GREENE: Inviting. It got so crazy with them fooling around, I abandoned some of the . But when a song like that becomes a cultural phenomenon, it loses any sense of nuance that it mightve had in the first place. He is featured in the PBS series Great Performances, in the episode titled "Bill Irwin, Clown Prince", initially broadcast in December 2004.[28]. ", | The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News. Robin Williams, and Bill Irwin, and is considerably shorter than the album version. Bop Shop: Songs From Thundercat And Tame Impala, Aiza, Honey Revenge, And More, Jessie Ware Understands That Dancing Is Freedom, On her new album 'That! In 1953, he won a contest sponsored by New Yorks Metropolitan Opera. He knows what he's doing.' So: Bobby McFerrin. [21] In the "50 Worst Songs Ever", Blender said that "it's difficult to think of a song more likely to plunge you into suicidal despondency than this", and also lambasted its "appalling" lyrics. He does this crazy solo performance on stage as himself. Irwin's principal film roles include playing Eddie Collins in Eight Men Out, which tells the true story of the "Black Sox" gambling scandal of 1919, and My Blue Heaven, a 1990 comedy with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis. As for the video clip, it's one of the funniest and nostalgic moments in video history. Its unclear.) Irwin received a 2008 CFCA Award nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" for his role in Rachel Getting Married. We got through the entire doo-wop era without any all-voice singles reaching the top spot, and lord willing, well also get through the age of YouTube and TikTok novelties without it happening again. Damn, . He was an entertainer in full, a point that was hammered home on the Grammy telecast, when he and Billy Crystal performed a hammy yet technically brilliant bit on the history of music. But Dont Worry, Be Happy fucking sucks, and that is Bobby McFerrins fault. Irwin is also on the board of The New 42nd Street, Inc. As a performer, McFerrins big innovation was to stretch out established ideas of what the human voice could do. Actor and comedian Bill Irwin met Robin Williams in Malta in 1980, on the set of Popeye. They once danced in Bobby McFerrin's music video for "Don't Worry Be . Originally released in conjunction with the film Cocktail, the song peaked at number-one on September 24, 1988,[3] displacing "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses. Theres the soothing multi-tracked coos, straight out of doo-wop. MTV, EMA and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. Born in 1921 as the son of a traveling Baptist preacher, Robert Sr. attracted notice at an early age for his singing ability. In 2020, he appeared as Su'Kal in Star Trek: Discovery. Its a 9.) Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. [21] He played Vladimir (Didi) in the 2009 Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot,[22] and Mr. McAfee in the Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie. That phrase has stuck with me ever since because it is a wall of words until you find your way into it. Around the release of his fourth solo LP, 1988s Simple Pleasures, he inked deals to appear in commercials for Levis and Ocean Spray. The prize included further training and, eventually a contract though, as a black singer, he was skeptical about his prospects. I lent him the book. As we head for the fade, everyone takes turns strutting towards the camera; Irwin does a really good pratfall. You made your money where you could. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! McFerrin spend a good chunk of the 70s in the gigging life: performing for dance rehearsals, playing in lounges. I had a neighbor when we lived up in the suburbs north of New York, and he said, oh, you're doing - you're you're performing these works. Being nominated is a great thrill, and we like to say that all four of us were nominated, which means that our director, Anthony Page was nominated four times. Damn, if I say it, you can slap me right here. The video, made 10 years before Williams became an Oscar winner, was in heavy rotation on MTV at the time, and it features Williams goofing alongside physical comedy genius Bill Irwin,. (Wikipedia claims that McFerrin was inspired by one such poster hanging in jazz duo Tuck & Pattis apartment. IRWIN: (As TARS) Yeah, you can use it to find your way back into the ship after I blow you out the airlock. Be the first to contribute! Bobby McFerrin "Don't Worry, Be Happy" from Drew Takahashi. "[33], In 2005, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his appearance as George in the revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.