The brief run of Meher Baba as a pop culture titan
Spiritual guru Meher Baba lived one of the more interesting lives of the last 100 years or so. Born in India and initially coming to prominence as a musical prodigy, Baba experienced a seven-year-long spiritual awakening that transformed him into an avatar. With his disciples believing him to be the mortal connection to God, Baba began assembling followers from all across the globe. Some of those followers, like Pete Townshend and Melanie, just happened to be famous pop stars.
A 1970 article in Rolling Stones titled ‘In Love With Meher Baba’ laid out Townshend’s devotion to the spiritual guide. “I first heard about Meher Baba from Mike McInnerney in Autumn 1967,” Townshend wrote. “Mike later became very involved in the development of my own work on Tommy, and it was in the knowledge that he was a Baba lover; and able to grasp the needs of the evolving album, that I asked him to do the artwork connected.”
The first sign of Baba’s influence on Townshend came in the form of The Who’s 1969 rock opera, Tommy. The central character’s battles as a “deaf, dumb, and blind kid” were directly inspired by Baba’s teaching. Townshend may have borrowed one of Baba’s most notable qualities for Tommy’s muteness, given that from 1925 until his death in early 1969, Baba remained voluntarily silent and communicated through an interpreter.
Tommy only arrived after Baba had already passed away, but Townshend wasn’t done with his preoccupation with Baba just yet. Less than two years after the release of Tommy, Townshend once again tapped into Baba’s philosophy for Lighthouse, his rock opera that never came to fruition. Instead, the remnants of the project were turned into Who’s Next, with Baba lending his name to the first part of ‘Baba O’Riley’ (the second part belonging to avant-garde composer Terry Riley).
Townshend’s Who-related work would continue to show remnants of Baba’s teachings, but it was Townshend’s numerous tribute albums to Baba’s memory that represented his most direct connection to the spiritual leader. Happy Birthday, I Am, and With Love were all released as tributes to Baba throughout the 1970s, with all three albums being collected into the compilation Jai Baba in 2001. A number of songs from Happy Birthday and I Am eventually found their way onto Townshend’s solo debut, Who Came First, with Baba getting a songwriting credit on the song ‘Parvardigar’.
Townshend wasn’t the only famous disciple that Baba acquired in the music world. Singer-songwriter Melanie also followed Baba’s spiritual guidance, making reference to him in the title track for her 1970 album Candles in the Rain. ‘Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)’ combines Melanie’s observations of the ever-growing hippie subculture and its harmonious ideals with Baba’s philosophies.
But Baba’s biggest moment in the pop culture spotlight came from someone who wasn’t actually a follower. Bobby McFerrin was already a legendary vocalist in the jazz community when he spotted a poster with one of Baba’s most famous phrases on it: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. McFerrin was inspired by the simplicity of the message and composed a song around the central phrase.
Using just his overdubbed voice, McFerrin crafted a reggae-tinged a capella track that went all the way to number one in the United States. ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ is still the only a capella song to reach the top of the charts, giving Baba pop music immortality. McFerrin quickly grew tired of the song, but Baba’s message that helped inspire it continues to resonate with followers around the world.