This man made opera history. Why did I not know him?

Peter Brathwaite knew Bobby (Don't Worry Be Happy) McFerrin but not his father Robert, the first Black man to sing at the Met. He celebrates a trailblazer and an inspiration

Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry, be happy"

Everyone knows Bobby McFerrin's 1988 earwormy hit and its gloriously silly video. I remember dancing round the living room with my sisters singing along full pelt, each of us taking turns to try our hands at imitating the vocal percussion. More recently, a friend put it on one evening. I took that as an invitation to sing and dance, but really she just wanted to test my trivia. Did I know that Bobby McFerrin's dad was an opera singer? No. Did I know Bobby's dad - born 100 years ago - was a baritone, like me? No. Did I know that Bobby's dad was the first Black man to sing at America's flagship opera company - the Metropolitan Opera? I had no idea.