20. Bobby McFerrin – Don't Worry, Be Happy (1988)
Total Points – 407
Charts – 4
Top 40 –1
Top 20 – 1
Top 10 – 0
Highest Ranking – 18
Indian mystic and sage Meher Baba often used the expression don’t worry, be happy, and in the ‘60s inspirational posters were made with his face and this saying. In 1988, McFerrin, when visiting jazz duo Tuck and Patti, noticed one of these posters and was inspired stating, “[It] is a pretty neat philosophy in four words.” This song included in the movie Cocktail was initially released in conjunction with that soundtrack, but the song stalled out a #88 on the Hot 100. It was re-released the same year and reached #1 for 2 weeks displacing Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child o’ Mine” All the sounds in this song were created by McFerrin’s voice or by tapping on his chest, there are no musical instruments used, which also makes this song the first a cappella song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song helped McFerrin win song of the year, record of the year, and best male pop vocal performance at the Grammys. It is also listed in Rolling Stone’s 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time. Strangely, in 1992 a false rumor was widely circulated that McFerrin had committed suicide. Many believe the rumor was started to point out he didn’t live by the philosophy espoused by this song.