Scatman John
Encyclopedia
John Paul Larkin better known by his stage name Scatman John, was an American musician who created a fusion of scat singing
and dance music
, best known for his 1995 hit "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)".
A stutterer, Larkin stated that scatting was "turning my biggest problem into my biggest asset". Scatman John sold millions of recordings worldwide and was named "Best New Artist" in the Echo Awards in both Japan and Germany. He was a recipient of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
's Annie Glenn
Award for outstanding service to the stuttering community and National Stuttering Association Hall of Fame.
, California
, Larkin suffered from a severe stutter since his beginning of speech which led to an emotionally traumatic childhood. Even at the peak of his success in 1995, journalists reported that during interviews he “hardly finishes a sentence without repeating the phrase at least six or seven times”. At age twelve he began to learn piano, and was introduced to the art of scat singing
at the age of fourteen through records by Ella Fitzgerald
and Louis Armstrong
, amongst others. The piano provided him with a means of artistic expression to compensate for his speech difficulties. He remarked in a 1996 interview that “playing piano gave me a way to speak… I hid behind the piano because I was scared of talking”.
Larkin became a professional jazz pianist in the 1970s and '80s, playing many gigs in jazz clubs around Los Angeles
. In 1986, he released the self-titled album John Larkin on the Transition label, copies of which are now extremely rare. He claimed to have “hundreds of them lying around in [his] closet at home”. Around this time, alcoholism and drug addiction were also beginning to take a hold of his life. When fellow musician and friend Joe Farrell
, who also had a drug problem, died of bone cancer in 1986, Larkin decided to beat his habits. He eventually did so, largely with the help of his new wife Judy, also a recovering alcoholic. “You have talent,” she told him. “I’m going to make something out of you.”
, Germany
. From there he discovered the appreciative jazz culture and started playing jazz gigs. Here he decided to add singing to his act for the first time, inspired by the standing ovation he received for his rendition of the song On the Sunny Side of the Street
. Soon after, his agent Manfred Zähringer from Iceberg Records in Denmark
thought of combining scat-singing with modern dance music
and hip hop
sounds. Larkin was resistant at first but BMG Hamburg was open.
Larkin was mainly scared that listeners would realize he stuttered, so Judy suggested that he talk about it directly in his music. Working with dance producers Ingo Kays and Tony Catania, he recorded the first single, Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop), a song intended to inspire children who stuttered to overcome adversity. He adopted the new name and persona of Scatman John.
entering the UK Singles chart
at #10, which met lesser but still notable success, selling a million copies and charting highly throughout Europe.
Following the success of these two singles, he released his debut album as Scatman John, also titled Scatman’s World, which entered the top 10 album charts in many countries including his then home Germany as well as in Switzerland, Finland and Norway, which eventually sold millions of copies worldwide. He began a promotional and concert tour of Europe and Asia. “At an appearance I did in Spain, the kids screamed for five minutes straight, I couldn’t start the song”, he once recounted.
, was released in 1996. While nowhere near as successful on an international level as his debut, the album and accompanying single
took off in Japan
, the country in which he would see success on a larger scale than anywhere else in the world. He was so popular there that Japanese toy stores sold dolls of his likeness and he appeared on phone cards and Coca Cola cans. The Japanese version of Everybody Jam! included a total of five bonus tracks, including the hit singles there Su Su Su Super Ki Re i and Pripri Scat
, which were commissioned by Japanese companies for commercials for cosmetics
and pudding
respectively. The Ultraman
franchise even jumped on the Scatman bandwagon, releasing a single titled Scatultraman, the cover art of which featured the Ultraman characters in hats and moustaches.
. It was later revealed that he had been battling ill health since late 1998. He continued work on the album despite being told to take it easy from his substantial workload. He was later diagnosed with lung cancer
and soon went into intensive treatment. Even while suffering, Larkin remained positive saying “Whatever God wants is fine by me… I’ve had the very best life. I have tasted beauty”. He died in his Los Angeles home on December 3, 1999. He was cremated and was buried at sea near Malibu, California.
Scat singing
In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
and dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
, best known for his 1995 hit "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)".
A stutterer, Larkin stated that scatting was "turning my biggest problem into my biggest asset". Scatman John sold millions of recordings worldwide and was named "Best New Artist" in the Echo Awards in both Japan and Germany. He was a recipient of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
The American Speech–Language–Hearing Association is a professional association for speech–language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally...
