Music Monday ~ Bobby McFerrin

Being something of a musical ignoramus, I knew nothing of this artist before I came to the USA. I'd heard his pop song "Don't Worry, Be Happy", but the name of the artist hadn't registered. His birthday is coming up on 11 March - I'm interested to see whether his natal chart is a good fit.

Biographical detail quoted is from an excellent piece at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra website.

"Unconventional" is a good way to describe the career of Bobby McFerrin. Those familiar with McFerrin's shows, whether as a conductor or a vocalist, know that each one is a unique event that resonates with the unexpected.

To an astrology-conscious reader, that description would immediately raise expectations of finding Aquarius and/or Uranus prominent in Mr. McFerrin's nativity. They wouldn't be disappointed.

Bobby McFerrin was born on 11 March 1950 in Manhattan, New York at 11:19pm (Astrodatabank).



Sun is in imaginative Pisces, but Jupiter and Venus (planet of the arts) are both in inventive Aquarius. Additionally, Mercury in Pisces is in harmonious trine to Uranus (planet of invention) in Cancer. Jupiter is in another harmonious trine - to creative Neptune in Libra, which can be translated as "vocal explorer" - see below:

Bobby McFerrin is one of the natural wonders of the music world. A ten-time Grammy Award winner, he is one of the world's best-known vocal innovators and improvisers, a world-renowned classical conductor, the creator of one of the most popular songs of the late 20th century and a passionate spokesman for music education. His recordings have sold over 20 million copies, and his collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, the Vienna Philharmonic and Herbie Hancock have established him as an ambassador of both the classical and jazz worlds. Yet McFerrin's reach extends well beyond musical circles: he's worked with actor Jack Nicholson, comedians Robin Williams and Billy Crystal, the Muppets and audiences around the world.

With a four-octave range and a vast array of vocal techniques, McFerrin is no mere singer; he is music's last true Renaissance man, a vocal explorer who has combined jazz, folk and a multitude of world music influences - choral, a cappella, and classical music - with his own ingredients. As a conductor he is able to hear orchestrally, and with this gift has expanded his singing to include more imaginative territory then most; he might extend his vocal repertoire to sing trumpet-inspired parts in the jazz standard "Round Midnight" or to interpret the flute and cello parts in works by Fauré and Vivaldi, or to simply create entirely new worlds of sound.

Hush Little Baby