Todd: And by that, of course, I mean he had a serious drug problem in true jazz fashion. Todd (VO): He is an actual jazz cat who'd been performing for decades in LA before he got big. Todd (VO): His name is John Larkin, he's from California.įootage of John Larkin playing jazz piano Todd: Before we get to the song "Scatman", we have to get to the actual Scatman himself, before he was the Scatman. Todd: So let's check out the guy who put the "ski-ba-di-bop" in "Ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-dop".ĭing dong dong dong, do-dong-ding. Scatman: If the Scatman can do it, so can you Todd: But I am glad that I got this one for a request, because the Scatman's story and music is just heartwarmingly wonderful. So what I knew of it was that was a goofy novelty single of the kind that the mid-90s spat out with machine gun repetition. In 1995, the only music I was interested in was the Sonic and Knuckles soundtrack. People have been begging me for this one for years, and I've always blown it off because I have no memory of this song. I can't promise I won't make a couple cheap jokes, but if we giggle every time I say the word "scat", we're not gonna get anywhere. ( picture of chocolate ice cream) I'm gonna need you all to be grown-ups on this one. Todd: Yes, I know that "scat" has picked up a second meaning. the singing technique consisting of improvised nonsense syllables that mimic the solos of jazz instrumentalists. But he owned the charts across the globe with his breakthrough single. ( picture of Scatman John) He looked like a wedding band guitarist at best. Todd (VO): He didn't look like a pop star. Scatman: Everybody stutters one way or the other. And he was the world's unlikeliest eurodance star with his introductory hit, ( single cover for.) ": "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Dop)". John Larkin, aka Scatman John, was a 53-year-old man in 1995, who'd never once recorded a pop song in his life. Todd: Sir, would you care to introduce yourself to the audience? Todd (VO): Well now, who could this dapper older gentleman be? Ski-bi dibby dib yo da dub dub, yo da dub dub Scatman: Ski-bi dibby dib yo da dub dub, yo da dub dub Scatman: Ska-badabadabadoo-belidabbelydabbladabbladabblabab-belibabbelibabbelibabbelabbelo-doobelidoo Video for "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Dop)" by Scatman John Todd (VO): Jetrix Adune, our first requester, and see what they requested. Screenshot from Todd's Patreon, showing a patron's request 'Cause there's so much in the wide world of music that I wouldn't be exposed to if not for them. I got swamped with requests before I realized I should put a limit on it. Screenshot from Todd's Patreon, headline "Well that's a disaster" Todd: I more than doubled the price, and even still. Todd: So, here's a major life event that happened to me recently.Ĭlip from The Blues Brothers of the brothers' car falling apart, captioned with "REENACTMENT" SCATMAN JOHN - SCATMAN (SKI-BA-BOP-BA-DOP-DOP)' Todd plays "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Dop)" on the piano.
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