[34]. The most important stories and least important memes, every Friday. I was told that Robin could only be there for 15-30 minutes. It's like a comedian's punch line, you know? MCCONAUGHEY: (As Cooper) Let's bring it on down to 75, please. Artist Name: Bobby McFerrin; Song Name: Don't Worry, Be Happy; Technical Details. This recording will appeal to everybody who is on the lookout for something different. GREENE: Can I just ask you - and I don't want to get too, too deep, but, I mean, I just think back to Robin Williams' death. McFerrin released his self-titled debut album in 1982, when he was 32. Indian mystic Meher Baba (18941969) often used the expression "Don't worry, be happy" when cabling his followers in the West,[9] and the expression was printed on inspirational cards and posters during the 1960s. In 1994, he became the creative chair of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. As a young man, Bobby McFerrin played jazz keyboards. [31] In 1993, this show had already won a Drama Desk Award for "Unique Theatrical Experience" and an Outer Critics Circle "Special Achievement" Award. Music supervisors continue to enlist Dont Worry Be Happy to boost a goodtime vibe (Flushed Away, Casper: A Spirited Beginning) or to provide stark irony (Jarhead, Dawn Of The Dead). McFerrin later said that he wasnt trying to sound Jamaican when he recorded the song. If youre going to use the Hot 100 to discern the state of radio-listening (and streaming) Americans, its generally better to consider the chart in aggregate, rather than focusing on the top. They did improv. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a popular worldwide hit song by musician Bobby McFerrin. (At one point, he lounges on a limo that Williams tries to buy drugs from? Canadian vocal group the Nylons had a minor 1986 hit in their home country with their vocal cover of The Lion Sleeps Tonight; in 93, Huey Lewis & The News scored an Adult Contemporary Top 10 with an instrument-free take on the Impressions Its Alright. The year before, the R&B group Shai released two versions of their hit If I Ever Fall In Love one with a band, one without but neither one could overtake Whitney Houstons I Will Always Love You for the top spot. (As part of his training regimen, he warned Robert away from gospel and pop.) Music Video Wiki is a FANDOM Music Community. He's changed the whole complexion! [5] Irwin also appeared on the television series Sleepy Hollow, playing the character of Atticus Nevins. It was also a hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number two during its fifth week on the UK Singles Chart. author of a Best Play nominee, Best Actor (Play), Best Director (Play) And he can see in my eyes that I'm looking to him and he'll shepherd us through to some safe conclusion. And Im very skeptical of the idea that theres any nuance in Dont Worry, Be Happy. Speaking personally, I have absolutely no use for the kind of think-positive mindset that the song advocates. The strange backstory to the Beach Boys' last cultural gasp. Irwin talks with NPR's David Greene. Its just baffling. (He made his recording debut at one, when his mom held him during a backing vocal session for his fathers first album.) McFerrin had been toying around with the song for a few years, improvising new versions of it at club shows. [8] In 1979, Irwin left the company to pursue stage work. Instead, McFerrin, a Democrat, publicly endorsed Michael Dukakis, and the Bush campaign stopped using the song. I have a script half-written that I kept thinking, 'God, if I got this totally written, maybe Robin would read this.' And Madison, like her father, is an cappella musician, though she moves in the liminal space between indie pop and R&B. {{classes.artistPrefix + ' ' + list.tracks[currentTrack].album_artist}}, {{list.tracks[currentTrack].track_title}}, {{list.tracks[currentTrack].album_title}}, 2023 Bobby McFerrin - Original Artists. The entire idea of a sitting vice president using Dont Worry, Be Happy as a campaign song speaks to a political climate that I frankly cant imagine, though I was alive when it was happening. [22], In late 1988, Miami, Florida, television station WTVJ (channel 4) commissioned McFerrin to record a customized version of the song with lyrics promoting WTVJ's network affiliation switch from CBS to NBC on January 1, 1989, as part of a complicated six-station affiliation shuffle in South Florida. By now, McFerrin was an old hand at overdubs, and he fleshed out the simple, lilting topline with a host of embellishments. Forget #1s: cappella songs have always been a rarity on the radio. Run for Your Life! Bob Marley had been dead for seven years when McFerrin wrote Dont Worry, Be Happy, but many, many people evidently think its a Bob Marley song. Between 2017 and 2019, he appeared in the FX television series Legion. and German descent. (Nevertheless, he is felt, especially during Rahzels appearances.) When we were doing the play, which we then called "Waiting For Godot," it was a mix of people who'd been standing in line for hours to get a ticket. Dont Worry, Be Happy doesnt make a lot of sense as a pop song, but it got a big boost from appearing on the soundtrack of Cocktail, a