Friday, May 13, 2005 | 8:45 a.m.
Call Bobby McFerrin a one-hit wonder if you want. Just don't expect to hear that hit when the vocalist performs in Las Vegas next week.
McFerrin says he hasn't sung "Don't Worry, Be Happy" in concert since 1988, the year the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned the New York City native three Grammy Awards.
"I haven't done it since November of 1988, intentionally, because I don't want to be strapped down to that one piece," McFerrin, 55, said Monday in a phone interview from his Philadelphia home.
Casual fans still call out for "Don't Worry" occasionally, but McFerrin said most are "kind of getting it, that I don't do it."
McFerrin plays UNLV's Artemus Ham Hall at 7 p.m. Tuesday, capping the school's performing arts season series. Tickets are $40, $55 and $85, with reduced rates for seniors, students, faculty and staff.
Along with "Don't Worry," don't expect to hear a band backing McFerrin onstage. The vocalist performs alone, crafting his set spontaneously depending on his mood.
"It's always different. I decide on the spot what I want to do," McFerrin said. "The first piece is always a completely improvised piece, something that hasn't been done before. I just open my mouth and see what it is."
Where it goes from there is anybody's guess.
"After I do that, it's whatever. It's tunes, audience stuff, whatever comes to mind," he said. "I could sing a James Brown piece and then sing Bach and then sing a Beatles tune and then sing an African piece. It's just completely free and open to whatever."
Once, McFerrin said, he even invited audience members to bring instruments to the stage for an impromptu jam session.
"I had a guy come up who had a mandolin. Another guy brought up a harmonica. And we just played," McFerrin said. "I figured nobody would bring a tuba up because nobody usually brings a tuba to a concert."
McFerrin's career, which began in the late 1970s, has included forays into classical, jazz and pop realms. The musical Renaissance man -- who features a famous four-octave vocal range -- has also been a frequent guest conductor for some of the world's top orchestras, including the London Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic.
After his summer tour, however, the vocalist plans to take a year away from the road to spend time with his wife and his 14-year-old daughter (two older sons live in New York) and record music in his new home studio. He also wants to write a book of poetry, along with a book of children's stories.
To the amazement of the music world, McFerrin took a similar sabbatical at the height of his popularity, turning his back on fame even as "Don't Worry, Be Happy" soared up the charts.
"I had all these offers, incredible offers people would think I was absolutely out of my mind for turning down," McFerrin said. "Warren Beatty wanted me to be in 'Dick Tracy.' But I wanted to be with my wife and my kids and have a regular life."
McFerrin said he has never second-guessed the decision.
"It was a reality check because 'Don't Worry' was so big and all of a sudden I had no privacy," he said. "You walk out of a restaurant and there's paparazzi taking your picture and talking about what you're wearing. So time out ... it's time to go home again and change diapers, so that's what I did. And I have not a single, single regret."
Music notes
Heading home: Slaughter, one of the only Las Vegas rock acts to make an international mark, regroups for a July 9 show at the Orleans' Mardi Gras Ballroom.
The hair-metal band's early '90s hits included "Up All Night," "Fly to the Angels" and "Spend My Life."
Two Slaughter members -- bassist Dana Strum and drummer Blas Elias -- remain full-time Las Vegas residents.
Singer Mark Slaughter spends most of his time in Nashville, Tenn., these days, while guitarist Jeff Blando lives in Florida.
Original guitarist Tim Kelly, a Henderson resident, died in a 1998 car accident in Arizona.
Skid Row and the Sin City All Stars open the show. Tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the door, and are available at Coast casinos, by phone at 365-7070 and at www.orleanscasino.com.
Country crew: The Academy of Country Music's two-day party doesn't start until Tuesday, but plenty of acts are in town this weekend to get an early start.
Among the plethora of country bills: Lorrie Morgan at the Orleans Showroom, 8 tonight through Sunday ($55 to $88); Joe Nichols at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, 7:30 p.m. Saturday ($25 to $35); Kathy Mattea at Henderson Pavilion, 8 p.m. Saturday ($5 to $25); Trace Adkins and Billy Currington at Sunset Station Amphitheater, 7:30 p.m. Saturday ($22.50 to $49.50); and Kenny Rogers at Primm's Star of the Desert Arena, 8 p.m. Sunday ($29.50 to $45.50).
Calendar watch: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have announced an Aug. 16 date at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, according to Petty's official Web site. Ticket information has not been announced.
Also, singer-songwriters Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright will co-headline an "Odd Men Out" tour stop at The Joint on Aug. 16, with support from Ben Lee.
On sale
Green Day plays the Thomas & Mack Center on Oct. 6, with opening act Jimmy Eat World. Tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Thomas & Mack box office, at UNLVtickets, by phone at 739-3267 and at www.unlvtickets.com. Prices had not been announced at press time.
Robert Plant stops at the Las Vegas Hilton on July 16. Tickets are $65 to $110 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Hilton box office, by phone at 732-5755 or at www.lvhilton.com.
The B-52's land at the Mandalay Bay Beach on July 30. Tickets are $41.25 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mandalay Bay box office, at Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at www.ticketmaster.com.
James Brown performs at the Aladdin Theatre for Performing Arts on Aug. 26. Tickets are $65 to $85 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through the Aladdin box office and Ticketmaster.
Warrant and Great White team for a June 10 show at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. Tickets are $22 to $35 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through the House of Blues box office and Ticketmaster.
Static-X plays the House of Blues on June 8. Tickets are $20 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through the House of Blues box office and Ticketmaster.
Motion City Soundtrack rolls into Jillian's on July 9. Tickets are $10 and are on sale now through Ticketmaster.
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