along with Melba Moore providing the back-ups. It would have been a great follow-up to "Sunny" with the up=tempo pop feel - the c & w of "A Satisfied Mind" perhaps too much of a jolt for 1966 radio, though "Sunny" did get some country action according to Kal Rudman's liner notes and A.I. in 2026: (No. 39 on the Billboard chart and No. 40 on the R&B chart)
"Where Are You?" displays Bobby's incredible interpretive skills - taking a song from the 30's and placing it in the 1960's without skipping a beat.
(from A.I.
Lyrics on Spotify
Where Are You - song and lyrics by Bobby Hebb | Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/track/1CuGCguJeH7A4YbUOs2Bfa
"Where Are You?" is a popular song composed by Jimmy McHugh, with lyrics by Harold Adamson. The song was written for the 1937 film Top of the Town and was originally performed by Gertrude Niesen.[1] Niesen also made a commercial recording of the song for Brunswick Records and this was popular.[2]
"Where Are You?" has been recorded by many performers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Are_You%3F_(1937_song)
Sung by
Liner Notes by Joe Viglione | JoeViglione.com
https://joeviglione.com/?page_id=392
Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny” (Philips 40365) has captivated generations with its immaculate melody and philosophy to always look at the bright side. Though many have speculated that Hebb wrote the song for God or for his brother and mentor, Hal Hebb, the singer has stated many times the tune is about a “sunny disposition.” And though this one title loved by millions led to Bobby touring with The Beatles in 1966 and brought the Hebb name to prominence, the eleven other performances on the album are also of great substance and filled with entertainment value.
“Sunny” became a #1 hit in Cashbox Magazine and #2 in Billboard the week of Bobby Hebb’s 28th birthday, July 26, 1966. Less than four months later track #7, “A Satisfied Mind”, would break the Billboard Top 40. The song was a #1 Country hit for Porter Wagoner eleven years earlier, but more important to Bobby, it was in the repertoire of Roy Acuff, the man called “the king of the hillbillies.” It was as a member of Acuff’s band that Hebb appeared on the Grand Ole Opry A third hit from the album, “Love Love Love”, was co-written by the album’s producer, Jerry Ross along with Joe Renzetti, the album’s arranger. “Love, Love, Love” (the flip side of “A Satisfied Mind) became a hit recording in England in 1972, six years after its initial release. The “Northern Soul” phenomenon started in Europe has also brought attention to this important work. “Crazy Baby” (Philips 40421) became a third release from the album with a brilliant non-lp B side co-written by the great Kenny Gamble and Jerry Ross, a song entitled “Love Me” which is a kind of second-cousin to “Sunny”, if you will.
Kenny Gamble composed “You Don’t Know What You Got Until You Lose It” with producer Jerry Ross, as essential as Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil’s contribution on the album’s shortest track, “Good Good Lovin’ “, as vital as the legendary Van McCoy’s album closer, the elegant and Drifter’s-styled “For You.”
Though in the new millenium Mr. Hebb is still the “song a day man”, his vast repertoire was not tapped for the dozen tunes that appeared on his debut lp, in fact only “Crazy Baby” along with “Yes Or No Or Maybe Not” joined the classic “Sunny” as ideas from the singer’s fountain pen. And though “Love Love Love” and “A Satisfied Mind” have shown up on various compilations and continue to get attention, it is “Sunny” that has maintained classic status being awarded the #25 position on BMI’s Top 100 Songs of The Century. That organization credits “Sunny” with at least 5 million performances, wonderful acknowledgment for a composition that crosses genres and keeps finding chart action decade after decade. Cher and Georgie Fame had British hits with “Sunny”, while Mieko Hiroto actually charted in Japan with a version prior to Bobby Hebb’s rendition. Yambu found fame on the 1970s dance floors with this melody, as did Boney M. who hit #1 in Germany with “Sunny” in 1977. The Boogie Pimps sampled the Boney M. version in 2003 and hit with it in 2004..
