Bobby McFerrin | |
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 McFerrin in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (1950-03-11)March 11, 1950 (age 75) New York City, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | bobbymcferrin |
Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950)[1] is an American singer,songwriter, andconductor. Hisvocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps inpitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rapidly alternating witharpeggios and harmonies—as well asscat singing,polyphonicovertone singing, and improvisationalvocal percussion. He performs and records regularly as an unaccompanied solo vocal artist. He has frequently collaborated with other artists from both the jazz andclassical scenes.[2]
McFerrin's song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is the onlyacapella track to ever reach No. 1 in the US, which it reached in 1988 and additionally wonSong of the Year andRecord of the Year honors at the1989 Grammy Awards.[3] McFerrin has also worked in collaboration withjazz fusioninstrumentalists including pianistsChick Corea (ofReturn to Forever),Herbie Hancock (ofThe Headhunters), andJoe Zawinul (ofWeather Report), drummerTony Williams, and cellistYo-Yo Ma.[2]
McFerrin was born in Manhattan, New York City in 1950, the son of operaticbaritoneRobert McFerrin, who was the firstBlack man to sing at America's flagship opera company – theMetropolitan Opera, and singer Sara Copper (1924–2019). He attendedCathedral High School in Los Angeles,[4]Cerritos College,[5]University of Illinois Springfield (then known as Sangamon State University)[6] andCalifornia State University, Sacramento.[4]
His mother Sara (Copper) McFerrin was a soloist and taught voice atFullerton College in Southern California.[7]
McFerrin's first recorded work, the self-titled albumBobby McFerrin, was not produced until 1982, when he was 31 years old. Before that, he had spent six years developing his musical style, the first two years of which he attempted not to listen to other singers at all, in order to avoid sounding like they sounded. He was influenced byKeith Jarrett, who had achieved great success with a series of solo improvised piano concerts includingThe Köln Concert of 1975, and wanted to attempt something similar vocally.[8]
In 1984, McFerrin performed at the Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles as a sixth member ofHerbie Hancock's VSOP II, sharing horn trio parts with the Marsalis brothers.
In 1986, McFerrin was the voice of Santa Bear inSanta Bear's First Christmas, and in 1987 he was the voice of Santa Bear/Bully Bear in the sequelSanta Bear's High Flying Adventure. On September 24 of that same year, he recorded the theme song for the opening credits of Season 4 ofThe Cosby Show.[9]
In 1988, McFerrin recorded the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy", which became a hit and brought him widespread recognition across the world. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988.[10] The song's success "ended McFerrin's musical life as he had known it," and he began to pursue other musical possibilities on stage and in recording studios.[11] The song was used as the official campaign song forGeorge H. W. Bush in the1988 U.S. presidential election, without McFerrin's permission or endorsement. In reaction, McFerrin publicly protested the use of his song, and said that he was going to vote against Bush. He also dropped the song from his own performance repertoire.[12]
In 1989, McFerrin composed and performed the music for thePixar short filmKnick Knack. The rough cut to which he recorded his vocals had the words "blah blah blah" in place of the end credits (meant to indicate that he shouldimprovise). He decided to sing "blah blah blah" as lyrics, and the final version of the short film includes these lyrics during the end credits. Also in 1989, he formed a ten-person "Voicestra" which he featured on both his 1990 albumMedicine Music and in the score to the 1989 Oscar-winning documentaryCommon Threads: Stories from the Quilt.
Around 1992, anurban legend began that McFerrin had committed suicide; it has been suggested that the false story spread because people enjoyed the irony of a man known for the positive message of "Don't Worry, Be Happy" suffering from depression in real life.[13]
In 1993, he sangHenry Mancini's "Pink Panther Theme" for the 1993 comedy filmSon of the Pink Panther.