's Annie Glenn
Annie Glenn
Annie Glenn, born Anna Margaret Castor , is the wife of former astronaut and Senator John Glenn.-Private life:Annie was born in 1920 to Homer and Margaret Castor of Columbus, Ohio. In 1923, Dr. Castor and his family moved to New Concord, Ohio, where they became friends with the family of John...
Award for outstanding service to the stuttering community and National Stuttering Association Hall of Fame.
Biography
Born in El MonteEl Monte, California
El Monte is a residential, industrial, and commercial city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte," and historically is known as "The End of the Santa Fe Trail." As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 113,475,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Larkin suffered from a severe stutter since his beginning of speech which led to an emotionally traumatic childhood. Even at the peak of his success in 1995, journalists reported that during interviews he “hardly finishes a sentence without repeating the phrase at least six or seven times”. At age twelve he began to learn piano, and was introduced to the art of scat singing
Scat singing
In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
at the age of fourteen through records by Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
and Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, amongst others. The piano provided him with a means of artistic expression to compensate for his speech difficulties. He remarked in a 1996 interview that “playing piano gave me a way to speak… I hid behind the piano because I was scared of talking”.
Larkin became a professional jazz pianist in the 1970s and '80s, playing many gigs in jazz clubs around Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. In 1986, he released the self-titled album John Larkin on the Transition label, copies of which are now extremely rare. He claimed to have “hundreds of them lying around in [his] closet at home”. Around this time, alcoholism and drug addiction were also beginning to take a hold of his life. When fellow musician and friend Joe Farrell
Joe Farrell
Joseph Carl Firrantello , known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name on the CTI record label and for playing in the initial incarnation of Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:Farrell was born in Chicago...
, who also had a drug problem, died of bone cancer in 1986, Larkin decided to beat his habits. He eventually did so, largely with the help of his new wife Judy, also a recovering alcoholic. “You have talent,” she told him. “I’m going to make something out of you.”
Birth of “Scatman John”
To advance his career in 1990, Larkin moved to BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. From there he discovered the appreciative jazz culture and started playing jazz gigs. Here he decided to add singing to his act for the first time, inspired by the standing ovation he received for his rendition of the song On the Sunny Side of the Street
On the Sunny Side of the Street
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a song with music composed by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, which was introduced in the Broadway musical Lew Leslie's International Revue, starring Harry Richman and Gertrude Lawrence....
. Soon after, his agent Manfred Zähringer from Iceberg Records in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
thought of combining scat-singing with modern dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
sounds. Larkin was resistant at first but BMG Hamburg was open.
Larkin was mainly scared that listeners would realize he stuttered, so Judy suggested that he talk about it directly in his music. Working with dance producers Ingo Kays and Tony Catania, he recorded the first single, Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop), a song intended to inspire children who stuttered to overcome adversity. He adopted the new name and persona of Scatman John.
International success
In 1995, at age 52, Larkin became a worldwide star. Sales of his debut single were slow at first, but gradually reached #1 in many countries and sold over six million records worldwide. Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop) which charted quite highly across Europe remains his biggest-selling and most well-known song. He later followed up with the song Scatman’s WorldScatman's World (song)
"Scatman's World" is a song by Scatman John, the second single from the album of the same name and the follow-up to the international hit "Scatman "...
entering the UK Singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at #10, which met lesser but still notable success, selling a million copies and charting highly throughout Europe.
Following the success of these two singles, he released his debut album as Scatman John, also titled Scatman’s World, which entered the top 10 album charts in many countries including his then home Germany as well as in Switzerland, Finland and Norway, which eventually sold millions of copies worldwide. He began a promotional and concert tour of Europe and Asia. “At an appearance I did in Spain, the kids screamed for five minutes straight, I couldn’t start the song”, he once recounted.
Post-Scatman’s World
The second Scatman John album, Everybody Jam!Everybody Jam!
Everybody Jam! is the second album by Scatman John. The album continues along the thematic lines of the first album but with an evolved sound, and cemented his popularity in Japan, released there with five bonus tracks....
