CoronaVinyl Day 429 (M): Bobby McFerrin by Bobby McFerrin

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is "M," and my choice was Bobby McFerrin's self-titled 1982 debut album.

McFerrin, of course, is best known for his 1988 #1 hit a cappella song "Don't Worry, Be Happy," but he had already been releasing music for six years before then, mostly jazz.  His debut album was released when he was already 31, and he had been honing his own style for several years before laying it down on vinyl.

The album is a mix of vocal jazz, jazzy covers of a few big hits by other musicians -- The Drifters' "Dance With Me," The Miracles' "You Really Got A Hold Of Me," and Van Morrison's "Moondance" -- and a couple more straightforward soul songs.  Over the course of the album, McFerrin scats, uses his voice like a percussion instrument, and sometimes just sings (which he does quite well).  It's definitely not necessarily the type of music I would normally listen to, but it's interesting.  The album went to #41 on the Billboard Jazz album chart.  Also, future American Idol judge (and session musician) Randy Jackson played bass on the album.

In addition to his fame with "Don't Worry, Be Happy," he performed the theme song for Season 4 of The Cosby Show, has scored and performed music on TV and film, has voice acted, and makes regular stops to famous symphony orchestras as a guest conductor.

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "Feline"
McFerrin shows that he's not just a scatman on this one, which is a soulful acoustic ballad that sounds like it's from a 1992 alt-rock album more so than a 1982 jazz album.  It appears to be about longing for a cat that left -- unless it's a euphemism for female genitalia.

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "Sightless Bird"
This is another one that's less of a jazz song and more of a soul ballad.  It's kind of trippy, and again, I could imagine this song on like a Temple of the Dog album (or, I guess, the Temple of the Dog album, since there was only one) or being played at some dingy club in Seattle in 1990.