Simple Pleasures (Bobby McFerrin album)

Simple Pleasures is the second studio album by American singer and musician Bobby McFerrin, released in 1988 by Manhattan Records.

Simple Pleasures
Studio album by Bobby McFerrin
Released	March 23, 1988[1]
Recorded	1987–88
Studio	Power Station, New York City Fantasy, Berkeley, California
Genre	Vocal a cappella jazz-pop[2]
Length	33:50
Label	Manhattan
Producer	Linda Goldstein, Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin chronology
Elephant's Child (1987) Simple Pleasures (1988) Don't Worry, Be Happy (1988)
Singles from Simple Pleasures
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" Released: July 24, 1988

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Village Voice	B−[4]

The album was McFerrin's commercial breakthrough and contained the hit single "Don't Worry, Be Happy".^[5] The song was featured in the film Cocktail and peaked at No. 1 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.^[6] "Don't Worry, Be Happy" won the 1988 Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.^[7]

Simple Pleasures spent 55 weeks on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., peaking at No. 5.^[6] On September 26, 1988, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[1]

The album features unaccompanied a cappella singing, with all parts performed exclusively by McFerrin via overdubbing.^[5][8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bobby McFerrin, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Don't Worry, Be Happy"		4:54
2.	"All I Want"		2:56
3.	"Drive My Car"	Lennon–McCartney	2:44
4.	"Simple Pleasures"		2:08
5.	"Good Lovin'"	Rudy Clark, Artie Resnick	2:58

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Come to Me"		3:38
2.	"Susie-Q"	Eleanor Broadwater, Dale Hawkins, Stan Lewis	2:50
3.	"Drive"		3:58
4.	"Them Changes"	Buddy Miles	3:55
5.	"Sunshine of Your Love"	Pete Brown, Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton	3:43

Personnel

• Bobby McFerrin – all vocals^[5]

Technical

• Linda Goldstein – co-producer
• Bobby McFerrin – co-producer
• Chris Tergesen – engineer
• Gary Solomon – assistant engineer
• Matthew La Monica – assistant engineer
• Don Rodenbach – assistant engineer
• Dave Luke – assistant engineer
• Jack Skinner – mastering
• Henry Marquez – art direction
• Carol Friedman – photography

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1988) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 26 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 8 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 13 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12] 17 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 35 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 14 UK Albums (OCC)[15] 92 US Billboard 200[16] 5 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17] 12

Year-end charts Chart (1988) Position US Billboard 200[6] 58 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[18] 76 Chart (1989) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 91

Certifications

Certifications for Simple Pleasures

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20]	Gold	50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[21]	Gold	25,000^
United States (RIAA)[22]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.