Bobby Hebb, 1963

On Saturday, April 18, 2020, more than 20 million people watched a special TV concert called “One World: Together At Home.” The purpose of the concert was to thank healthcare workers and raise money for the World Health Organization (WHO). Famous performers like Elton John and Lady Gaga sang their favorite songs, all performing from home.
Billie Eilish, an 18-year-old American singer and songwriter, sang “Sunny” while her brother played the piano. The song was popular more than 50 years ago, so most  young people had never heard it before. On social media, however, they shared that they really liked it.

Choose from the following activities:

• Listening  Watch Billie Eilish’s performance of “Sunny” on YouTube. The words are a little difficult to understand, so assure students it’s OK if they don’t understand every word. They will read the words to the song later in this lesson.
• Reading  Read the high-beginning story behind the 1963 song.
• Reading  Read the lyrics to the song “Sunny” by Bobby Hebb and fill in the missing words. This gap-fill exercise targets the rhyming words. Lyrics intended for nonprofit educational use only.

Sunny, lyrics.docx            Sunny, lyrics.pdf

• Listening  Listen to Bobby Hebb sing “Sunny” while reading the lyrics above.
• Singing  Listen to Bobby Hebb’s recording again. This time, sing along.
• Discussion  Billie Eilish said the song “Sunny” makes her feel good. Students share the title of a song that makes them feel good. If there is a performance on YouTube that they especially like, they could share that, too.