Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin
Robert Keith "Bobby" McFerrin Jr.is an American jazz vocalist and conductor. He is a ten-time Grammy Award winner, who is known for his unique 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 performing and recording regularly as an unaccompanied solo vocal artist. He has frequently collaborated...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPop Singer
Date of Birth11 March 1950
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
So I went to California State University, the composition department, and I studied composition and orchestration and things like that.
If I can delay that for a moment and bring a little joy... and help them to see things a little differently, then I'll be successful.
I want to write more albums. Right now, I release an album every two to three years, but I would like to release one every year.
I've got one week left, and then I'm done for a year. I haven't had a sabbatical, I haven't taken a year off from touring in 15 years at least.
And I just automatically said music. I hadn't really thought about it, but I thought, well I guess I'll be a musician. It was pretty much like that.
The true musician is to bring light into people's hearts.
The voice gets to the soul of a person more than any other instrument. Because it's the voice. It sings talks, it cries, it laughs, it squeals, it barks, it shouts it whispers, There is no other instrument that can do that. We're born with it.
Here's a little song I wrote. You might want to sing it note for note. Don't worry, be happy.
Remembering that life can be full of surprises is useful in any part of your life. You can try a new way of singing a song you've performed for years, a new way of showing your family your love for them, or a new recipe. Don't just play the licks you know. We're all improvising all the time - it's good to recognize that and embrace it.
In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. Don't worry. Be happy.
The audience is like my instrument. It's not just me up there, it's collaborative.
This is what I want everyone to experience at the end of my concert... everyone has this sense of rejoicing. I don't want them to be blown away by what I do, I want them to have this sense of real, real joy from the depths of their being. Because I think when you take them to that place, then you open up a place where grace can come in.
I think play and joy and feeling good deserve more of our time. I don't see why adults are supposed to grow out of those things. If I have a mission it's to make everyone who comes to my concerts leave feeling a heightened sense of freedom to play, sing, and enjoy themselves.
Whenever I'm onstage, I try my best not to think that I'm performing. It's simply another part of my day.