Scatman John is my hero - My tribute to Scatman John - General

[b]Scatman John: 1942 - 1999[/b] [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Media_55.GIF[/img] Many of you will know him by one of his two most famous songs, "Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)" or "Scatman's World" (both linked below) His full name was John Paul Larkin, he spent most of his life in his birth state of California. He suffered from a severe stutter since he started talking, which led to an emotionally traumatic childhood. At age 12 he began to learn piano, and was introduced to the art of scat singing at 14 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." He became a professional jazz pianist in the 1970s and '80s, playing many gigs in jazz clubs around Los Angeles. 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 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", and thus Scatman John was born! 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, 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. I believe that he has become my hero, not because i have a stuttering problem or anything, it's just i have heard of so many people with stuttering problems that could overcome this through singing, and this has always fascinated me. It's the unique way that Larkin used his disability to great success as he himself said, stuttering and Scat singing, is the same thing! The fact that he was over 50 when he became worldwide star is awesome, The suit, raincoat, trilby hat and moustache make up such a great image of the Scatman, when i grow old, i wanna be just like him :v:. 1n 1999, he released his third and final album as Scatman John, Take Your Time. 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. He maintained a positive attitude throughout, declaring that "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. In a 1996 interview, he commented that "I hope that the kids, while they sing along to my songs or dance to it, feel that life is not that bad at all. Even for just a minute." [B]Please note[/B], contrary to popular belief, Scat (in this sense) is not poop, it's a style of singing using nonsense words. [img]http://img1.nnm.ru/imagez/gallery/4/d/e/e/6/4dee614e4a56001be445b73060f49766_full.jpg[/img] Scatman facepalm: [img]http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p4/ToDenyASound/scatman2.png[/img] And remember this truly is: [img]http://www.galeon.com/allmusic/caratulas/s/Scatman_John_-_Scatmans_World-front.jpg[/img] [B]VIDEOS:[/B] Scatman: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpHLEm9-0bg[/media] Scatman's World [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUWBAy3bATI[/media] Everybody Jam! (Thanks Killua) [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VaJVDHRpvA[/media] [B]RIP Scatman[/B] :sax:

He was a great singer. :'(

Cosmic Duck, you get more and more awesome every time I see you posting a thread.

I've grown a lot of respect for him. Especially since he is the only 30+ year old I've ever heard of that liked Eurobeat.

[QUOTE=Killua]Cosmic Duck, you get more and more awesome every time I see you posting a thread.[/QUOTE] Thanks very much :D, as a compliment to you, Sam & Max rule, and every time i see your avatar, it brings a smile to my face :v:

Nice thread, but there is a Scatman John Meagathread. It's from '07 though. [url]http://forums.facepunchstudios.com/showthread.php?t=411090&highlight=Scatman+John[/url]

Scatman is awesome. I bought Scatman's World the otherday, and I suggest everyone to do the same. His music is great.

[QUOTE=chunkymonkey]Nice thread, but there is a Scatman John Meagathread. It's from '07 though. [url]http://forums.facepunchstudios.com/showthread.php?t=411090&highlight=Scatman+John[/url][/QUOTE] Well... mine is better! that one is just lyrics and pics.

Legendary Awesome Man Scatman John, always be remembered and :love:

[QUOTE=cosmic duck]Thanks very much :D, as a compliment to you, Sam & Max rule, and every time i see your avatar, it brings a smile to my face :v:[/QUOTE] my main avatar is this one now: [IMG]http://i28.tinypic.com/2ni62vp.jpg[/IMG] banned for a few day methinks. Anyway: [B]SCATMAN[/B] Everybody Jam: [media]http://youtube.com/watch?v=4VaJVDHRpvA[/media]

"Whatever God wants is fine by me... I've had the very best life. I have tasted beauty." Such heroic words

Wow i just read this over at John Larkin's [url=http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/pioneers/scatman.html] Memorial Page:[/url] [quote]John Larkin never stuttered. Because every word he said was worth repeating.[/quote] Great words.

Triple post Snip*

Triple Post snip*

My dad was personal friends with John. He had ice cream parties.

[QUOTE=fletchdude]My dad was personal friends with John. He had ice cream parties.[/QUOTE] Are you serious, that's so cool! Do you know anything else about him?

Sure, two good songs makes you hero material.

[QUOTE=Timeroller]Sure, two good songs makes you hero material.[/QUOTE] In Scatman's case, it does.

[QUOTE=Timeroller]Sure, two good songs makes you hero material.[/QUOTE] He has more than 2 good songs. I'ts not just the songs that makes him my hero.

[QUOTE=cosmic duck]Are you serious, that's so cool! Do you know anything else about him?[/QUOTE] No, I was 5 back then and I didn't know he was so cool. He made some hell of good ice cream though.

Bump for justice. Scatman was awesome. One of the, if I may say, bravest figures I've ever heard of. R.I.P, Scatman John

I LOVE SCATMAN

Scatman was a one of a kind, no one will ever be like him no matter how much they try to imitate him. Wish he was still around then we would have someone good to go on the shitty Eurodance competition.

[b]R.I.P Scatman[/b]

oh my god that song is perfect for an animated flash loop i'm working on

Thanks to Scotty Furs I discovered this artist a few months ago. The name Scatman was in the back of my head but I never really remembered the style or meaning to the song. After he linked me to the Scatman's world video I was impressed, I listened to it over and over and over memorizing the lyrics and over the new few weeks I got a collection of his songs and watched many of his videos. Whenever I want to feel better I just pop open a song of his and I'm cheered right up. R.I.P. Scatman John P. L. we'll always love you. Also very well organized and thoughtful thread, congrats.

Funny enough, I actually found out about Scatman while playing on GMod. This one guy came on a server I was playing in and said he had found this really cool song, so he played it over his mic and gave us a link to the video on Youtube. I've liked his music ever since. If you were the guy who did that and you're reading this, I want to say thanks.

Scatman john was awesome. he will be missed!

This deserves to see the light some more. Because Scatman John should be remembered!

He was awesome. :911: