Scatman John: from quiet, stuttering jazz pianist to pop sensation
September 4, 2015 12:49 PM Subscribe
He's sold eight million CD's, has two No. 1 singles in almost every country in the world, counts 14 gold and 18 platinum records to his credit, and even had his image imprinted upon millions of Coke cans across Europe. This all came late in his life, after decades of quietly playing jazz piano. John Larkin became a pop hit in 1994, thanks to Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop- Bop), a dance single from his first album as Scatman John. But he wasn't a one-hit wonder for the radio only, and released five albums, three as Scatman John. He died in 1999, and left a legacy thanks to his work with young stutterers around the world.
Here's a short documentary (YT, 6:36) featuring interview clips of John Larkin talking about his life, from his stressful youth, his troubled adulthood and finally his international success as Scatman John. You can also see his keynote presentation at the NSP Convention in 1995 (YT, 8:52), where he also talks a bit about his story.
For a taste of his work pre-Scatman, you can hear his entire album, released as John Larkin in 1986, on YouTube, featuring abstract, raw, avant-garde jazz, very different from that pop hit to say the least.
Jump forward nine years, and you have Scatman's World, a semi-autobiographical, semi-concept album about an imaginary Utopian society named "Scatland", which is currently the 9the best selling album in Japan by a non-Japanese artist. It's very much a 1990s dance album, and you could say it has not aged well, or was simply a product of its time.
* Extended versions used instead of album versions, for whatever that's worth
More old clips of Scatman John in action: I'm A Scatman Live @ Dance Machine 8 (1996) | Extended session on Mtv Europe (circa 1995/6) | Scatman John live on a Japanese show | Scatman John, Grand Prix Award Winner in Japan, performing Scatman's World & Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop) [1995] | Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop) on Top of the Pops (circa 1995).
Here's a short documentary (YT, 6:36) featuring interview clips of John Larkin talking about his life, from his stressful youth, his troubled adulthood and finally his international success as Scatman John. You can also see his keynote presentation at the NSP Convention in 1995 (YT, 8:52), where he also talks a bit about his story.
For a taste of his work pre-Scatman, you can hear his entire album, released as John Larkin in 1986, on YouTube, featuring abstract, raw, avant-garde jazz, very different from that pop hit to say the least.
Jump forward nine years, and you have Scatman's World, a semi-autobiographical, semi-concept album about an imaginary Utopian society named "Scatland", which is currently the 9the best selling album in Japan by a non-Japanese artist. It's very much a 1990s dance album, and you could say it has not aged well, or was simply a product of its time.
1. Welcome to Scatland (video) | 2. Scatman's World (video, alternate video) | 3. Only You | 4. Quiet Desperation | 5. Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop) Extended radio version* | 6. Sing Now! | 7. Popstar | 8. Time (Take Your Time) | 9. Mambo Jambo | 10. Everything Changes | 11. Song of Scatland (official video) | 12. Hi, Louis | 13. Scatman (Game Over Jazz) bonus trackA year later, Scatman John returned with Everybody Jam! and cemented his popularity in Japan. It also charted in Switzerland, and resulted in two international singles (noted as 1, 2 below), plus a third for Japan (J). The album is a diverse offering compared to its predecessor. The overall production of this album is superior, with improved sound quality, packaging, and music. Because of the broad musical scope, the album also features a wide-ranging group of musicians, including a gospel choir.
1. Stop the Rain | 2. Everybody Jam!1 | 3. The Invisible Man (cover of Queen [official video]) | 4. Let It Go2 | 5. Message To You | 6. (I Want To) Be Someone | 7. Scatmusic | 8. Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Mind | 9. (We Got To Learn To) Live Together | 10. Ballad of Love | 11. People of the Generation | 12. Lebanon | 13. U-Turn | 14. Everybody Jam! (Club Jam) || Japanese bonus tracks: 15. Paa Pee Poo Pae Po | 16. I'm Free | 17. Jazzology | 18. Pripri Scat (Radio Edit) (also featured in a Japanese pudding commercial, with Scatman John himself) | 19. Su Su Su Super Ki Re iJ - apparently the last video Scatman John made, according to a YouTube commentIn 1999, Scatman John released his final album, Take Your Time. The album had three associated singles (1, 2, 3 below). It's more euro-pop cheese, but also more matured, plus touching when you realize he was dying of lung cancer at this time.