terrible movie in which Tom Cruise plays Maverick from Top Gun if Maverick from Top Gun was somehow a bartender instead of a fighter pilot. College, OH, a graduate of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's "I was on stage with him in improv a few times and only for a few seconds in all that time did I feel I was anywhere near being a partner or an equal player. (And please, subscribe!) Practically speaking, it was over as soon as it started. His chart-topping feat would be truly impressive if the song were any good. Although Irwin is best known for his theatrical clown work, he has also been featured in a number of dramatic plays. Heres the video: (Lil Duvals highest-charting single, the 2018 Snoop Dogg/Ball Greezy collab Smile Bitch, peaked at #56. Bobby was four. Still, millions of people evidently think that McFerrin was Jamaican or, rather, that Dont Worry, Be Happy is actually a song from the most famous Jamaican musician of all time. Jevon, like his grandfather, is an actor, working as an understudy for Hamilton and Motown: The Musical. GREENE: The burning question I had for you to start is, is it "Waiting For Gadoh (ph)" or "Waiting For Godoh (ph)?". When I was talking about the song with my wife today, she used the phrase toxic positivity. Thats pretty much what I hear when I hear Dont Worry, Be Happy.. In 1996, Irwin performed with The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps at the 1996 Summer Olympics, in a "band on the run" sequence where he played Dr. Hubert Peterson of the fictitious Federation of United Marching Associations of America.[18]. Originally released in conjunction with the film Cocktail, the song peaked at number-one on September 24, 1988, displacing Sweet Child o Mine by Guns N Roses. (A few years ago, when Dont Worry, Be Happy turned 30, Brad Shoup wrote a very cool Stereogum story on McFerrins unlikely career. Don't Worry Be Happy Bobby McFerrin Red Red Wine UB40 Could You Be Loved Bob Marley & The Wailers Buffalo Soldier Bob Marley & The Wailers Electric Avenue Eddy Grant Baby, I Love Your Way Big Mountain Show more Shoutbox About This Artist Bobby McFerrin 687,172 listeners jazz reggae vocal Back in 1988, "Don't Worry Be Happy" became the buzzword du jour. That's the place he occupied. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a popular worldwide hit song by musician Bobby McFerrin. [3] It was also a hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number two during its fifth week on the UK Singles Chart. Clown College, FL, and received a MacArthur Genius Grant in 1984. And then, it's very folksy. Today, we're doing it twice. Hed keep time by tapping his chest, and hed sing vocal melodies and complicated basslines at the same time. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. They danced wordlessly in front of the camera, playing off each other. We were on a set covered in sand and maybe I'm imagining this but I remember him starting to kick sand toward the elderly patron. You could see it rising in him. Robin Williams played Estragon. McFerrin won a bunch of jazz Grammys, and at Bill Cosbys request, he sang the season-four theme song for The Cosby Show. He has also appeared on The Cosby Show, Saturday Night Live, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Law & Order, and Lights Out. He won five Grammys in three years, an impressive haul even granting the diminished state of jazz in the 80s. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Selected for the International Clown Hall Of Fame, and was inducted He says, I say to the head, leave it alone, stay quiet. Why was Don't worry, be happy written? This is the second video I did with Bobby. Very soon, another nugget from that soundtrack will appear in this column. While he thought focusing on vocals would make him a better improviser, and a better collaborator, he was also enamored with the work of Keith Jarrett, the jazz titan most famous for his solo piano music. Its radiant, nuclear-charged dogshit. Add some. The video, made 10 years before Williams became an Oscar winner, was in heavy rotation on MTV at the time, and it features Williams goofing alongside physical comedy genius Bill Irwin, wearing a housedress, Hawaiian shirts and cheesy suits, doing silly walks and dances, trying to bribe a limo driver and, in a now bittersweet moment, staring straight into camera and breaking into a warm, heart-melting laugh. I was just - you know, it was like I was painting with Picasso for a little bit. