‘Sunny’ was a 1966 Hit Soul/Jazz song by Bobby Hebb (1936-2010) that was actually composed in 1963. It was written after Bobby’s older brother, Harold, was stabbed to death outside a Nashville nightclub, the song is inspired by his choice to maintain a sunny disposition in the face of adversity.

We’re going to study this song because it has become a jazz standard as well as a fusion standard. Its a fantastic platform for improvisation and it’s largely diationic chord progression allows you to practice nailing the changes in a safe environment.

Check out the original stuidio recording here… Listen out for the instrumentation and take note of any musical/performance techniques you can hear.

The track was a hit and inspired hundreds of covers (most notably by Cher, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Boney M) as well as inspiring other compositions based of Sunny’s Chord progression; Freddie Hubbard’s ‘Red Clay’ is a prime example of this and we’ll explore that later.

Once you’ve actively listened to the original version (and memorised the lyrics!), you’re ready to go to the next lesson where we’ll explore it.