NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bobby Hebb, known for the 1966 pop music classic “Sunny,” died Tuesday. He was 72 and had lung cancer.
The song’s key lines:
“Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain.
“Sunny, you smiled at me and really eased the pain.
“The dark days are gone and the bright days are here.
“My sunny one shines so sincere.
“Sunny one so true, I love you.”
Hebb has said that he wrote “Sunny” in response to the slaying of his brother outside a club and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy a few days before.
On his 69th birthday in 2007, he recalled that he was living and performing in New York City at the time he wrote the song.
“I was intoxicated,” Hebb said. “I came home and started playing the guitar. I looked up and saw what looked like a purple sky. I started writing because I’d never seen that before.”
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