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a popular worldwide hit song by musician Bobby McFerrin. It is ranked #31 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s. Bushs campaign team tabbed the song as the vice-presidents electoral theme. And they were these two master alpha comedians we called them. GREENE: What does that monologue tell us, if anything, about Beckett and IRWIN: It's about entertainment, this speech, because that's - it feels so much about Mr. Beckett himself, whom I don't know. Related: Heres Why The Genie Was Robin Williams Most Important Role. This is like a wall of words. The comedic original music video for the song stars McFerrin, Robin Williams, and Bill Irwin, and is somewhat shorter than the album version. (2010, 07). Original title: Bobby McFerrin: Don't Worry, Be Happy. Irwin has created several highly regarded stage shows that incorporate elements of clowning, often in collaboration with composer Doug Skinner. He regularly appears on the NBC crime series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as therapist Dr. Peter Lindstrom. Just go wild and invent!' "It's probably too early to try making sense of it, but it may just be that there was only room in the world for Robin at his strongest. Bill Irwin is an old-fashioned baggy-pants clown who happens to be fascinated with Nobel-winning playwright Samuel Beckett. And within an hour, it was back in my mailbox with a little note that said, I can't read this. McFerrin reportedly called it a pretty neat philosophy in four words, and he wasnt alone in thinking so. But in 1988 as in 2018, Dont Worry Be Happy sounds like nothing else. Featuring Robin Williams and Bill Irwin Vocal Jazz Music Products with this song Kirby Shaw - Don't Worry, Be Happy. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is one of those remarkable classics that definitely makes the life of an artist, in this case Bobby McFerrin who got mainly associated with it. GREENE: Lucky is one of the characters in "Godoh" or "Gadoh" - I'll be diplomatic, too - doesn't speak at all except for one crucial, memorable monologue that you perform in your show. - The music video features Robin Williams and Bill Irwin in addition to Bobby McFerrin. He stayed for the entire day. Theres the infernally catchy whistling that starts the track, and his astounding approximation of a popping bassline. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. They met 40 years ago. Cocktail was a huge hit, taking in $72 million at the box office; on the list of 1988s highest earners, Cocktail sits at #8, right between the first Die Hard and the first Naked Gun. What a stultifying embrace of the status quo. "Don't Worry Be Happy" it's by far McFerrin's biggest hit, or only hit, he is often regarded . McFerrin, a New York native, is part of a proud lineage of boundary-breaking musicians. GREENE: That was Bill Irwin, who performs in and wrote the show "On Beckett.". And when I saw him perform, he reminded me of someone, that energy, the physicality, all those different characters. McFerrin, and pratfalling vaudeville comedian Bill Irwin. He played an ex-brain surgeon and house salesman in the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete. What it had was a delightful cameo from Robert Sr., as well as the title tune to the landmark AIDS documentary Common Threads, for which Bobby had provided the score. It is absolutely nothing but clown-ass shit. We constantly run lines together before every show too, and then there's a long, traditionally long, story to tell the audience every show. Thankfully, the phrase didnt send McFerrin off to write his own Underture. Instead, he created possibly the sunniest song about survival ever written. As he tells it, the thunderclap of inspiration finally struck on a walk home. His authentic vaudevillian skills landed him a role in the Sam Shepard film Silent Tongue in 1994, and he appeared in film adaptations of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Laramie Project and A Midsummer Night's Dream. I have memories of the title on bumper stickers and T-shirts, a slightly more mercenary echo of those Meher Baba posters. But on the penultimate track, the instrument-absent Hallucinations, he gave a taste of the jazz to come, dubbing a vocal duet filled with bassy pops and trumpet-style trills. It didnt help that the least cool people alive George H.W. For another couple of years, Dont Worry, Be Happy became inescapable again. In 2011, Irwin guest starred in the pilot episode of the CBS television drama A Gifted Man. OK. What's the difference, in your mind? Because you seem to think of him differently. These days, Bobby McFerrins kids are active, too. Right now, that video has 158 million views. And, finally, he probably knew there was no chance in hell of capturing the popular imagination with a similar idea, so why remind people of the original? To drum up excitement, the label was stuck sending a shirtless McFerrin doppelganger to a record wholesaler convention. He has appeared in over 20 films, mainly in supporting roles. He's been doing this show just a few blocks from NPR West, where he is so much more than an inanimate space object. You could be feeling its effects, too, Bop Shop: Songs From Arlo Parks, Georgia, Rosala And Rauw Alejandro, And More, A superstar team-up is just the beginning, Jennifer Coolidge Is Officially A Comedic Genius At