Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. is an American folk and jazz artist. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rapidly alternating with arpeggios and harmonies—as well as scat singing, polyphonic overtone singing, and improvisational vocal percussion. He is widely known for performing and recording regularly as an unaccompanied solo vocal artist. He has frequently collaborated with other artists from both the jazz and classical scenes.
Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion band.
Lyle David Mays was an American jazz pianist, composer, and member of the Pat Metheny Group. Metheny and Mays composed and arranged nearly all of the group's music, for which Mays won eleven Grammy Awards.
Robert Joseph Bare Sr. is an American outlaw country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician.
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a song by American musician Bobby McFerrin released in 1988. It was the first a cappella song to reach number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. Originally released in conjunction with the film Cocktail, the song peaked at No. 1 on September 24, 1988, displacing "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses.
John Carl Hendricks, known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists, such as the big-band arrangements of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He is considered one of the best practitioners of scat singing, which involves vocal jazz soloing. Jazz critic and historian Leonard Feather called him the "Poet Laureate of Jazz", while Time dubbed him the "James Joyce of Jive". Al Jarreau called him "pound-for-pound the best jazz singer on the planet—maybe that's ever been".
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt is a 1989 American documentary film that tells the story of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Narrated by Dustin Hoffman with a musical score written and performed by Bobby McFerrin, the film focuses on several people who are represented by panels in the Quilt, combining personal reminiscences with archive footage of the subjects, along with footage of various politicians, health professionals and other people with AIDS. Each section of the film is punctuated with statistics detailing the number of Americans diagnosed with and dead of AIDS through the early years of the epidemic. The film ends with the first display of the complete Quilt at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. during the 1987 Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
Vince Mendoza is an American composer, music arranger and conductor, and six-time Grammy Award winner. He debuted as a solo artist in 1989, and is known for his work conducting the Metropole Orkest and WDR Big Band Köln, as well as arranging music for musicians such as Joni Mitchell, Michael Brecker and Björk.
James Gregory Scheffer, professionally known as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer, songwriter, businessman and DJ from South Florida. Jonsin has collaborated with numerous artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Usher, Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi, Eminem, Yelawolf, Nelly, T.I., Danity Kane and Jamie Foxx, among others. Jonsin won a Grammy in 2009, for Best Rap Song for Lil Wayne's "Lollipop". That year he was also nominated for his production on T.I.'s "Whatever You Like", which also garnered a nomination for Best Rap Song.
Vocalese is the ninth studio album by Jazz band The Manhattan Transfer, released in 1985 on the Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place during 1985. Production came from Tim Hauser and Martin Fischer. This album is considered to be The Manhattan Transfer's most critically acclaimed album. It received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller as the most nominated individual album. It also received extremely high ratings from music critics, including a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from Allmusic. The album peaked at number 2 on the Top Jazz Albums and number 74 on the Billboard 200. The album's title Vocalese refers to a style of music that sets lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumental pieces. The vocals then reproduce the sound and feel of the original instrumentation. Jon Hendricks, proficient in this art, composed all of the lyrics for this album.
The Door is a studio album by Delta blues artist Keb' Mo', released in 2000.
Wayne Wilkins is a pianist, record producer, songwriter, record engineer, and record mixer. Wilkins has produced and written for artists such as Rick Astley, Natasha Bedingfield, Beyoncé, Cheryl Cole, and Jordin Sparks ("Battlefield").
Janis Siegel is an American jazz singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer.
"No Debes Jugar" is a song recorded by American recording artist Selena and released as the lead single from her first live album Live! (1993). It was composed by Selena y Los Dinos keyboardist Ricky Vela and Selena's brother and principal record producer A.B. Quintanilla III and produced by Quintanilla III and Argentine music producer Bebu Silvetti. It is an uptempo Mexican cumbia song with influences of Rock en Español which is centered on female empowerment. Lyrically, the song describes a woman who threatens to leave her unappreciative boyfriend.
Simple Pleasures is the fourth studio album by American singer and musician Bobby McFerrin. It was his commercial breakthrough album, containing the hit single "Don't Worry, Be Happy," also featured in the film Cocktail.
"Dance with Me" is a 1975 hit single by American soft rock band Orleans from their second studio album, Orleans II (1974).
Thea Tereese Austin is an American singer/songwriter/composer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dubbed "the voice of a dance generation," Ms. Austin, a notable female dance/house recording artist whose catalog of musical works have charted the number one spot on Billboard 'Dance Clubs Song', is honorably recognized for her staunch global advocacy in supporting educational value over HIV/AIDS prevention and transparency over women's health issues. She is the lead vocalist and co-author behind the German Eurodance hit sensation "Rhythm Is A Dancer," from the successful dance group, Snap!.
George Pajon Jr. is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer.
Don Rosler is an American lyricist, songwriter and record producer.
Warren "Oak" Felder is a Turkish-born American songwriter and record producer based in Atlanta and Los Angeles. He is known for his work as part of the production duo Pop & Oak, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2015.
