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Robert "Bobby" McFerrin, Jr. may look like a Rastafarian,
but he was actually born in New York City. McFerrin had a music
career well before the some he is most remembered for, and as both a
vocalist and a conductor, he was won ten Grammy Awards. McFerrin
has an interesting vocal technique. Not only does he tap on he tap
on his chest and use his mouth as a beat box, but he also has been known
to use an overtone singing technique as well as falsetto.
Bobby McFerrin's
self-titled
album was released in 1982, although he had collaborated with other
musicians on their albums prior to this release. In the mid
1980's, McFerrin was could also be found doing voice-overs for cartoon
characters, and some of you may remember that he performed the opening
credit for season 4 of The Cosby Show. McFerrin continued
producing throughout the 80's (The
Voice in 1984,
Spontaneous Inventions
in 1985). In 1988, McFerrin released the album
Don't Worry Be Happy.
The title track for this album is the song that McFerrin is most
remembered for. "Don't Worry Be Happy" was the first a cappella
song to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. After George Bush
used the song during his 1988 Presidential run without permission,
McFerrin quit performing the song in protest.
After the success of "Don't Worry Be Happy", McFerrin
decided to branch out to even more eclectic pursuits. He could be
found composing and performing the scores for the silver screen and
television, as well as conducting renown orchestras. And of course
he continued in studio. At the time of this writing, the Bobby
McFerrin Discography was as follows:1982: Bobby McFerrin
1984: The Voice
1987: Spontaneous Inventions
1987: Elephant's Child
1988: Simple Pleasures
1988: Don't Worry, Be Happy
1990: How the Rhino Got His Skin/How the Camel Got His Hump
1990: Medicine Music
1990: Play, with Chick Corea
1991: Many Faces of Bird
1991: "The Siamese Cat Song" on Simply Mad About the Mouse
1992: Hush, with Yo-Yo Ma,
1994: Sorrow Is Not Forever
1995: Paper Music
1995: Bang! Zoom
1996: Best of Bobby McFerrin
1996: The Mozart Sessions, with Chick Corea
1997: Circlesongs
2001: Mouth Music
2002: Beyond Words
2004: Konzert für Europa -The Schönbrunn Concert
2010: VOCAbuLarieS |
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1982
Self-Titled Debut
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DON'T
WORRY BE HAPPY:
[starts] Here's a little song I wrote,
You might want to sing it note for note,
Don't worry, be happy,
In every life we have some trouble,
But when you worry you make it double, Don't
worry, be happy [etc] |
1988
Don't Worry Be Happy
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