The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, The 'White Lotus' star will be the latest recipient of the Comic Genius Award. The "instruments" in the a cappella song are entirely overdubbed voice parts and other sounds made by McFerrin, using no instruments at all; McFerrin also sings with an affected accent. And he says some more things. . "You'd get called into casting sessions and they'd say 'Here's the script, but don't pay any attention to it. He was also, once upon a time, a huge music video star. To commemorate his 40th birthday, he made his conducting debut with the San Francisco Symphony, which led to similar gigs for some of the worlds most renowned orchestras. Thats not exactly Bobby McFerrins fault; he never couldve foreseen the places that Dont Worry, Be Happy would go. [27] In 2014, he guest starred in the episode "The One Percent Solution" of CBS' Elementary. Bobby McFerrin was largely a sop to the times, opening with an Orleans cover and featuring a duet with Phoebe Snow. MCCONAUGHEY: (As Cooper) What's your humor setting, TARS? Don't Worry, Be Happy. [23] In 2023, he played Clov in the Irish Repertory Theatre's Off-Broadway production of Endgame. At the 1989 Grammy Awards, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" won the awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. It was heavily influenced by Juan's Mexican Restaurant, which was just around the corner from the studio. Im just giving the highlights here.). This time we included his friends, Bill Irwin and Robin Williams. He had that one fluke track, an anonymous EMI executive told Entertainment Weekly, but whoever dealt with him in the past realizes his core audience is only 300,000 to 400,000 jazz freaks. (As you can tell from the numbers, this truly was another age.). "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was a number-one jam; damn, if I say it, you can slap me right here. In 1984, he was named a Guggenheim Fellow and was the first performance artist to be awarded a five-year MacArthur Fellowship. In 2006, Irwin played the solitary Mr. Leeds in M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water and had a small role as Uncle Teddy in 2007's Across the Universe. If you catch a McFerrin concert these days, you might catch a snippet of his weird, wonderful hit. A teenage Justin Timberlake wrote an original song heavily indebted to Dont Worry Be Happy to convince his parents to let him get an ear piercing. (1991). His influence is present pretty much any time a bunch of undergrads convene an cappella group. IRWIN: Steve Martin played Vladimir. Instead, he was going for Mexican. But the two collaborated on McFerrin's 1988 video, one of the earliest viral videos long before YouTube. I think of it like this: Any given chart run has a certain chemical makeup, depending on whatever fumes (infatuation, joy, nostalgia, longing) our creaking capitalist system is belching out at the moment. The Cocktail album went to #2 on the album charts and went quadruple platinum. It was the first a cappella song to reach number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. The definitive anthem to positivism Don't Worry Be Happy reached No.1 in the U.S Hot 100 on September 24th, 1988 and by doing so, it became the first ever a-cappella song to make it to that competitive chart . In fact . (Cruises other 1988 movie was Rain Man, the years biggest hit. In the songs video, McFerrin mugs frantically with Robin Williams, whod just been in Good Morning, Vietnam and crossed over to big-deal status. Marketers were happy to oblige, renaming bars and resorts in a bid to snare some of this longing. . Dont Worry, Be Happy also had an association with another movie star. Irwin spent a year in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as IRWIN: I think you find joy in Beckett's work. It's an exhilarating play, and you come off tired, but thrilled. [19], However, in 2011, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was named as the worst song of all time by Village Voice critic Michael Musto,[20] and it topped Q100 DJ Bert Weiss's list of tracks he would forever ban from radio. Nathan Lane and Jonathan Demme spoke at the ceremony. Don't Worry, Be Happy Bobby McFerrin. (Creams original Sunshine Of Your Love, from 1968, peaked at #5. McFerrin may have encountered it on a poster of Meher Baba, an Indian spiritual leader who kept a 44-year vow of silence and who had a whole flock of Western admirers, including Pete Townshend, who used his name in the title of the Whos song Baba ORiley. Baba would write dont worry, be happy in his correspondence with Western followers, and some of them started printing the phrase on things. A cool guy with a cool family. Lyrics of Don't Worry Be Happy. In 2000, the Jazz Tap Ensemble in Los Angeles received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) "for a commission of a new work by Bill Irwin. Can you reflect on that at all? According to McFerrins longtime manager