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Music: Scatman John
"Where's the Scatman? I'm the Scatman."
Scatman John (real name: John Paul Larkin) was a singer and jazz/pop pianist famous for singing despite having a Speech Impediment which made him stutter. Although born in America, he was much more popular in Europe and Japan than he ever was in the U.S. He is best known for the somewhat self-titled song "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)". He died from lung cancer on December 3, 1999 at the age of 57.

He is considered a very inspiring example of how someone with a disability can turn his life around. He turned his stutter into an advantage in his music as scat singing has a lot of repetition in it. He even points this out in his debut song.

"Everybody stutters one way or the other
So check out my message to you.
As a matter of fact don't let nothin' hold you back.
If the Scatman can do it, so can you.
Everybody's sayin' that the Scatman stutters
But doesn't ever stutter when he sings.
But what you don't know I'm gonna tell you right now
That the stutter and the scat is the same thing.
Yo, I'm the Scatman."

A profile of his work and life can be found here.

Scatman John and his work provide examples of:

  • Artistic License - Music: There are trumpeters in the "Scatman" video, even though all of the trumpets are obviously synthesized.
  • Clothes Make the Legend: His Nice Hat, which he wore in most of his music videos. His pinstripe suit and Porn Stache may also qualify.
  • Cute Kitten: From "Everybody Jam!":
    Louie even said that you could teach your cat scat.
  • Disability Superpower: Had a stutter, which, as mentioned before, gave him godly scatting powers. He himself described it as "turning my biggest problem into my biggest asset".
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: His first album, John Larkin (1986) was recorded before the creation of his Scatman persona, it has no scatting, and it's regular jazz, not a fusion with dance/rap.
  • Motor Mouth: Yes
  • Nice Hat: As mentioned above, Scatman was rarely seen without his trademark hat
  • No Export for You: His Japanese Exclusive songs.... Until the internet and MP3s became popular.
  • Sampling: A bit of Louis Armstrong speaking and playing the trumpet is sampled in "Everybody Jam!", fittingly, as it is a tribute to the man.
    • He has also been sampled himself.
  • Scatting: Well, duh.
  • Secretly Dying: Most people didn't know he was dying from advanced lung cancer until he did so, seeing as he released his final album a few months before doing so.

Django ReinhardtMusiciansFrank Sinatra

alternative title(s): Scatman John
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