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Bobby Hebb, 1938-1972
Bobby Hebb is best known for writing the hit song “Sunny,” which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966. By the artist’s own count, some 500 different versions of “Sunny” were recorded by artists in a wide variety of genres. He was born and raised in Nashville, one of eight children from a musical family. He began playing music at age 3 in a gospel group that included his siblings and his parents, both of whom were blind. As a teenager, Hebb performed and toured with Roy Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys and regularly appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. Following his success with “Sunny,” he went on to tour with the Beatles.