Bobby McFerrin - Band of Man

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Some time ago, the concept of One hit wonder appeared among music lovers. This is the name of an artist who became famous only thanks to one single song. Many rank the hero of this article, Bobby McFerrin, in this category. However, it is worth recognizing that such an opinion about this singer is usually held only by those people who are not very familiar with his work.

The Greatest Hit

Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry Be Happy, released as a single in the late 1980s, is still one of the most played songs on the radio today.

Since the musician no longer had records that would have achieved such commercial success, many music lovers judge his work only by this work. This track is usually included in all collections of the best songs of the eighties.

Confusion

On the Internet you can find many publications in which the performer of this song by Bobby McFerrin is called whoanything but himself. People, posting a track on social networks, often sign it with the names of other artists. Bob Marley is most often erroneously credited as the artist of the song.

In fact, the king of reggae never sang this song. Moreover, it was written and became known to listeners in the late eighties of the XX century, that is, several years after the death of Bob Marley.

Outstanding song

Before we move on to describing other works by Bobby McFerrin, we need to say a few more words about his biggest hit. In 1988, the song hit number one on the Billboard magazine chart. The uniqueness of this case lies in the fact that this composition is performed acapella, that is, without musical accompaniment.

This is the first song of its kind to top the charts.

Exotic origins

The Indian sage and mystic Meher Baba, who became very popular in the second half of the 20th century in the West, used to use the expression: "Don't worry and be happy" in conversations with his students. In the sixties, many postcards and posters were produced that included this phrase.

In 1988, Bobby McFerrin saw this poster in a hotel room where the famous jazz duo Tuck & Patti stayed.

Inspired by the charming simplicity of this slogan, the musician soon wrote a song that was included in the soundtrack of the movie "Cocktail" starring Tom Cruise. This romantic comedy is about a young New York student whoworks in his free time at the bar. One day on the beach, he meets his future wife, an aspiring actress.

The song, released as a single, soon became a popular hit.

Bobby McFerrin has often said in his interviews that the chorus of this song is "a deep philosophy contained in four words". However, soon the artist changed his attitude to the work, he admitted that he was tired of it. The singer has not performed the composition at concerts for many years.

Corporate identity

No other musicians took part in this recording, except for Bobby McFerrin himself. All "instruments" were imitated by the singer's voice. In this case, a technique called overdubbing was used - multiple recording and overlaying one and the same party on top of each other. This method usually results in a powerful "orchestral" sound.

This performance has become a trademark of Bobby McFerrin. Improvisation on well-known themes in this style always delights the audience at the artist's concerts.

Creative career

Bobby McFerrin was born into a family of opera singers and received an excellent musical education. He began his career as a pianist, playing in various jazz ensembles in the late seventies. In 1977, he unexpectedly decided to become a singer. The musician recalls it this way: “I will never forget the moment when an unexpected thought came to my mind:“Bobby, why don’t you sing?”And maybe it’s stupid withmy side, but, I immediately began to work on the realization of my dream.

Then there was a series of musical groups in which he participated already as a vocalist. Singer John Hendrix drew attention to the young performer, who masterfully owns his voice. Bobby McFerrin went on a big concert tour with this artist. After one of the performances, another fateful meeting took place in the life of the singer. He met comedian Bill Crosby, who had a great influence on the formation of the musician's style.

Albums

In 1982, Bobby McFerrin released his first album. The disc was designed in the genre of pop music. The singer failed to show his wonderful vocal technique in full.

Bobby McFerrin quickly realized his mistake, and his next work, en titled "The Voice", was highly acclaimed by music critics.

The singer realized that live performances were his forte. Therefore, this disc was recorded during a concert tour in Germany. All songs on this album are sung acapella, which allows you to appreciate the virtuosity of this artist.

One of the famous music journalists wrote to the subject of this article: McFerrin uses a wide range of vocal techniques. An amazing technique of performance allows you to sing during inhalation and exhalation and be your own choir in the compositions of Blackbird and T. J.

Bobby McFerrin has released 20 albums, including solo works and CDs recorded with suchartists like Yo-Yo Ma and Chick Corea.

He proved himself not only as a jazz performer, but also as a classical musician. The artist often performs with various orchestras as a conductor. Bobby McFerrin concert in Montreal was released in 2003 on DVD.