On this day in 1988…..
“Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin hit the #1 spot on the charts and won both Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
Bobby McFerrin was born Robert “Bobby” McFerrin Jr. on March 11, 1950 to operatic baritone Robert McFerrin and opera singer/professor Sara Copper; Bobby’s father was the first African American to be a regular at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
In 1975 Bobby McFerrin married Debbie Green with whom he has three children.
On top of his awards for “Don’t Worry Be Happy” in 1988, Bobby McFerrin has won 10 Grammy Awards.
** McFerrin is known for his singing technique. Using his unusually large vocal range of four octaves, in many performances he switches rapidly and fluidly between normal and falsetto registers to create polyphonic effects, effectively performing both the main melody and the accompanying parts of songs. He makes use of vocal percussion created both with his mouth and by tapping on his chest. McFerrin is also capable of throat singing — as used in his song “Drive” from the 2005 DVD Live in Montreal — a practice common in central Asian regions such as Tuva and Tibet in which the singer excites the natural overtones from the fundamental vocal pitch, producing a two-or three-part chord of notes from one voice. [Source] **