Vocalist Bobby McFerrin coming to Green Music Center

If you’re like most people, when you hear the name Bobby McFerrin, you think of the Grammy-winning song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

But McFerrin has done so much more. The talented vocalist has interpreted Beatles songs, sung a condensed version of “The Wizard of Oz” and collaborated with performers ranging from Yo-Yo Ma to Robin Williams.

The son of opera baritone Robert McFerrin, the first African American man to sing with New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the younger McFerrin can create so many vocal parts simultaneously that he becomes a one-man band, with no instrument other than his voice.

McFerrin appears Friday (April 10) at Sonoma State’s Green Music Center.

After a tour in Asia he said he needed to rest his voice but agreed to answer questions by email. Here’s what he had to say.

Q. What do you see as the mission of a musician?

A. You must bring joy. That’s the job description.

Q. How do you balance preparation and spontaneity?

A. I love spontaneity. It inspires me. Of course, all the musical experiences I’ve ever had are there in the background, preparing me. When I’m making music, I like to feel spontaneous and free. Anything is possible.

Q. You seem to love singing with people. You invite the audience to participate at times. Why is that important to you?

A. It started because sometimes I hear things in my head that I just can’t do alone. It’s an incredible feeling when the audience starts to sing. It’s the most beautiful sound, different in every place. And suddenly it’s not a room full of strangers. It’s a community making music together.

Q. What’s your latest project?

A. I’m excited to be headed out to tour with (jazz pianist) Chick Corea again this spring, and this year and next I’m conducting some Gershwin programs with orchestras.

Q. Do you still sing “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”?

A. When I wrote and recorded that song, I had already found the path I wanted to travel. I was exploring and experimenting and having a great time playing with everything my voice could do. I certainly wasn’t trying to make a hit, and it was incredible to me that so many people fell in love with the song.

Right after the song became so popular, lots of people asked for it. They wanted to hear the recorded version, which is very produced, with seven tracks of vocals. I can’t do that version live. And by the time it became a radio-play earworm, I was already on to the next thing, wanting to share other music with people.

I haven’t performed “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” since the ’80s, except one notable night in Shanghai when a tiny little girl asked me to sing it, and I did a kind of fantasia around the melody. That was fun.

Q. Do you feel like the San Francisco Bay Area is home for you?

A. I lived here for many years. I have good friends here. My kids were born here and think of it as a home base. The first time I conducted an orchestra was on my 40th birthday at the San Francisco Symphony. And my favorite taco shop is here. It’s a wonderful city!

Q. How do you feel about TV shows like “The Voice” and “American Idol”? Do they celebrate or trivialize music?

A. I have some ambivalence because I think they can do both. I love that kids are singing more, that boys as well as girls think singing is cool, that kids talk about music and what they like. I don’t love the idea of singing as a competition or the way kids are encouraged to sound the same and make predictable choices. Anything that brings music into people’s everyday lives and gets them singing around the house is great.

Q. Some of your songs have sounds but not words. Do these songs take listeners places that songs with lyrics can’t reach?

A. There’s something expansive about singing without words. If I sing, “You broke my heart, you left me flat,” everyone knows what that means. If I sing a melody that sounds plaintive and sad, every person who hears it will think and feel something a little different. I like that. Life is like that, open to interpretation.

Q. You’ve accomplished so much in your life and career. What are you most proud of?

A. That’s an easy one. My kids: Maddie, Jevon and Taylor. Talented artists, great people. My heart swells just thinking about them.

Q. Why do you think vocal music evokes such deep emotions? Is this something that can be expressed with words?

A. No! That’s why God gave us singing!

Michael Shapiro, author of “A Sense of Place,” writes about entertainment for The Press Democrat. Contact him at www.michaelshapiro.net.