Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Bobby Hebb dies at 72; writer and singer of '66 hit 'Sunny'

Bobby Hebb, a musician and songwriter whose 1966 hit "Sunny" about a smiling girl became a pop music classic, died Tuesday of lung cancer at a Nashville hospital. He was 72.

"Sunny" was recorded by many other singers, including Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett, James Brown, Frank Sinatra and Jose Feliciano. Hebb's version reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop charts.

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 had said in several interviews that he wrote "Sunny" in response to the slaying of his brother Harold outside a Nashville nightclub and to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy a few days before.

After a Japanese artist had a hit with the song in Asia and vibraphone player Dave Pike recorded it in the United States, Hebb recorded the vocals at Bell Sound in New York.

At the height of the song's popularity, Hebb toured with the Beatles in the United States.

In 1971, Lou Rawls won a Grammy award for "A Natural Man," written by Hebb and Sandy Baron.

As recently as 2007, Hebb was still writing songs and had his own publishing company and record label, Hebb Cats.

Hebb was born in 1938 to blind parents who were gospel-singing musicians. Raised in Nashville, Hebb became one of the first black musicians to perform on the Grand Ole Opry show in the 1950s. He also played spoons and danced with Roy Acuff's country band, the Smoky Mountain Boys.

In 1955 he joined the Navy and played trumpet in a military jazz band. He also played guitar, piano and percussion.

Survivors include a daughter and four sisters.

Rachel Zoe says she's 'better off' after firing Taylor Jacobson for allegedly stealing from her

BY Cristina Everett
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The drama that unfolded after the firing of celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe's sharp-tongued fashion assistant, Taylor Jacobson, finally came to light Tuesday night.

During the season premiere of "The Rachel Zoe Project," Jacobson was accused of swiping and never returning the company's high-priced designer merchandise.

Zoe's husband Roger, who now works for the company, discovered the mishap and handed the pink slip to Jacobson, who never makes an appearance on the episode.

"Not much shocks me in my life, but this is one of the things that has really shocked me the most in my life and my career, for sure," Zoe wrote on her Bravo blog, adding that she has not spoken to Jacobson since the incident occurred last November.

On the show, Zoe noticeably feels betrayed having built such a strong friendship with Jacobson over the past four years.

Despite the loss of a friend and employee, Zoe acknowledges that her company "is actually better off" without the disgruntled Jacobson, who was better known for her combative personality often aimed at co-worker Brad Goreski.

"We just have a really happy work environment, everyone works extremely hard and laughs all day," Zoe wrote in the blog. "There are no fights, there are no slamming doors, there is no negative energy anywhere, which is quite wonderful. It's almost like I forgot what it's like to have a work environment like that."

Ouch. Even though Jacobson is no longer an employee at Rachel Zoe, Inc., the bleached blond seems to continue being a thorn in Zoe's side throughout the season. Not only did Zoe learn that her reps took on Jacobson as a client, but a teaser clip hints that Jacobson got a chance to style an actress for the Golden Globes in January.

Due to a confidentiality agreement, Jacobson has kept her side of the story to herself. However, she did tell TVGuide.com that stealing the company's merchandise would not make sense.

"I will say this: I don't fit into sample sizes!" Jacobson told the Web site in July. "Where did that even come from? I'm not a size zero. I have 34-D boobs! Models are flat. I don't fit into samples. I don't understand. It's the weirdest thing to me. I'm fat."

Whatever the truth really is, Zoe said she believes that "everything happens for a reason."

"At the end of the day I do have an incredible husband that has always lived by the mantra, 'Karma is a bitch, and it always comes back around,'" writes Zoe. "And it has already and it will continue to do so."

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

The Bachelorette Finale: Who Did Ali Choose?

After 10 rose ceremonies and the unexpected departure of two different suitors, Ali Fedotowsky's final choice was surprisingly easy for her: She avoided the customary dueling proposals and told Chris not to bother proposing, because she loved only Roberto.

Ali's all-or-nothing campaign seems to have worked: Roberto had the same feelings for her.

Host Chris Harrison previously hinted at the ending, telling TVGuide.com, "It's not your typical proposal day."

At least, not your typically Bachelorette proposal day, what with only one guy proposing and all. It was actually kind of... normal.

What do you think of Ali's surprising decision?