In addition to his vocal performing career, in 1994, McFerrin was appointed as creative chair of theSaint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He makes regular tours as a guest conductor for symphony orchestras throughout the United States and Canada, including theSan Francisco Symphony (on his 40th birthday), theNew York Philharmonic, theChicago Symphony Orchestra, theCleveland Orchestra, theDetroit Symphony Orchestra, theIsrael Philharmonic Orchestra, thePhiladelphia Orchestra, theLos Angeles Philharmonic, theLondon Philharmonic, theVienna Philharmonic and many others.[14] In McFerrin's concert appearances, he combines serious conducting of classical pieces with his own vocal improvisations, often with participation from the audience and the orchestra. For example, the concerts often end with McFerrin conducting the orchestra in ana cappella rendition of the "William Tell Overture," in which the orchestra members sing their musical parts in McFerrin's vocal style instead of playing their parts on their instruments.
For a few years in the late 1990s, McFerrin toured a concert version ofPorgy and Bess. He said that his production was partly in honor of his father, who sang the role forSidney Poitier in the 1959film version, and partly "to preserve the score's jazziness" in the face of "largely white orchestras" who tend not "to play around the bar lines, to stretch and bend".[15]
McFerrin also participates in various music education programs and makes volunteer appearances as a guest music teacher and lecturer at public schools throughout the U.S. He has collaborated with his son, Taylor, on various musical ventures.[citation needed]
In July 2003, McFerrin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music fromBerklee College of Music during the Umbria Jazz Festival where he conducted two days of clinics.[16]
In 2009, McFerrin and psychologistDaniel Levitin hostedThe Music Instinct, a two-hour documentary produced byPBS and based on Levitin's best-selling bookThis Is Your Brain on Music. Later that year, the two appeared together on a panel at theWorld Science Festival.
McFerrin was given a lifetime achievement award at the A Cappella Music Awards on May 19, 2018.[citation needed] He received theNational Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters award on August 20, 2020.[citation needed]
McFerrin was honored with theGrammy Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. This award is given to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."[17]
McFerrin is married to Debbie Green and has three children; musiciansTaylor andMadison, and actor Jevon.[18][19][14]
In a 2023 interview withDaniel Levitin, McFerrin revealed that he had been diagnosed withParkinson's disease, prompting him to sell his home in ruralPennsylvania and move toSan Francisco.[20]
As a vocalist, McFerrin often switches rapidly betweenmodal andfalsetto registers to createpolyphonic effects, performing both the mainmelody and the accompanying parts of songs. He makes use of percussive effects created both with his mouth and by tapping on his chest. He is also capable ofmultiphonic singing.[21]
A document of McFerrin's approach to singing is his 1984 albumThe Voice, the first solo vocal jazz album recorded with noaccompaniment oroverdubbing.[22]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Record label | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [23] | US R&B [23] | US Jazz [23] | US Cont. Jazz [23] | AUS [24] | UK [25] | ||||||
| 1982 | Bobby McFerrin | — | — | 41 | — | — | — | Elektra/Musician | |||
| 1984 | The Voice | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1986 | Spontaneous Inventions | 103 | 62 | 6 | 2 | — | — | Blue Note | |||
| 1988 | Simple Pleasures | 5 | 12 | — | 1 | 26 | 92 | EMI | |||
| 1990 | Medicine Music | 146 | — | — | 2 | — | — | ||||
| 1992 | Play (with Chick Corea) | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | Blue Note | |||
| Hush (with Yo-Yo Ma) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sony Masterworks | ||||
| 1995 | Bang!Zoom | — | — | — | 10 | — | — | Blue Note | |||
| Paper Music | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sony Classical | ||||
| 1996 | The Mozart Sessions (with Chick Corea) | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1997 | Circlesongs | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2002 | Beyond Words | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | Blue Note | |||
| 2010 | Vocabularies | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | EmArcy | |||
| 2013 | Spirityouall | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sony Masterworks | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 [26] | US Adult [26] | US R&B [26] | AUS [24] | CAN [27] | UK [25][26] | ||||||
| 1982 | "Moondance / Jubilee" | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ||||
| "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (withPhoebe Snow) | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |||||
| 1988 | "Don't Worry, Be Happy" | 1 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| "Thinkin' About Your Body" | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | 46 | |||||
| "Good Lovin'" | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |||||
| 1990 | "The Garden" | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
