© 2024 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bobby McFerrin On World Cafe

Bobby McFerrin.
Ingrid Hertfelder
/
Courtesy of the artist
Bobby McFerrin.

Bobby McFerrin has a wide range of musical abilities, from singing multi-octaves to serving as a classical conductor, but he didn't arrive there on his own. Inspired by his father's album Deep River, McFerrin pays tribute to music of the past on his new album, spirityouall.

His father, Robert McFerrin, was an operatic classical singer and the first African-American to sing with the Metropolitan Opera. Released in 1958, Deep River is firmly rooted in recordings of African spiritual songs.

In this installment of World Cafe, Bobby McFerrin adds another generation to the mix, as he performs alongside his daughter Madison on stage. Hear him experiment with the energetic and often percussive range of his voice in a few songs from spirityouall.

Copyright 2021 XPN. To see more, visit XPN.

David Dye is a longtime Philadelphia radio personality whose music enthusiasm has captivated listeners of World Cafe® since 1991. World Cafe is produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania.

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.