Worrell was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, where his family moved when he was eight. A musical prodigy, he began formal piano lessons by age three and wrote a concerto at age eight. He went on to study at the Juilliard School and received a degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1967. As a college student, Worrell played with a group called Chubby & The Turnpikes; this ensemble eventually evolved into Tavares.

In 1983, Worrell provided keyboard parts for Mtume’s hit song “Juicy Fruit”.

In 1987 he appeared on the critically acclaimed solo release Casual Gods by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads. The LP contained the US Mainstream Charts hit “Rev it up” which reached a high of #7 and appeared in the movie “Something Wild”. He worked with Jerry Harrison on his other releases also.

When Parliament-Funkadelic took a hiatus from touring in the early 1980s, Worrell was recruited, along with other musicians from differing musical genres such as guitarist Adrian Belew, to perform and record with Talking Heads. Worrell’s experience and feel for different arrangements enhanced the overall sound of the band. Though he never officially joined Talking Heads, he was a de facto member of the group for most of the ’80s, appearing on one of their studio albums, several solo albums, and two tours until they officially disbanded in 1991. Worrell can be seen in the band’s concert film Stop Making Sense. Notably, Worrell was invited to perform with Talking Heads as part of their 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Worrell was a founding member of the CBS Orchestra when the Late Show with David Letterman launched in August 1993, playing lead synthesizer. Worrell departed in November when the orchestra added a horn section.

In 1994, Worrell appeared on the Red Hot Organization’s compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in the African-American community, was heralded as “Album of the Year” by TIME Magazine.

Worrell joined the rock group Black Jack Johnson, with Mos Def, Will Calhoun, Doug Wimbish and Dr. Know. He appears with the band on Mos Def’s 2004 release The New Danger.

Worrell appeared in the 2004 documentary film Moog with synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog and several other Moog synthesizer musicians. In 2011, he toured with Bootsy Collins, another major figure from Parliament-Funkadelic.

In 2009, he joined longtime Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight, bassist Melvin Gibbs and drummer J.T. Lewis to form the band SociaLybrium. Their album For You/For Us/For All was released on Livewired Music in January 2010.

From 2011 through 2015, Worrell performed with his group, the Bernie Worrell Orchestra. The band became known for the appearance of special guests at live performances, including Bootsy Collins, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Jimmy Destri, Mike Watt, Rah Digga and Gary Lucas.

In 2012 and 2013, Worrell played a series of concerts with guitarist Steve Kimock, bassist Andy Hess, and vocalist-percussionist Camille Armstrong. Kimock’s son John Morgan Kimock played drums for the group in 2013.

In 2015, Worrell appeared in the movie Ricki and the Flash as the keyboard player in Meryl Streep’s band. The movie reunited Worrell with director Jonathan Demme, who had directed Stop Making Sense.

During May 2016, the New England Conservatory of Music gave Worrell, who studied at the school until 1967, an honorary Doctor of Music degree.

In January 2016, Worrell was diagnosed with a “mild form” of prostate cancer, stage-four liver cancer and stage-four lung cancer. He relocated from New Jersey, his long-time home, to Bellingham, Washington.

Bernie Worrell died at his home in Everson, Washington, on June 24, 2016, at the age of 72. His wife issued a statement that “Bernie transitioned Home to The Great Spirit. Rest in peace, my love—you definitely made the world a better place. Till we meet again, vaya con Dios.”