Bobby McFerrin - Don’t Worry, Be Happy: The Happiest Song About Being Sued By Your Landlord episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 5, 2026 · 1H 8M

Bobby McFerrin - Don’t Worry, Be Happy: The Happiest Song About Being Sued By Your Landlord

from 1001 Songs That Make You Want To Die · host The 1001 Podcast Network

Want to request a song? Tell us your rating? Send us a Text Message right now! This week on 1001 Songs That Make You Want To Die, we take on Bobby McFerrin’s painfully cheerful 1988 hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”It’s the first a cappella song to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a Grammy-winning cultural monster, and possibly the only song brave enough to tell someone with no bed, no money, no partner and a pending landlord lawsuit to simply cheer up. The episode covers Bobby’s fight stats, the legendary “litigate” rhyme, the idea that worrying might double your debt, George H.W. Bush using the song without McFerrin’s blessing, the fake suicide rumour, and the moment the podcast officially becomes The Bobby McFerrin Four. The transcript lands on Southern beating Bobby by scrappy decision thanks to “regional pub energy and unresolved podcast rage.” Also discussed: Cocktail, Tom Cruise’s sunglasses, bed thieves, Beauty and the Beast getting weird, late-night phone sex ads, NWA, and why “look at me, I’m happy” might be the worst thing you can say to another human being.Listen now, subscribe on YouTube, and whatever you do: do worry, be sad.Think you know music?Every Friday, Tower Of Music puts your music knowledge to the test.Guess the artists. Spot the clues. Beat the hosts.Play along and see if you can make it to the top of the tower.New episodes every Friday on YouTube.Search 1001 Songs That Make You Want To Die and subscribe now. Please tell your mates about the podcast and jump on Apple Podcasts/iTunes and give us a 5-star review!Support the showFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1001songsthatmakeyouwanttodie/Follow us on TikTok: @the1001crew

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 5, 2026

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Want to request a song? Tell us your rating? Send us a Text Message right now! This week on 1001 Songs That Make You Want To Die, we take on Bobby McFerrin’s painfully cheerful 1988 hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” It’s the first a cappella song to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a Grammy-winning cultural monster, and possibly the only song brave enough to tell someone with no bed, no money, no partner and a pending landlord lawsuit to simply cheer up. The episode covers Bobby’s f...

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Bobby McFerrin - Don’t Worry, Be Happy: The Happiest Song About Being Sued By Your Landlord

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This episode was published on July 5, 2026.

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