"Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" is a song by American musician Scatman John, a.k.a. John Paul Larkin. It was released in November 1994 by RCA Records as his debut single, and was later re-released in July 1995 for his second album, Scatman's World (1995). The song was co-written by John and produced by Ingo Kays and Tony Catania. It has been described as "a blend of jazz scatting, rap, and house beats", and reached number-one on the charts in at least ten countries. "Scatman" also peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart and number 60 on the US BillboardHot 100. The song won the March 1996 Echo Award in Germany for the best Rock/Pop single.[2] The music video was directed by Kerstin Mueller. It was shot in black-and-white and received heavy rotation on music channels.
Born in El Monte, California, Scatman John (a.k.a. John Paul Larkin) suffered from a severe stutter by the time he learned to speak which led to an emotionally traumatic childhood. At age twelve, he began to learn piano and was introduced to the art of scat singing two years later, through records by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, among others. Larkin became a professional jazz pianist in the 1970s and 1980s, playing many engagements in jazz clubs around Los Angeles. His first known performance on a studio album was in 1981 on the album Animal Sounds by Sam Phipps. In 1986, he released the self titled album John Larkin on the Transition label. This album was produced by John himself, along with Marcia Larkin.
"In my opinion that song has a really strong message, I and John Larkin wrote the lyrics for old and young generation. Also, I think the track will go on to be an evergreen, because it's so catchy and original. On top of that, with old man singing dance music was not typical for the scene. I think this is such a positive song, that encourages people to do something out of their life and the message is AGE DOESN'T MATTER."
To advance his career in 1990, Larkin moved to Berlin, Germany. From there, he discovered the appreciative jazz culture and started playing jazz gigs.[4] This was when he first decided to take a monumental step away from his insecurities and add singing to his act for the first time. His agent Manfred Zähringer from Iceberg Records (Denmark) thought of combining scat singing with modern dance music and hip hop effects. Larkin was resistant at first, terrified of being laughed at and criticized once again, but BMG Hamburg was open. Larkin was worried that listeners would realise he stuttered, and his wife, Judy, suggested that he talk about it directly in his music.
Producer Tony Catania then received a VHS from Zähringer. On the tape, he observed Larkin playing piano songs from Fitzgerald, Armstrong etc. He told in an interview, "The sound was a little crazy but at the end of this tape, I remember it like yesterday, he starts his scat singing improvisation. I was thinking at the moment that this is a great idea. I say to his management to bring John Larkin from L.A. to my studio and in this moment, Scatman John was born!!!" In two days, working with producers Ingo Kays and Catania, the new single, "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" was created. Catania added, "Those days, the sounds were always the same, and I was coming up with an old jazz guy that had the talent to scat, something like that would shock the scene. I was right, Scatman John was a huge success worldwide."[5] After the success of his first single, Larkin adopted the new name and persona of "Scatman" John.
Some lyrics from the song are reused from "The Misfit", a song from Larkin's 1986 debut album John Larkin.
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard named "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" a "novelty dance tune", noting that it "has a giddy Euro-NRG tone" and that Scatman John "bends his tongue to rapid, ear-popping effect."[1] Dimitri Ehrlich from Entertainment Weekly wrote that "this synth-pop hit defines novelty: A chintzy drum machine pitter patters at a frantic pace while John, a Los Angeles jazz vocalist who has stuttered since childhood, frees himself from his speech impediment by scatting for three minutes and twenty seconds."[6] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton viewed it as "a bizarre part-rapped, part spoken, part-scatted dance hit performed by the enigmatic Scatman John who is almost as old as my father and really should know better. Still, a culpable hit it is and destined apparently for the Top 3."[7] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Try to say that title in one go without choking on your words. Impossible! But Scatman has no problems scatting his nonsensical rhyme, a serious candidate for a novelty dance hit."[8]
James Hamilton from Music Week's RM Dance Update described it as "John Larkin's jaunty ragga scatted and 'I'm a Scatman' chanted Italian galloper".[9] Debby Peterson from The Network Forty considered it a "hellacious techno-dance groove".[10]Mark Frith from Smash Hits gave "Scatman" a top score of five out of five and named it Best New Single, writing, "Now, there is every reason to hate this record: it's cheesey, it's a novelty, the lyrics are largely meaningless. Except that when you put in on it is just so infectious, fun, loud, meaningless and stupid that you can't resist. Loads of people who are too old to know, will offer this as further evidence that music "isn't like it used to be". Indeed it's not, thank God. They make this instead! Fantastic."[11]
Chart performance
The song was very successful on the charts all over the world, reaching number-one in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart.[12][13] Additionally, it also entered the top 10 in Australia (8), Germany (2), Italy (3), the Netherlands (2), Scotland (3), Sweden (2) and the UK. In the latter, the single reached number three in its third week at the UK Singles Chart, on May 21, 1995.[14] It became a top-20 hit in Iceland (20), and Poland, and a top-40 hit in Japan (36), and New Zealand (39). In the US, the single charted on the BillboardHot 100 and Hot Dance Club Play charts and the Cash Box Top 100, peaking at numbers 60, 10 and 62, respectively.
Scatman John was awarded the March 1996 Echo Award in Germany for the best Rock/Pop single with "Scatman".[2] The single was also awarded with a gold record in Australia (35,000), Austria (25,000), Norway, Switzerland (25,000), and the United Kingdom (400,000), and a platinum record in France (500,000), and Germany (500,000).
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Scatman" was released in 1994 and directed by Kerstin Mueller. It was also produced by Ariola Records.[15] It was shot in black and white, and features a fractured screen with several box shots (almost in the style of Cubism), showing John singing, along with various people dancing, miming, lip-syncing and playing the drums, bass and trumpet. The video was played in heavy rotation on music channels in 1995. It was later made available on Scatman John's official YouTube channel in 2013,[16] having generated more than 243 million views as of early 2025.
Legacy
In 2013, Vibe ranked "Scatman" number 28 in their list of "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks from the '90s That Changed the Game".[17] In 2017, BuzzFeed ranked it number 94 in their "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s".[18] In 2024, MTV 90s ranked "Scatman" number seven in their list of "Top 50 Rhythms of Eurodance".[19][20]
Sampling
In 2021, music producers Alan Walker and Imanbek sampled the song and additionally used wording from the title of the song in their hit "Sweet Dreams".
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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