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 ) that Bobby and his producer, Jerry Ross - along with arranger Joe Renzetti, craft something that would fit in with label-mate Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane of Spanky and Our Gang, as well as 98.6 Keith (James Barry Keefer)
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)
Where Are You
Sung by
Where did you go without me
I thought you cared about me
Where are you
Where is my heart
Where is the dream we started
I can't believe we parted
Where are you
When we say goodbye
What had we to gain
When I gave you my love
Was it all in vain
All my dream
Must I go on pretending
Where is my happy ending
Where are you
Where is my heart
Where is the dream we started
I can't believe we parted
Where are you
When we say goodbye love
What have we to gain
When I give you my love
Was it all in vain
All I knew
Must I go pretending
Where is my happy ending
Where are you
Oh Baby
Baby baby baybayyyy
Where are you
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.
