Bobby McFerrin
about the artist
SHORT BIO (GENERAL)
Bobby McFerrin, winner of ten Grammys and creator of the #1 global hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, continues to explore uncharted musical territory and connect people through the unlimited possibilities of music. The ever-surprising vocal virtuoso invites you to sing along and join in on a spontaneous adventure fueled by jazz, pop, R&B, classical and world music — or, more accurately, out-of-this-world music — all rolled into one. "Bobby McFerrin's greatest gift to his audience may be changing them from spectators into celebrants," says the Los Angeles Times, "transforming a concert hall into a playground, a village…
MoreSHORT BIO (GENERAL)
Bobby McFerrin, winner of ten Grammys and creator of the #1 global hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, continues to explore uncharted musical territory and connect people through the unlimited possibilities of music. The ever-surprising vocal virtuoso invites you to sing along and join in on a spontaneous adventure fueled by jazz, pop, R&B, classical and world music — or, more accurately, out-of-this-world music — all rolled into one. "Bobby McFerrin's greatest gift to his audience may be changing them from spectators into celebrants," says the Los Angeles Times, "transforming a concert hall into a playground, a village center, a joyous space.
LONG BIO (GENERAL)
To some people, Bobby McFerrin will always be the guy who sang “Don't Worry, Be Happy”. And he is that guy; he wrote and sang that global number one hit more than twenty years ago. But if that song is all you know about Bobby McFerrin, we suggest the following: Go to YouTube, type in Bobby's name, sit back and prepare for a serious boggling of the mind.
There you'll find many delights and some astonishing statistics. You'll join the millions who have marveled at Bobby's stunning rendition of the Bach prelude “Ave Maria”. You'll find Bobby's shockingly inventive appearance on the NBC music program The Sing Off, his unparalleled interpretations of Beatles songs, his collaborations with everyone from cellist Yo-Yo Ma to pianist Chick Corea to comedian Robin Williams, and his condensed version of The Wizard of Oz. You'll see him conducting the Vienna Philharmonic and consorting with the Muppets on Sesame Street. You'll be awed by the way McFerrin brilliantly uses audience participation, most recently to demonstrate the power of the pentatonic scale at the World Science Festival in a performance that became a viral internet phenomenon, seen by over four million people. And that just scratches the surface.
Bobby McFerrin is an eternal seeker, always defying the music industry's practical impulse to pigeonhole artists. His diversity and range are incomparable. Drawing on all genres, demonstrating matchless improvisational skills and an ability to create new vocabularies on the fly, he never fails to dazzle. Yet his music is always accessible and inviting. What is most telling about the journey through his YouTube entries are the comments from fans old and new. "Beautiful-there's no other word to describe this music," said one viewer, while another employed some 30-plus adjectives all meant to convey joy and wonderment. "He is the Johann Sebastian Bach and the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart of today!" wrote yet another, impressed by Bobby's endless creativity. Perhaps the statement that sums it up best is this one: "Bobby McFerrin makes me happy!"
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GIMME5 BIO (SHORT)
Bobby McFerrin, winner of ten Grammys and creator of the #1 global hit “Don’t Worry Be Happy”, continues to explore uncharted musical territory with his new group Gimme5, four virtuosic vocal improvisers who’ve been singing with him for decades in Voicestra. They will invite you to sing along and join in on a spontaneous adventure fueled by jazz, pop, R&B, classical and world music — or, more accurately, out-of-this-world music — all rolled into one. "Bobby McFerrin's greatest gift to his audience may be changing them from spectators into celebrants," says the Los Angeles Times, "transforming a concert hall into a playground, a village center, a joyous space."
GIMME5 BIO (LONG)
For decades Bobby McFerrin has broken all the rules. Always an unlikely pop star, the 10-time Grammy winner has blurred the distinction between pop music and fine art, goofing around barefoot in the world's finest concert halls, exploring uncharted vocal territory, and inspiring a whole new generation of a cappella singers and the beatbox movement. From his trailblazing solo a cappella performances to his inspired collaborations with Chick Corea and Yo-Yo Ma, his iconic global No. 1 hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and his work conducting top-tier orchestras, McFerrin’s calling has always been to connect people through the unlimited possibilities of music. Or, as the Los Angeles Times put it, “Bobby McFerrin’s greatest gift to his audience may be changing them from spectators into celebrants and transforming a concert hall into a playground, a village center, a joyous space.”
Bobby grew up surrounded by music of all kinds. He remembers conducting Beethoven on the stereo at three, hiding under the piano while his father and mother coached young singers, and dancing around the house to Louie Armstrong, Judy Garland, Etta Jones and Fred Astaire. He played the clarinet seriously as a child, but he began his musical career as a pianist, at the age of 14. He led his own jazz groups, studied composition, toured with the show band for the Ice Follies, and played for dance classes. Then one day he was walking home and suddenly he understood that he had been a singer all along. Bobby's history as an instrumentalist and bandleader is key to understanding his innovative approach to mapping harmony and rhythm (as well as melody) with his voice. "I can't sing everything at once," he says, "but I can hint at it so the audience hears even what I don't sing."
The 10-time Grammy-winner’s vocal ensemble Gimme5 is his latest vehicle for channeling the spontaneous adventure and laughter that occurs when folks join together in song — on and off the stage. Gimme5 features Joey Blake, Dave Worm, Rhiannon and Judi Vinar, all trusted veterans of Voicestra, the panoramically gifted 12-member choir that McFerrin founded in the 1980s. With a telepathic rapport and a love for the unknown, they’ll unite in an improvised program based on McFerrin’s sweeping, soulful vocal language: a wide-open, all-embracing space where art music meets pop, jazz meets classical, lyrics meet pure sound, the avant-garde meets the traditional where all the cultures of the world become one.
Gimme5 is based on Circlesinging, a musical practice and philosophy that McFerrin has been honing since he began as a solo a cappella performer, assigning vocal parts to his fans and transforming sold-out houses into impromptu choirs. They will invite you to sing along and join in on a spontaneous adventure fueled by jazz, pop, R&B, classical and world music — or, more accurately, out-of-this-world music — all rolled into one.”