August 1966 was a big month for “Sunny.” Bobby Hebb’s soulful new song climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the biggest hits of the summer.
Just months later, the song would take on another life thousands of miles away, as Chris Noel, a young actress, singer, and iconic Armed Forces personality, began performing it for American troops in Vietnam.
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View this post on InstagramKnown to many as the “Voice of Vietnam,” Noel completed eight tours to the war zone between 1966 and 1971. Her active involvement included visiting troops during two of Bob Hope’s traditional USO Christmas shows and hosting A Date With Chris, a popular Top 40 music show broadcast through the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. In fact, Noel became the first woman broadcaster on Armed Forces Radio since World War II.
“I just think that war is hell, no matter who is fighting or where the wars are,” she said per her website. “But sometimes I think you have to have war in order to have peace. What you really need to know is how important our veterans are when they come back. How they should be treated with dignity, because that’s what they gave to you; their dignity. And they made a vow that they would give up their life for you.”
During her live appearances at remote bases and other military installations, one song became as synonymous with Noel as her signature greeting, “Hi, love.” And that was the 1966 soul standard “Sunny.”
Shimmying through rows of soldiers and even stopping to perch on some of their laps, Noel would customize the lyrics to the song on the spot, weaving in the actual names of the GIs sitting before her. She did it so often, “Sunny” became a Noel standard.
According to The Washington Post, the soldiers were affected by Noel’s performances in different ways, with some blushing and others being moved to tears by Noel’s deeply emotional touch of home. But even though the song had a sunny disposition and brought hope to those who heard it, it was actually born from a dark time in its writer’s life.
Penned by Bobby Hebb, whose own 1966 recording became the song’s breakthrough hit, “Sunny” remains ambiguous in its inspiration—its lyrics could pertain to anyone or anything. According to Songfacts, the song is often linked to the death of Hebb’s brother, Harold, who was murdered outside a Nashville nightclub on Nov. 23, 1963, which is also the day after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The tragedy deeply affected Hebb, although he later described the song as coming to him during a late-night burst of inspiration about comfort, love, and survival.
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“I was working at Brandy’s, a bar and restaurant in New York City on 84th close to Second Avenue,” Hebb said, explaining the genesis of the song, per the outlet. “I was under the influence of Tennessee Sipping Whiskey, highly under the influence. As a matter of fact, I was so under the influence that I was afraid to try to go to sleep. And I looked up, and I saw a purple sky. I had my guitar in my hand, and without touching a pencil, I started writing it. And that’s how the song was born. I hit the nail right on the head.”
Hebb then recorded the song with producer Jerry Ross, with Joe Renzetti handling the arrangement. The result, a classic mid-tempo soul-jazz standard with an infectious beat and a sophisticated R&B groove, was a smash.
Released in mid-1966, the tune not only peaked at No. 2 in the U.S. in late August, blocked only by The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City,” but it went all the way to the top of the Cash Box chart. Its success even led to Hebb landing a spot as an opening act on The Beatles’ final U.S. tour that month.
The soul standard went on to become one of pop music’s most-recorded compositions, with hundreds of versions by artists ranging from Frank Sinatra, Cher, and Marvin Gaye to Stevie Wonder and James Brown, who all put their own spins on the classic song. But perhaps none more unique than Noel, whose improvised renditions offered soldiers something they desperately needed: that vital reminder of home.
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