If I can bring joy into the world, if I can get people to stop thinking about their pain for a moment, or the fact the tomorrow morning they're going to get up and tell their boss off... then I'll be successful.
Bobby McferrinRead
This is what I want everyone to experience at the end of my concert... _x000D_ everyone has this sense of rejoicing. _x000D_ I don't want them to be blown away by what I do, _x000D_ I want them to have this sense of real, real joy _x000D_ from the depths of their being. _x000D_ Because I think when you take them to that place, _x000D_ then you open up a place where grace can come in.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of creating a joyful and heartfelt experience for the audience during a concert.
Bobby McFerrin expresses his desire for concertgoers to leave with a profound sense of joy rather than simply being impressed by technical skill. He believes that by fostering genuine happiness and emotional connection, performers can create a space for grace and upliftment in their audience's lives.
In practice
This quote can inspire musicians to focus on the emotional connection with their audience rather than just performance.
If I can bring joy into the world, if I can get people to stop thinking about their pain for a moment, or the fact the tomorrow morning they're going to get up and tell their boss off... then I'll be successful.
If I can bring joy into the world, then I'll be successful.
The voice gets to the soul of a person more than any other instrument. Because it's the voice. It sings talks, it cries, it laughs, it squeals, it barks, it shouts it whispers, There is no other instrument that can do that. We're born with it.
Then I came up with this crazy idea just to walk out on the stage with no band at all and just start singing whatever came to mind. I actually fought the idea for a while because it seemed almost too radical, but it became obvious what I was supposed to be doing.
Basically, I started singing when I started talking. Music has just been my saving grace my whole life.
The great moments of rock 'n' roll were never off in some corner of the music world, in a self-constructed ghetto.
In a sense, 'American Pie' was a very despairing song but it can also be seen as very hopeful.
I see N.Y. hip-hop like I see N.Y. streets. N.Y. streets are grimy; it's a grind. N.Y. rappers are hustlers - whatever sound is in, we can adapt to that; there's nothing wrong with that.
I learned from Jimi Hendrix. They all wanted him to do the tricks, and at the end of his career, he just wanted to play. I lived longer than he did, and I can see how those pressures can really play with your head.
It's America's classical music ... this becomes our tradition ... the bottom line of any country in the world is what did we contribute to the world? ... we contributed Louis Armstrong
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