1. Take Your Time (original extended version)3 * | 2. Scatman's Dance | 3. The Chickadee Song2 | 4. Take Me Away | 5. Scat Me If You Can | 6. I Love Samba | 7. Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word | 8. Ichi Ni San... Go! | 9. Dream Again | 10. Everyday | 11. Night Train | 12. Scatmambo1The final album from John Larkin was released posthumously by the Danish jazz label, Stunt Records, not as Scatman John, but under his own name on the album Listen to the Scatman in 2001. As you might expect, this isn't another Euro-Pop album, but looks back to Larkin's jazz roots (plus a bonus remix, for everyone who was looking for that sound). You can hear the 12 tracks in a slightly jumbled, repetitive YouTube playlist.
* Extended versions used instead of album versions, for whatever that's worth
More old clips of Scatman John in action: I'm A Scatman Live @ Dance Machine 8 (1996) | Extended session on Mtv Europe (circa 1995/6) | Scatman John live on a Japanese show | Scatman John, Grand Prix Award Winner in Japan, performing Scatman's World & Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop) [1995] | Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop) on Top of the Pops (circa 1995).
Beavis and Butthead's take on Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop). Speaking of products of their time.
posted by dismas at 12:54 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by dismas at 12:54 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
(I post that not to try to take away from the rest of this! Hope that's clear. This is a Good Post)
posted by dismas at 12:56 PM on September 4, 2015
posted by dismas at 12:56 PM on September 4, 2015
Man, myself and another mefite spent an evening really diving into this guy not too long ago. Much more interesting story than I'd have guessed at the start.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:58 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Navelgazer at 12:58 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
dismas, Thanks! And listening to both the John Larkin and his Scatman John persona, I really like his jazz as Larkin, but there are also some decent works as Scatman John.
Navelgazer, I agree. The fact that his "Scatman" song is pretty much an overview of his troubles with stuttering, yet it became an international dance hit, is what hooked me at first.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:00 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Navelgazer, I agree. The fact that his "Scatman" song is pretty much an overview of his troubles with stuttering, yet it became an international dance hit, is what hooked me at first.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:00 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Super, love this - thanks much, flt.
posted by madamjujujive at 2:10 PM on September 4, 2015
posted by madamjujujive at 2:10 PM on September 4, 2015
Can't favourite this hard enough.
posted by comealongpole at 4:12 PM on September 4, 2015
posted by comealongpole at 4:12 PM on September 4, 2015
Scatman John was so incredibly big in Japan in the '90s and there was no escaping that song no matter where you were or what you were doing. I couldn't stand that song at the time. I only recently found out about his stuttering after seeing a segment on the long-running TV show Music Fair, when the singer Ryoko Moriyama chose her appearance with Scatman John (not a very good video, but just to give you an idea) as one of her favorite past performances on the show. It's cut off in that video but she mentioned afterwards that John Larkin was such a perfect gentleman and that she really wanted to extend an invitation to her house to chat even though she'd just met him on that day.
I actually considered doing a post on him after learning about his background, but now I'm glad I didn't since you seem to have covered everything! I wish I'd known more about him back when his song was annoying me.
posted by misozaki at 5:05 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I actually considered doing a post on him after learning about his background, but now I'm glad I didn't since you seem to have covered everything! I wish I'd known more about him back when his song was annoying me.
posted by misozaki at 5:05 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by filthy light thief at 12:51 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]