Bobby McFerrin is a well-known folk-jazz vocalist who is best known for his vocal percussion and cappella singing, as well as his hit song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. was born on March 11, 1950, in Manhattan, New York, to Robert McFerrin Sr., an American operatic baritone and the first African American man to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and Sara Cooper, a soprano and a Metropolitan Opera judge who chaired the vocal department at Fullerton College.
McFerrin was interested in becoming a minister of music because he was surrounded by musical talent. He studied music theory and received formal musical training on the clarinet. McFerrin Sr. was hired in 1958 to dub Sidney Poitier’s singing in Otto Preminger’s film adaptation of George Gershwin’s classic folk opera “Porgy and Bess.” The family relocated to L.A. McFerrin Jr. attended Cerritos College in Norwalk, California, and California State University after graduating from Cathedral High School in Los Angeles in 1968. After college, he joined the Ice Follies ice-skating show as a pianist and organist.
After years of developing his musical style, McFerrin produced his first recording, a self-titled debut album, Bobby McFerrin, in 1982. McFerrin released The Voice in 1984, followed by Spontaneous Inventions in 1985, which featured Herbie Hancock and Manhattan Transfer. McFerrin’s album Simple Pleasures was released in 1988, and the lead single, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” became a hit.
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” was the first a capella song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it remained for two weeks. The song reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks chart, number 7 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 1 in Canada. McFerrin won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1988 for “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” as well as Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male.
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McFerrin, a 10-time Grammy Award winner, provided the voice of Santa Bear in the 1986 film Santa Bear’s First Christmas and the 1987 sequel Santa Bear/Bully Bear’s High-Flying Adventure. In addition, McFerrin collaborated with Judy Collins on the PBS special Sing Out America! In 1989, he composed and performed music for the Pixar short film Knick Knack. McFerrin later sang the “Pink Panther Theme” for the film Son of the Pink that year.
McFerrin was named creative chair of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota in 1994. McFerrin is married with three children and conducts symphony orchestras across the United States and Canada as a guest conductor. He also participates in musical collaborations with his son Taylor and volunteers as a guest music teacher and lecturer at public schools. McFerrin received a lifetime achievement award at the A Cappella Music Awards on May 19, 2018, and the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters award on August 20, 2020.