, was released in 1996. While nowhere near as successful on an international level as his debut, the album and accompanying single
Everybody Jam! (song)
"Everybody Jam!" is a song by Scatman John, released as a single from the album of the same name. It is a tribute to the music of Louis Armstrong with samples of his voice edited into the track as if in conversation with the Scatman....
took off in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the country in which he would see success on a larger scale than anywhere else in the world. He was so popular there that Japanese toy stores sold dolls of his likeness and he appeared on phone cards and Coca Cola cans. The Japanese version of Everybody Jam! included a total of five bonus tracks, including the hit singles there Su Su Su Super Ki Re i and Pripri Scat
Pripri Scat
"Pripri Scat" is one of several Scatman John singles released exclusively in Japan, and only as a 3-inch disc. The song was recorded as a tie-in to a Japanese pudding TV commercial, but this is not particularly evident in the lyrics which explore his usual themes of love and paradise...
, which were commissioned by Japanese companies for commercials for cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
and pudding
Pudding
Pudding most often refers to a dessert, but it can also be a savory dish.In the United States, pudding characteristically denotes a sweet milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, though it may also refer to other types such as bread and rice pudding.In the United Kingdom and...
respectively. The Ultraman
Ultraman
is Japanese television series that first aired in 1966. Ultraman, the first and best-known of the "Ultra-Crusaders," made his debut in the tokusatsu SF/kaiju/superhero TV series, , a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q...
franchise even jumped on the Scatman bandwagon, releasing a single titled Scatultraman, the cover art of which featured the Ultraman characters in hats and moustaches.
Final years
In 1999, Larkin released his third and final album as Scatman John, Take Your TimeTake Your Time
Take Your Time is the third and final album by Scatman John. Released six months before his death on December 3; although he suffered from lung cancer through most of the recording, he still managed to release the album....
. It was later revealed that he had been battling ill health since late 1998. He continued work on the album despite being told to take it easy from his substantial workload. He was later diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
and soon went into intensive treatment. Even while suffering, Larkin remained positive saying “Whatever God wants is fine by me… I’ve had the very best life. I have tasted beauty”. He died in his Los Angeles home on December 3, 1999. He was cremated and was buried at sea near Malibu, California.
Studio albums
| Rel. | Title | Rec. | Label Record label In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,... | Formats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jazz | |||||
| 1986 | John Larkin | 1984-1985 | Transition Records | LP LP record The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... |
US only |
| Eurodance | |||||
| 1995 | Scatman's World Scatman's World Scatman's World is debut album by American musician Scatman John, recorded after the worldwide success of his debut single "Scatman". It is somewhat of a concept album dealing with an imaginary Utopian society named "Scatland"... |
1995 | RCA Records RCA Records RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label... |
LP, CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
- |
| 1996 | Everybody Jam! Everybody Jam! Everybody Jam! is the second album by Scatman John. The album continues along the thematic lines of the first album but with an evolved sound, and cemented his popularity in Japan, released there with five bonus tracks.... |
1996 | RCA Records | CD | - |
| 1999 | Take Your Time Take Your Time Take Your Time is the third and final album by Scatman John. Released six months before his death on December 3; although he suffered from lung cancer through most of the recording, he still managed to release the album.... |
1999 | RCA Records | CD | - |
Compilation albums
| Rel. | Title | Rec. | Label | Formats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jazz | |||||
| 2001 | Listen to the Scatman | 1984-1990 | Stunt Records | CD | - |
| Eurodance | |||||
| 2002 | The Best of Scatman John The Best of Scatman John The Best of Scatman John is a 2002 compilation album of Scatman John's greatest hits.-Track listing:#"Scatman "#"Scatman's World"#"Only You"#"Scatmambo"#"Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word"#"Scatmusic"#"Ichi Ni San..... |
1994-1999 | RCA Records | CD | Japan only |
EPs
| Rel. | Title | Label | Formats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Scat Paradise Scat Paradise Scat Paradise is a Scatman John EP released only in Japan. It features the fan favourite "Hey, You!", a rarity previously only available as the B-side to the infamous "Song of Scatland" single and later remixed and re-released as "U-Turn" on the Everybody Jam! album."Jazzology" is an ode to the... |
