In yet another turn in his career, McFerrin took up conducting in on his 40th birthday with the San Francisco Symphony after taking lessons from Seiji Ozawa and Gustav Meyer. Since, he has guest conducted symphony orchestras worldwide, and from to was creative director of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. McFerrin continues to perform and tour internationally and participate in music education programs, making volunteer appearances as a guest music teacher and lecturer at public schools throughout the United States.
Bobby and his song took home four Grammy awards that year, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. But Bobby, although realizing he could ride the song to continued success if only he would capitalize on it, stopped singing it altogether.
One reason was because the song was a studio invention, McFerrin overdubbing his own voice seven times. Although it gave the impression that Bobby was accompanied by a vocal group, it was all him, and therefore it could not be successfully reproduced live.
But more importantly, Bobby did not want to become pigeonholed artistically. He was and remains a pure artist, not one who seeks hit records and self-promotion, and he felt that being tied to one trademark song would restrain him, keep him from progressing. Repetition and stagnation were not for him; he was not interested in running in place. He even refused to sing it on the Grammy awards telecast! It was just very draining, and something he never asked for!
That was the irony. He became immersed in it, his ears pointed in every direction. Then there was Top 40 radio. There were movie themes, instrumentals; it was amazing. When you grow up with that hodgepodge of music, it just comes out. It was like growing up in a multilingual house.
Bobby started a high school jazz band and later continued to play piano while attending college. Following graduation, he toured with various bands, cabaret acts and dance troupes.
I get it! I was walking home during a lunch break when, all of a sudden, I knew I was a singer. I called the Hilton Hotel to ask for an audition. I sang five tunes and the guy hired me on the spot. I started working as a singer right away, at the piano bar. In , after moving to San Francisco, Bobby met Goldstein, who was then a booking agent and jazz singer.
He is such a unique artist that I felt he had more in common with a one-of-a-kind performer like the mime Marcel Marceau than with other vocalists. So from the start I worked to create a niche for him, rather than attempt to fit him into an existing one. A joyous ditty created on the spot in the recording studio became the phenomenal hit "Don't Worry, Be Happy. Instead of seizing upon the deluge of offers for concerts and events brought on by his sudden popularity, he decided to take a sabbatical and to begin a serious study of conducting, including lessons with Leonard Bernstein, Gustav Meier, and Seiji Ozawa.
The enthusiasm, infectious joy, and virtuosity that characterize his solo performances have made McFerrin a successful communicator in the classical music world as well. He then recorded Hush, with friend and famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, which stayed on the Billboard classical charts for over two years and went gold. By , McFerrin had been named creative director of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and released the album Paper Music, the critically acclaimed collection of classics that marked his first recording as a conductor.
In recent years, he has combined his love of improvisation with his conducting skills, extending his vocal journeys to larger groups of singers - whether trained or not. McFerrin's solo concerts have always included audience participation; McFerrin sees th not as "sing-alongs" but as a genuine collaborative process of making music in the moment.
He's also developed that idea in more sophisticated settings with his longtime vocal ensemble Voicestra in the albums Medicine Music and Circlesongs, and in a forthcoming project of choral works in collaboration with composer Roger Treece. Before Bobby McFerrin, the idea of a career of solo improvised vocals would have been unthinkable. McFerrin and his son Taylor have collaborated on various musical ventures too.
He is during the summer of at the Omega Institute conducting. To Become a Musician or Singer. Today's Articles People, Locations, Episodes. Sat, Previous Story. Next Story. Reference: Bobby McFerrin.
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