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Bobby McFerrin Biography (1950-)

Born March 11, 1950, in New York, NY; son of Robert, Sr. (an actor, singer, and instructor) and Sara (an educational administrator and voice teacher) McFerrin; married Debbie Lynn Green, 1975; children: Taylor John, Jevon Chase, Madison Grace. Addresses: Agent: Original Artists, 853 Broadway, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10003; William Morris Agency, 151 El Camino Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Musician, composer, conductor

Birth Details

March 11, 1950

New York, New York, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Film Composer
• (With others) 'Round Midnight, Warner Bros., 1987
• McFerrin's song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" appeared on the soundtrack to Cocktail, 1989; other songs have appeared on the soundtracks to Regarding Henry, 1991, and Son of the Pink Panther, 1993.
• Television Composer
• Series
• The Cosby Show, NBC, 1984
• The Bronx Zoo, NBC, 1987
• Behind the Scenes, PBS, 1992
• Specials
• M & W: Men and Women, ABC, 1988
• The Elephant's Child (animated), Showtime, 1988
• How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin and How the Camel Got His Hump (animated), Showtime, 1988
• Knickknack, 1989
• Where Are We? Our Trip through America, 1992
• Television Appearances
• Specials
• The 28th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1986
• Voice/Dance: Bobby McFerrin and the Tandy Beal Dance Company, PBS,1987
• Live from Planet Earth, HBO, 1987
• The 29th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1987
• Voice, Santabear's Highflying Adventure (animated), CBS, 1987
• All That Bach, PBS, 1988
• Duets: The Spirit of Collaboration, 1988
• Bernstein at 70, PBS, 1989
• Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, HBO, 1989
• Sing Out America! with Judy Collins, PBS, 1989
• The 31st Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1989
• Jon Hendricks: The Freddie Sessions, 1990
• Listen Up, 1990
• Yo-Yo Ma: A Month at Tanglewood, Arts and Entertainment, 1990
• Sinbad and Friends All the Way Live ... Almost, ABC, 1991
• Garrison Keillor's Home, PBS, 1991
• Simply Mad about the Mouse, The Disney Channel, 1992
• The 34th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1992
• A Salute to the Newport Jazz Festival, PBS, 1993
• For Our Children: The Concert, The Disney Channel, 1993
• An American Reunion: New Beginnings, Renewed Hope, HBO, 1993
• Episodic
• Super Dave, Showtime, 1987
• Jim Henson's Ghost of Faffner Hall, HBO, 1989
• "Manhattan Island," Coast to Coast, 1988
• Also appeared on Sesame Street, PBS.
• Radio Appearances
• Episodic
• Appeared several times as a guest on A Prairie Home Companion, National Public Radio.
• Stage Appearances
• JVC Jazz Festival, New York City, 1987
• Umbria Jazz Festival, Perugia, Italy, 1988
• Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland, 1988
• Hearts for Ella, Lincoln Center, New York City, 1990
• Montreux Jazz and World Music Festival, Montreux, Switzerland, 1992
• RECORDINGS
• Albums
• Bobby McFerrin, Elektra, 1982
• The Voice, Elektra, 1984
• Spontaneous Inventions, Blue Note, 1986
• (Guest performer) The Manhattan Transfer, Vocalese (includes "Another Night in Tunisia"), Atlantic, 1986
• 'Round Midnight (movie soundtrack), Columbia, 1987
• (Guest performer) Dexter Gordon, The Other Side of 'Round Midnight, Blue Note, 1987
• The Elephant's Child, Windham Hill, 1988
• How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin and How the Camel Got His Hump, Windham Hill, 1988
• Simple Pleasures, EMI Manhattan, 1988
• Rob Wasserman, Duets, 1988
• Dialects, 1986
• Medicine Music, 1990
• Simply Mad about the Mouse, 1991
• Freddie Freeloader, 1991
• Hush, 1992
• Play, 1992
• Together, Heart to Heart, Made for Each Other, 1992
• For Our Children: The Concert, 1993
• Videos
• Spontaneous Inventions, PMI/HBO/Pioneer Artists, 1986
• Also appeared in or performed music for Magnificat and The ManyFaces of Bird.
• WRITINGS
• Nonfiction
• Don't Worry, Be Happy, Delacorte, 1989
• Other writings
• Commissioned to write an opera for the 1997 season of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, with libretto by Ishmael Reed.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals

• Newsweek, February 27, 1989, p. 74
• People, September 21, 1987, p. 109