Thursday, January 12, 2012

Crazy Baby: Bobby Hebb and Alex Chilton

      For at least the last couple of years, the New York Times has devoted the second to last magazine section of the year to all different individuals who have passed away during the year.  In the 2010 edition, the music writer Rob Hoerburger did a nice tribute to Bobby Hebb and Alex Chilton - since they were both Tennessee songwriters who briefly hit it big in the mid 1960s.  I was only familiar with Hebb because he wrote Sunny, so I decided to check out more of his stuff and was not disappointed - especially his early 60s stuff, a lot of which can be found on the Rich Records story compilation.  (He also co-wrote A Natural Man with, of all people, the comic Sandy Baron - best known now for playing Jack Klompus on Seinfeld).  So the more I listened to Hebb's music, the more I thought he and Chilton would make for a nice mixtape.  See what you think.

Download


Thank You John Alex Chilton
I Love Mary Bobby Hebb
Make a Little Love Alex Chilton
Crazy Baby Bobby Hebb
Atlanta, GA Bobby Hebb
Bangkok Alex Chilton
We're Gonna Make It Bobby Hebb
Hook Me Up Alex Chilton
Let's get lost Alex Chilton
For You Bobby Hebb
I Must Be The Devil Box Tops
Got You On My Mind Bobby Hebb
You Don't Know What You Got Until You Lose It Bobby Hebb
Stuff Alex Chilton
This Bird Has Flown Bobby Hebb
Funky National Alex Chilton
Tee Ne Mee Ni Noo / Tip On In Alex Chilton
I Feel So Good Bobby Hebb

4 comments:

J. Loslo said...

Wow. All I knew about Bobby Hebb was "Sunny." This stuff is terrific-- thanks.

Ishkabibliophile said...

@J. Loslo,

Yeah, it's too bad Sunny wasn't more of a springboard for Hebb - maybe it's because Sunny was, as Hoerburger points out in the piece, such a genre-bending song. Alas.

bobbyhebb said...

We're working on the 4 disc Bobby Hebb boxed set. Check out Bobbyhebb.com or http://bobbyhebb.blogspot.com thanks

Ishkabibliophile said...

@bobbyhebb,

Very cool about the boxed set. Hopefully, it'll give his work a much deserved larger audience.