BOBBY McFERRIN, TORONTO 1988
Bobby McFerrin was about to have his life changed when I photographed him in the spring of 1988. McFerrin had been developing his unique vocal style for years before he released his first album in 1981, and he had released two more well-reviewed records before Simple Pleasures and its massive hit single was released in 1988. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" would win three Grammy, top the Billboard Top 100 and win gold records in the US, UK, Sweden and Denmark. (It would go platinum in Germany.) But its reputation as a one-hit wonder and a novelty record made it stand out uncomfortably in McFerrin's career, and he rarely if ever performs the whole song in concerts any more.
Bobby McFerrin comes from a musical family - his mother was a singer and teacher and his father an operatic baritone - and he was famous for his vocal skills before the hit that changed his life, bringing a capella and vocalese back into jazz over a decade after it had its heyday in the '50s and early '60s with acts like Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Influenced by Keith Jarrett's improvisations, he has performed and recorded with jazz luminaries like Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, the Marsalis brothers and Tony Williams, and he guest conducts symphony orchestras all over the world. In the last few years he has focused on working with vocal ensembles, on record and at a weekly session he holds at a venue in Berkeley, California.
I still have no idea why Bobby McFerrin was moved to mug constantly during my portrait session with him back in 1988, and with time I have also forgot where this was shot and who I was working for. What I do know was that McFerrin restlessly pulled faces for most of the shoot, and that the memory of being unable to control my subject cast a shadow over this session - so much that I skipped it altogether when I was going through my files for my old blog several years ago. Since then, however, the strangeness of these photos has papered over whatever lingering memory I might have had, and legendary Welsh photographer Chalkie Davies recently told me that McFerrin did the same thing with him. So this is probably the first time these photos have been seen since whoever hired me for this assignment published them, nearly forty years ago.
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Twisted · Wardell Gray Prestige Records: Jazz Classics ℗ 1998 Original Jazz Classics Released on: 2023-06-30
Associated Performer, Piano: Al Haig Associated Performer, Drums: Roy Haynes Associated Performer, Bass Guitar: Tommy Porter Composer Lyricist: Wardell Gray Composer Lyricist: Annie Ross
from the 1974 album COURT AND SPARK
Twisted · Lambert, Hendricks & Ross The Hottest New Group In Jazz ℗ Originally released 1959.
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Fuck It; Halloween Music List
The Addams Family Theme - Amc Orchestra
The Addams Family Sinatra Style - Joey Gaynor
Halloween Spooks - Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross
Cosmik Debris - Frank Zappa
Witch Doctor - David Seville
Witchy Woman - Eagles
Season of the Witch - Donovan
In the Hall of the Mountain King - Grieg
(Ghost) Riders In the Sky - Outlaws
Monster Mash - John Zacherle
I Put A Spell On You - Jay Hawkins
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) - David Bowie
Dinner with Drac - John Zacherle
Monster Mash - Bobby Pickett
Ghost Busters - Ray Parker Jr.
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Spooky - Classics IV
Abracadabra - Steve Miller Band
Soul Man - Sam and Dave
Stayin’ Alive - Bees Gees
Grim Grinning Ghosts - The Living Tombstone featuring Crusher P + Corpse Husband
Grim Grinning Ghosts - Creature Feature
Halloween (Extended) - Da Boy Tommy
Monster Mash - The Misfits
Prologue (Little Shop of Horrors) - Bill Mitchell, Michelle Weeks, Tichina Arnold, Tisha Campbell
Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
Boris the Spider - The Who
Graveyard Waltz - The Hooters
Thriller - Micheal Jackson
Time Warp - Little Nell, Patricia Quinn, Richard O'Brien
Sweet Transvestite - Tim Curry
Hot Patootie (Bless My Soul) - Adam Lambert
Magic Dance - David Bowie
Remains of the Day - Tim Burton's Corpse Bride Soundtrack Danny Elfman
The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
Jeepers Creepers - Jack Teagarden
Hush, Hush, Hush Here Comes the Boogeyman - Henry Hall
The Greatest Show Unearthed - Creature Feature
Dead Man’s Party - Oingo Boingo
Something Wicked (That Way Went) - Vernian Process
Spooky Scary Skeletons (Remix) - The Living Tombstone
Pet Sematary - The Ramones
Godzilla - The Blue Oyster Cult
(Don’t Fear) The Reaper - The Blue Oyster Cult
Pumkpinhead - The Misfits
Allison Gross - Steeleye Span
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Marilyn Manson
This is Halloween - Marilyn Manson
This is Halloween - The Citizens of Halloween
Kidnap the Sandy Claws - KoRn
Friends on the Other Side - Keith David
Voodoo Child (Radio Edit) - Rogue Trader
Friends on the Other Side- Disney Villain Mashup - Thomas Sanders
The Dismemberent Song - Blue Kid
Touch-Tone Telephone - Lemon Demon
In the Dark of the Night (Metal Cover) - Jonathan Young
The Devil Went Down to Georgia - The Charlie Daniels Band
Beelz (My Name is Satan!) - Stephen Lynch
Legend of Wooley Swamp - The Charlie Daniels Band
(Ghost) Riders in the Sky - Johnny Cash
Brains! - Voltaire
Ramalama Bang Bang - Rōisín Murphy
"I Put A Spell On You" Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular Finale - Various Artists
I Put a Spell On You - Bette Midler
Every Day is Halloween - Ministry
Are You Ready for Freddy? - Fat Boys featuring Freddy Krueger
Teenage Frankenstein - Alice Cooper
Chop Chop Slide - Insane Clown Posse
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