RCA Records | CD | Japan only |
Singles
| Rel. | Title | Label | Formats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop) | RCA Records | 12" 12-inch single The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality... , 7" Single (music) In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear... , CD |
- |
| 1995 | Scatman's World Scatman's World (song) "Scatman's World" is a song by Scatman John, the second single from the album of the same name and the follow-up to the international hit "Scatman "... |
RCA Records | 2x12", 12", CD | - |
| 1995 | Song of Scatland Song of Scatland "Song of Scatland" is the third single from Scatman John's debut album, Scatman's World..The song is a slow ballad about the imaginary Utopian kingdom of "Scatland"... |
RCA Records | 12", CD | - |
| 1995 | Only You Only You (Scatman John song) "Only You" is a song by Scatman John. It was released in Japan as the fourth single from the album Scatman's World, with identical artwork to the "Song of Scatland" single released in other countries.-Single track listing:#"Only You"... |
RCA Records | CD | Japan only |
| 1995 | Popstar | Scandinavian Records | CD (promo) | Promo single |
| 1996 | Su Su Su Super Kirei | RCA Records | CD | Japan only |
| 1996 | Pripri Scat Pripri Scat "Pripri Scat" is one of several Scatman John singles released exclusively in Japan, and only as a 3-inch disc. The song was recorded as a tie-in to a Japanese pudding TV commercial, but this is not particularly evident in the lyrics which explore his usual themes of love and paradise... |
RCA Records | CD3 | Japan only |
| 1996 | Su Su Su Super Kirei / Pripri Scat Pripri Scat "Pripri Scat" is one of several Scatman John singles released exclusively in Japan, and only as a 3-inch disc. The song was recorded as a tie-in to a Japanese pudding TV commercial, but this is not particularly evident in the lyrics which explore his usual themes of love and paradise... |
RCA Records | 12" | Japan only |
| 1996 | Everybody Jam! Everybody Jam! (song) "Everybody Jam!" is a song by Scatman John, released as a single from the album of the same name. It is a tribute to the music of Louis Armstrong with samples of his voice edited into the track as if in conversation with the Scatman.... |
RCA Records | 12", CD | - |
| 1996 | Let It Go | RCA Records | 12", CD | - |
| 1998 | Scatmambo Scatmambo "Scatmambo" is a song by Scatman John, an experiment with mambo-sound, and it was released in 1998 as the first single from his third and final mainstream album Take Your Time..... |
RCA Records | 12", CD | - |
| 1999 | The Chickadee Song The Chickadee Song "The Chickadee Song" is a song by Scatman John, the second single from his third and final mainstream album Take Your Time, and another in a series of experiments with Cuban musical sounds... |
RCA Records | CD | - |
| 1999 | Take Your Time Take Your Time (Scatman John song) "Take Your Time" is the third single from Scatman John's third and final studio album, Take Your Time.."Take Your Time" was only released in Europe, where it was released as the second single from his third and final album Take Your Time, instead of "The Chickadee Song" which was released as the... |
RCA Records | CD | - |
| 1999 | Ichi Ni San... Go! | RCA Records | CD | - |
Interview albums
| Rel. | Title | Album | Label | Formats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Interview CD | Scatman's World Scatman's World Scatman's World is debut album by American musician Scatman John, recorded after the worldwide success of his debut single "Scatman". It is somewhat of a concept album dealing with an imaginary Utopian society named "Scatland"... |
RCA Records | CD | - |
Music videos
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop) |
| 1995 | Scatman's World Scatman's World Scatman's World is debut album by American musician Scatman John, recorded after the worldwide success of his debut single "Scatman". It is somewhat of a concept album dealing with an imaginary Utopian society named "Scatland"... |
| 1995 | Song of Scatland Song of Scatland "Song of Scatland" is the third single from Scatman John's debut album, Scatman's World..The song is a slow ballad about the imaginary Utopian kingdom of "Scatland"... |
| 1996 | Everybody Jam! Everybody Jam! Everybody Jam! is the second album by Scatman John. The album continues along the thematic lines of the first album but with an evolved sound, and cemented his popularity in Japan, released there with five bonus tracks.... |
| 1996 | Su Su Su Super Kirei |
External links
- Remembering Scatman John Larkin: a collection of thoughts and comments about the career of Scatman John and his impact on those who loved his music
- Scatman John Discogs Profile: a short profile and list of singles and albums released by Scatman John or containing his music