Bobby Hebb - Hard Hard Promises - Soul Direction
 
B/W - Alice Clark - Hard Hard Promises - LISTEN HERE
 
 
Release Date: 11th October 2025
Pre Order Date: Tuesday 30th September.
 
PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO A CLERICAL ERROR “Alice Clark”E” IS A grammatical error on the part of Soul Direction but has been post approved by Mainstream Music for which we greatly appreciate.
 
 
The Song “Hard, Hard Promises” showcased on this latest Soul Direction release, showcases Bobby Hebb’s song writing talents and brings together the album only release performed by Alice Clark and the Unreleased demo version sung by Bobby Hebb himself. Incidentally the studio dub was entitled “Hard Heart Promises”. We don’t know if he ever intended to release the song himself, but it showcases his talent as a songwriter and a singer. After a few conversations with Universal Licensing, they graciously allowed Soul Direction to release this version and with the consent of Bobby Hebb’s Publishing Company. To both these, we are extremely grateful.
 
Bobby Hebb
 
Robert Von “Bobby” Hebb was born in Nashville, Tennessee July 26th, 1938. His parents, William and Ovalla Hebb, were both blind musicians. Bobby and his older brother, Harold Hebb, performed as a song-and-dance team in Nashville beginning when Bobby was three and Harold was nine. Bobby Hebb made his stage debut on his third birthday, July 26, 1941, when tap dancer Harold “Hal” Hebb introduced his little brother to show business at the Bijou Theatre. After various and curious music gig’s including playing spoons in Roy Acuff’s Band, Bobby Hebb got to sing backup on Bo Diddley’s “Diddley Daddy”. Later Hebb played “West-coast-style” trumpet in a United States Navy jazz band and later replaced Mickey Baker in Mickey and Sylvia. Move swiftly to the 1960’s and on November 23, 1963, the day after John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Bobby Hebb’s brother, Harold, was killed in a knife fight outside a Nashville nightclub. Hebb was devastated by both events and sought comfort in song writing. This led to him writing what was to become his biggest and best-known hit “Sunny”. The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 3 on the R&B charts, and No. 12 in the United Kingdom.
When Hebb toured with The Beatles in 1966, “Sunny” was, at the time of the tour, ranked higher than any Beatles song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Bobby had a few lesser-known songs such as “Love, Love, Love” and “You Want to Change Me”, both having better success on the Northern Soul Scene. Hebb continued to live in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, until his death at age 72. On August 3, 2010, Hebb died from lung cancer.
 
Alice Clark
 
Little is known about her life outside her brief music career between 1968 and 1972. Alice grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York City. According to Billy Vera, who wrote and produced her first record, she belonged to a religious cult and rumour was, she could not bath or wash her hair, but this was never truly established beyond doubt. Her first record, pairing two Vera songs, “You Got a Deal” and “Say You’ll Never (Never Leave Me)”, was recorded in 1968 at the Jubilee Records studio with musicians including Vera and Butch Mann (guitars), Jimmy Tyrell (bass), Earl Williams (drums), Money Johnson (trumpet). Produced by Vera, it was released on the Rainy-Day label owned by Chip Taylor and Al Gorgoni. Later the same year, Clark recorded “You Hit Me (Right Where It Hurt Me)” and “Heaven’s Will (Must Be Obeyed)”, both arranged by Richard Tee and produced by George Kerr. Released on Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Records, “You Hit Me” – co-written by Sylvia Moy and first recorded by Kim Weston at Motown but was not a hit at the time. In 1972, Bob Shad of Mainstream Records signed Clark to record an LP with arranger Ernie Wilkins. Produced by Shad, the album, Alice Clark, was recorded at the Record Plant in New York and included three songs written by Bobby Hebb. This track by Alice being one of the Hebb Penned tracks. The session musicians on the album included guitarist Cornell Dupree, keyboardist Paul Griffin, and drummer Bernard Purdie. The album was relatively unsuccessful, and Clark made no more recordings after the album. She retired from the music industry after the commercial failure of the album and returned to family life in Bedford-Stuyvesant. She died from cancer in 2004, aged 57. Sleeve Notes Edited by Soul Direction from various sources. Label and sleeve design by Jordan Wilson Bobby Hebb version edited by Green Door Studios and additional mastering by Swift Mastering Ltd. Alice Clark version mastered by Swift Mastering Ltd.