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Scatman John music biography continued...

the piano provided him with a means of artistic expression to compensate for his speech difficulties. He became a professional jazz pianist in the Los Angeles area in the 1970s and 80s, but moved to Berlin in 1990 to further his career. He decided to add singing to his repertoire after receiving an ovation for one of his song renditions, and his agent Manfred Zähringer from Iceberg Records in Denmark suggested that he combine his scat-singing with modern dance music and hip hop sounds. Larkin was skeptical but BMG Hamburg was receptive. Working with dance producers Ingo Kays and Tony Catania, 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. Sales of his debut single were slow at first, but gradually reached #1 in many countries and sold over 6 million records worldwide. He followed up with the song "Scatman's World," which also did well in Europe. Following the success of these two singles, he released his debut album, also entitled Scatman's World, which entered the Top Ten album charts in many countries, including his then present home, Germany. It eventually sold millions of copies world-wide, making Scatman an international celebrity at age 52.



The second Scatman John album, Everybody Jam!, was released in 1996. While nowhere near as successful on an international level as his debut, the album and accompanying single took off in Japan, and Scatman capitalized on numerous merchandising opportunities there. In 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, and was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. He died in his Los Angeles home on December 3, 1999, having tasted the sweetness of worldwide acclaim.