Recorded by hundreds of artists from Vibraphonist Dave Pike to Frank Sinatra & Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Pat Martino, Stan Kenton, Herbie Mann, Frankie Valli, Roger Williams and so many others, the song and this album have a secure place in popular culture. Hearing the composition as interpreted by others is fascinating and a treat, but it is Bobby Hebb’s original “Sunny” with backing vocals by his friends Melba Moore, Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson that endures.
(C)2004 Joe Viglione http://www.joeviglione.com
DID YOU KNOW? Thirty eight years after the world first discovered “Sunny”, Hip-O Select is releasing it the week of the birthday of the creator of this great song (coincidentally, a man born in 1938). Thirty Eight years to the week when Sunny hit #1 in Cashbox.
Legendary Composer speaks in Rockport
Enhanced photo of Bobby Hebb with the Remains August 18 1966 on the Beatles show at Suffolk Downs Revere/Boston MA https://joeviglione.substack.com/p/the-beat-article-on-bobby-hebb-and Rare photo of Bobby Hebb at Suffolk Downs August 18, 1966 on the Beatles tour, Barry and the Remains backing Bobby up on an extended version of "Sunny" Thanks to Erik Taros who worked on "Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years", the Beatles documentary directed by Ron Howard and the Peter Jackson Beatles' film GET BACK
https://joeviglione.substack.com/p/the-beat-article-on-bobby-hebb-and the Beat Article on Bobby Hebb and the Beatles
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1760612917508950
https://www.amazon.com/Ticket-Ride-Extraordinary-Diary-Beatles/dp/0964645246/ref=sr_1_1#
The lead singer - BARRY TASHIAN - of the opening band - THE REMAINS - on the Beatles' last tour shares his tour journal, as well as never-before-seen photographs of The Beatles, first-hand accounts and much, much more.
The Beatles staged their third and final concert tour of North America in August 1966. It consisted of 18 performances, with 16 shows in United States venues and two in Canada.
*Bobby Hebb and the other acts performed in Cincinnati on the 20th, the Beatles played the next day on the 21st due to rain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles%27_1966_US_tour
Bobby did perform on the 20th of August in Cincinnati ....the Beatles performed the next day The support acts on The Beatles’ final tour – The Remains, Bobby Hebb, The Cyrkle, and The Ronettes – had all performed the day before, prior to the downpour beginning. The Beatles were the only act to play on this day, after which they flew 341 miles to St Louis, Missouri to perform an evening concert. https://www.beatlesbible.com/1966/08/21/live-crosley-field-cincinnati/
The Beatles at Shea Stadium 11 cities 16th Show Bobby Hebb and the Beatles The time is 8:10pm. The Remains come on and everyone screams for the Beatles. They sing “Money” and everyone is mad because, I think, it is generally thought of as a Beatles song. All the deejays take turns introducing each other. Then they introduce Bobby Hebb, who sings his hit, “Sunny.” Again, come on all the deejays, this time to introduce the Cyrkle.
https://joeviglione.substack.com/p/august-23-1966-the-beatles-shea-stadium
When they mention Brian Epstein as a manager, everyone screams. Everyone loves the Cyrkle – they are really terrific. They sing their two hits, among others, but play it smart and don’t sing any Beatles songs. After them come the Ronettes. They sing “Shout” (with their other big hits) and we almost boo them off. Finally, Cousin Bruice gets on and says, “Now here’s what you’ve all been waiting for.” And the screams come. The time is 9:17pm. Here they come. First George, then John, Ringo and Paul, in their brown and beige chalk-striped suits with regular shoes, not boots. They begin – so does the roar. At first, I can’t tell what they are singing, then I hear “Rock and Roll music” and I scream. I realize I can’t see Ringo. I go into the big dividing aisle and run down to the center – almost directly above the dugout. Then I slip under a guard and run forward to the front. I still can’t see, so I stand up on the metal railings between the seats. I am leaning on a girl’s head, but I don’t think she feels anything. She just keeps sobbing one word over and over: Ringo. https://joeviglione.substack.com/p/august-23-1966-the-beatles-shea-stadium
