Bobby Hebb (born Robert Von Hebb, July 26, 1938, Nashville, Tennessee) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for his writing and 1966 recording of "Sunny". "Sunny" is the name of a song written by Bobby Hebb. It is one of the most covered popular songs, with hundreds of versions released. BMI rates "Sunny" number 25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century".
Hebb wrote the song after suffering a double tragedy - a national loss followed by a personal one: On 22 November 1963, the day after U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Hebb's older brother Harold was killed in a knife fight outside a Nashville nightclub. Hebb was devastated by both events and many critics say that those events inspired the tune. Others claims Bobby wrote the song for God. Certainly, events influenced Bobby's songwriting, but his timeless melody, crossing over into R&B (#3 on U.S. R&B chart) Country and Pop (#2 on U.S. Pop chart), together with the optimistic lyrics, came from the artist's desire to express that one should always "look at the bright side" - a direct quote from the author. Hebb has said about "Sunny":Bobby Hebb (born Robert Von Hebb, July 26,.