ST. LOUIS (RNS) He’s best known for his iconic 1980s feel-good hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” but Grammy-award winning artist Bobby McFerrin explores a deeper side of life in a new album.
Titled “spirityouall,” the recording includes his adaptations of traditional African-American spirituals and devotional songs that he composed.
McFerrin believes music has a transcendent spiritual power.
“It elicits so many emotions,” the musician told the PBS program “Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.” “Music has a way of communicating … that language does not. It can go past language.”
McFerrin said his Christian faith permeates everything he does. And it’s particularly evident in this new album, which he said honors the legacy of his father, Robert McFerrin Sr., the first African-American to sing a title role at the Metropolitan Opera.
The senior McFerrin also released an album of spirituals, “Deep River,” in 1957.
“I never heard my father pray (out loud),” said McFerrin. “But I always heard him pray whenever he sang these spirituals.”
McFerrin said he tries to pray as he sings, too. “The hope is that when people hear these pieces that they’ll carry them home with them and then they’ll inspire them to begin a spiritual journey or to continue on it.”
McFerrin’s grandfather was a Baptist minister, and he grew up in the Episcopal Church. When he was 16, he wanted to become a monk in the Anglican tradition. He gave up on the idea in his early 20s when he realized he was meant to be a singer, but the religious impulse remains.
“I’m still a very quiet guy, and I love the Scriptures,” McFerrin said, adding that he reads the Bible through over and over again. “I could read the same verse 1,000 times but the 1,001st time I read it, I’ll find something in it that I hadn’t seen before.”
When he’s not traveling, McFerrin still attends an Episcopal church. But he doesn’t like narrow labels.
“I don’t really think of myself as a religious person per se, but more a spiritual person who follows Christ, who follows Jesus as my spiritual master,” he said.
McFerrin has received 10 Grammy Awards since the 1988 release of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” He has conducted classical orchestras and released albums featuring styles from across the musical spectrum. He frequently works with young people, trying to help them see the power of music. It’s a lesson he said his mother taught him when he was a boy.
“She knew how music was a healing balm because whenever I was sick she’d give me two things: She’d give me medicine for my aches and pains and she’d give me music for my spirit,” he recalled.
“Music does have incredible power to rearrange your insides, rearrange your thoughts, heal your body.” McFerrin’s favorite book in the Bible is the Psalms. Several years ago, he wrote a song based on Psalm 23, but in his version, the love of God takes on feminine form.
The song has been adopted by choirs across the country. It was inspired, he said, after he and his choir were rehearsing in a church and began discussing the many male images in the Bible.
“It just seemed to make sense. People forget, you know, (there’s) a father’s love and then there’s a mother’s love, which complements the father’s love, and they fit together nicely,” he said.
The new album “spirityouall” has a song based on Psalm 25:15, as well “Woe,” which was inspired by Isaiah 10:1-4.
He said one of his job descriptions as an artist is moving people to joy.
“If there’s any one thing I want it’s for people to have that sense of joy, the joy that I feel just being able to sing.”
McFerrin believes his musical ability is a gift from God.
“My father used to say, ‘The Lord has entrusted me with a talent. It’s not my gift.’ … I absolutely feel that way, that he’s given me this gift to share with other people and to uplift hearts.”
(A version of this story was first broadcast on the PBS television program “Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly” www.pbs.org/religion.)
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.