File:Bobby_McFerrin_photo_by_Szaniszlo_Ivor_2.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Bobby McFerrin
Sign in to saveAlso known as El Boquerón Tostao, Robert Keith McFerrin, Jr., Robert McFerrin, Jr., Robert Keith McFerrin
American jazz vocalist and composer (born 1950)
OverviewAI-generated
Bobby McFerrin, born Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. in Manhattan in 1950, is an American singer, conductor, jazz musician, and recording artist. He began his professional work period in 1970. McFerrin has been educated at the Juilliard School, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, California State University, Sacramento, and the University of Illinois at Springfield. He studied under Gustav Meier.
His musical output spans jazz, vocal music, classical music, and a cappella genres. He performs on piano, clarinet, bass guitar, and voice. McFerrin has released recordings with Elektra, Blue Note, and Sony Classical. Notable works include "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and "The Voice." He has received the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male, the Grammy Award for Song of the Year, the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, and the NEA Jazz Masters award.
Synthesized by Vinony from 39 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 2
Top works
- Don't worry, be happy
- The Elephant's Child
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · Manhattan, New York, USA
Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American jazz vocalist. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rapidly alternating with arpeggios and harmonies—as well as scat singing, polyphonic overtone singing, and improvisational vocal percussion. He is widely known for…
Known for
- Bobby McFerrin - Circlesongs — himself2018
- Chick Corea: The Musician — Self2017
- What Would Beethoven Do? — Self2016
- The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble — Self2016
- Alive Inside2014
- Bobby McFerrin Spirityouall au festival Jazz a Vienne2014
- Bobby McFerrin - Alfa Jazz Festival 2013 — Himself Vocals2013
- Bobby McFerrin & Chick Corea Duet - Jazz A Vienne — Himself2012
- Hamburg Journal — self2011
- Masterclass — Self2010
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1950
Discography
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 921,343
- Total plays
- 6,535,460
Tags
Bobby McFerrin (born New York City, March 11, 1950) is a jazz-influenced a cappella vocal performer and conductor. A ten-time Grammy Award winner, he is one of the world's best known vocal innovators and improvisers. His song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" (featured in the 1988 movie Cocktail, and the 2005 movie Jarhead) was a #1 U.S. pop hit in 1988. He has also worked in collaboration with instrumental performers including pianist Chick Corea and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Mutation in blood coagulation factor V associated with resistance to activated protein C
· 1994 · cited 2,893x
- Recent Advances in Two-Dimensional Materials beyond Graphene
· 2015 · cited 2,536x
- The
<i>Chlamydomonas</i>
Genome Reveals the Evolution of Key Animal and Plant Functions
· 2007 · cited 2,369x
- A SAS Procedure Based on Mixture Models for Estimating Developmental Trajectories
· 2001 · cited 1,960x
- Measurement and analysis of online social networks
· 2007 · cited 1,917x
via Crossref · CC0
Key facts
- Born
- Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. , ( 1950-03-11 ) March 11, 1950 (age 76) , New York City , U.S.
- Genres
- Jazz a cappella vocal world classical vocal jazz
- Occupations
- Singer-songwriter conductor arranger record producer
- Instruments
- Vocals piano
- Years active
- 1970–present
- Labels
- Manhattan Blue Note Elektra Sony Classical
- Website
- bobbymcferrin .com circlesongs .com
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Keith
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Manhattan
- Occupation
- animator
- Educated at
- Oberlin Conservatory of Music
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Notable work
- Don't Worry, Be Happy
- Student of
- Gustav Meier
- Genre
- smooth jazz
- Instrument
- voice
- Record label
- Sony Classical
- Official website
- bobbymcferrin.com
- Image
- Bobby McFerrin 2011.jpg
Show 8 more facts
- Commons category
- Bobby McFerrin
- date of birth
- 1950-03-11
- start of work period
- 1970-00-00
- birth name
- Robert Keith McFerrin Jr.
- name in native language
- Robert McFerrin
- copyright representative
- Broadcast Music, Inc.
- member of
- Astral Projection
- has works in the collection
- Eye Filmmuseum
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~10 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American improvisational vocal musician, singer, songwriter, and conductor. His vocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rapidly alternating with arpeggios and harmonies—as well as scat singing, polyphonic overtone singing, and improvisational vocal percussion. McFerrin performs and records regularly as an unaccompanied solo vocal artist and has frequently collaborated with other artists from both the jazz and classical scenes.
McFerrin's song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is the only a cappella track to ever reach No. 1 in the US, which it reached in 1988 and additionally won Song of the Year and Record of the Year honors at the 1989 Grammy Awards. He has also worked in collaboration with jazz fusion instrumentalists including pianists Chick Corea (of Return to Forever), Herbie Hancock (of The Headhunters), and Joe Zawinul (of Weather Report), drummer Tony Williams, bassist/vocalist Richard Bona and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Bobby McFerrin” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.