and producer Linda Goldstein, he was actually going for a Spanish accent, inspired by a recent viewing of The Three Amigos. Bill Irwin was born on April 11, 1950, in Santa Monica, California, to Elizabeth (Mills), a teacher, and Horace G. Irwin, an aerospace engineer. Featured peformers: Robin Williams (actor), Bill Irwin (actor), Drew Takahashi (director). To his great credit, McFerrin didnt have any desire to replicate the success of Dont Worry, Be Happy. The song won Grammys for Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year fucking pathetic but McFerrin soon stopped performing it entirely. Don't Worry Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin Album: Simple Pleasures ( 1988) Charted: 2 1 License This Song lyrics songimage Songfacts: "Don't Worry Be Happy" reached #1 on the US Hot 100, which is astounding for a song sung a cappella (without instruments). "You don't want to sound fawning, or like press-agent puffery, because that's what most of us have been reduced to," said Irwin. Ever since then, McFerrin has traveled the world, doing guest-conductor gigs with various symphonies and leading improvisatory vocal exercises with big crowds. Year: 1988. Robert McFerrin, Bobbys father, was an operatic baritone singer who served in World War II and then became first Black man ever to sing at New Yorks Metropolitan Opera. Meher Babas most famous devotee was the Whos Pete Townshend, who structured an entire rock opera (1969s Tommy) around the mans teachings, and later titled a song after his two heroes: Baba and Terry Riley. 1990s Medicine Music was still accessible for a pop audience, but it didnt have Simple Pleasures classic-rock covers, and it didnt have a novelty smash. It took a few years of singing in an empty room before McFerrin felt comfortable singing in front of others, and a few years after that before he booked his first solo gig. Some comics still say, oh, yeah, he was great, but he stole all the funny lines, you know? Years later, they did improv together a few times, appeared in a star-studded 1988 Lincoln Center production of Waiting for Godot and clowned around in Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry, Be Happy video. These were not melismatic workouts, though McFerrin, as people say, had the range. Synopsis: "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a popular worldwide hit song by musician Bobby McFerrin. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. McFerrin grew up in an august musical environment; his mother Sara was a soloist at the McFerrins Episcopalian church. If you search the songs title on YouTube, the second video that pops up is McFerrins song, but its credited to Bob Marley. It was a phrase popularized by Meher Baba, an Indian spiritual master who had developed a sizable American following prior to his death in 1969. 11 years ago. Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy (Official Music Video) The Real Bobby McFerrin 446K subscribers Subscribe 314M views 14 years ago #BobbyMcFerrin #DontWorryBeHappy #Remastered. His show, "On Beckett," which he's put on here and in New York City, is an ode to the playwright. In 2022, Irwin guest starred on The Gilded Age on HBO. (Cosby had given McFerrin an early break by getting him added to 1980s Playboy Jazz Festival.) Fortunately for him, Robert didnt follow his choir directors instructions to leave non-classical music alone: With the help of venerable conductor and arranger Hall Johnson, he taught his son spirituals from the black American church. They were full-bodied songs, with McFerrin jumping from basslines to melodic flights and back again in a blink. Americans tend to say "Waiting For Gadoh" and Brits and Irish people tend to say "Waiting For Godoh.". a complicated six-station affiliation shuffle in South Florida, "The Hot 100: The Week of September 24, 1988", "Don't Worry, Be Happy: Bobby McFerrin Has A No. This anodyne ode to middle-class escape fulfilled its own prophecy: Folks deluged Key West with calls, looking for the mythical Kokomo. [9] Largely New York (1989), Fool Moon (1993),[10] The Harlequin Studies (2003),[11] and Mr. Fox: A Rumination (2004). The phrase dont worry, be happy existed in the world before McFerrin wrote the song. Awards. This article is about the actor and clown. At least in part, thats by design. True or not, America heard Jamaican a YouTube upload of the song, credited to Bob Marley, has over 100 million views. as George in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a 1988 song by American musician Bobby McFerrin, released as the first single from his fourth album, Simple Pleasures (1988). Bobby McFerrin is a one of one, a true anomaly. Robin Williams, and Bill Irwin. Video Sources. A lot of people took the song as blinkered cheerfulness: For years, critics loved to rag on someones dont-worry-be-happy vibe. Eventually, McFerrin figured out that he wanted to sing, and he spent years practicing and honing his style.