Sunny

[oneofanotherkind]

I really dig the tune Sunny , and I'm interested in all the great renditions that have been laid down.

So far , I have Hebb's original, Benson's version off of Giblet Gravy , JB's live version, and this amazing

...

Suggestions please !

Edited April 5, 2009 by oneofanotherkind

[GA Russell]

For something different, you might want to find Manfred Mann's instrumental of Sunny from the LP What a Mann.

[Free For All]

FWIW the blowing changes on Freddie's Red Clay (four bar vamp) consist of the same chord sequence as the "A" section of Sunny.

Edited April 3, 2009 by Free For All

[Hardbopjazz]

Stanley Tunrrentine plays a nice version of the tune.

[Hardbopjazz]

The "Godfather:" of soul did a great version

James Brown

[Joe G]

Martino's version on Head And Heart is far more intense than that youtube version.

[jazztrain]

Sonny Criss did a nice one.

Martino's version on Head And Heart is far more intense than that youtube version.

[Larry Kart]

Sonny Criss did a nice one.

Martino's version on Head And Heart is far more intense than that youtube version.

Criss was born to play this tune -- along with several other things that were or could be thought of as blues-ballads.

[Late]

There's a Japanese CD out there (can't remember the label) that's called "Sunny" — with about 20 different covers of the tune on it. Dusty Groove used to carry it.

[Big Al]

I've always been partial to the Ventures version on $1,000,000 Weekend. Ashamed to say I'm not familiar with any jazz versions, and since I dig this tune too, this will be a cool thread to watch.

Can y'all fill me in on which albums I can find these that have been mentioned:

James Brown

Stanley Turrentine

Sonny Criss

[jostber]

Wilson Pickett did a great version on this:

Song story with a list of versions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_(song)

[DMP]

Les McCann's 2 back-to-back versions (originally on Limelight's "Les McCann Plays the Hits," but they show up on various anthologies) are my favorites.

[oneofanotherkind]

Song story with a list of versions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_(song)

Anyone heard the Leonard Nimoy version ?

[paul secor]

If Bobby Hebb kept his business straight, he must have done well with all the royalties over the years.

[danasgoodstuff]

Sunny, Spooky, Stormy: the '60s in a nutshell.

[AllenLowe]

hope this ok to post - but Sunny was the first tune I ever played in public - and here's a pic of me playing it at the Senior Variety Show in High School, 1970 - the guy on guitar is Elliot Easton (then known as Steinberg), later of the Cars -

[danasgoodstuff]

You look like 'the Jimmy Page of the saxophone!'

[AllenLowe]

yeah, well, don't ask for any fish stories -

[JSngry]

Per AMG, in 1990, BMI named "Sunny" as the 18th most performed song of all time from their catalog. AMG also lists 979 verions of "Sunny", but not all of them are the Hebb tune. But it looks like most of them are.

Also per AMG, this tidbit, of which I had no idea:

Bobby Hebb's influence goes far beyond "Sunny." When he joined Roy Acuff's Smokey Mountain Boys around 1952 in Nashville, he was one of the first African American artists to perform on The Grand Ole Opry before Charley Pride.

[Chuck Nessa]

Allen looks like he's about to be attacked in that pic. Nice to know he survived.

[AllenLowe]

well, Elliot's rich and famous and I'm up here in Maine - not sure if that's survival -

[John L]

Sam Baker recorded a great version at Sound Stage 7.

[Noj]

The Pat Martino version from Live! is a great one.

[PHILLYQ]

The Pat Martino version from Live! is a great one.

Second that- killer solo by PM on that, as intense as they come.