Sunny Girl

"Sunny Girl" is a song written by Benny Andersson, which was recorded and released as the Swedish rock group Hep Stars tenth single in March 1966. Their second original song after "No Response", it was the song which made Andersson believe in himself as a songwriter, with support from their manager Åke Gerhard. As a result, almost all singles by the Hep Stars following "Sunny Girl" are original compositions. Nonetheless, the single became a huge success in Sweden, reaching number 1 on both Kvällstoppen and Tio i Topp, their first to do so since "Bald Headed Woman" in mid-1965. It was the Hep Stars only top-10 single outside of the Nordic countries, as it reached number 4 in the Netherlands in 1968. Another Swedish group, the Telstars, reached Svensktoppen with a translation of the song in September 1966. Andersson has since stated dislike for the lyrics. Background In 1965 alone, the Hep Stars had accumulated six top-10 singles, of which three were number ones. However, most of this material were covers, and the band had been heavily criticized by Swedish media and other bands for this. So Andersson introduced them "No Response", which was his first composition. The song was a success, reaching number 2 on Kvällstoppen in October 1965. However, the following single was "So Mystifying" written by Ray Davies of the Kinks, which once again brought them back to recording covers as singles, largely because Andersson was not satisfied with "No Response", which made him doubt his songwriting talents. "So Mystifying" and the follow-up, "Should I", still became hits on Kvällstoppen, reaching number 5 and 2 respectively. Hep Stars were still doing heavy touring across Sweden during this time, but as they were almost equally as successful in Norway, they embarked on a tour there as well. On 10 February 1966, they arrived at Vinger Hotel, Kongsvinger. After unpacking and checking in to their rooms, the band sans Andersson went to the restaurant inside the establishment. Andersson however, went to the ballroom of the hotel, lit up several candles and started playing his piano. After several hours, he had come up with the melody of "Sunny Girl". In comparison to "No Response", "Sunny Girl" was a huge leap forward for the band, because unlike the rock and roll influenced "No Response", "Sunny Girl" drew inspiration from Classical music and is as a result baroque pop.