Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)"
Cover for the single
Single by Scatman John
from the album Scatman's World
Released
  • November 30, 1994
  • 1995 (re-issue)
Genre
Length
  • 5:03
  • 3:30 (radio edit)
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
  • John Larkin
  • Antonio Nunzio Catania
Producer(s)
  • Antonio Nunzio Catania
  • Tony Catania
  • Catania Music Studios
Scatman John singles chronology
"Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)"
(1994) 		"Scatman's World"
(1995)
Music video
"Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" on YouTube

"Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" is a song by American Eurodance musician Scatman John. It was released in November 1994 as a single, and was later re-released in June 1996 for his second album, Scatman's World. The song is described as "a blend of jazz scatting, rap, and house beats". It reached number-one on the charts in at least nine countries and also won the March 1996 Echo Award in Germany for the best Rock/Pop single.[1]

Background and release[]

Born in El Monte, California, 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."

—Producer Tony Catania talking about the song.[2]

To advance his career in 1990, Larkin moved to Berlin, Germany. From there, he discovered the appreciative jazz culture and started playing jazz gigs.[3] 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."[4] After the success of his first single, Larkin adopted the new name and persona of "Scatman" John.

Critical reception[]

Larry Flick from Billboard deemed it 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."[5] 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] Music & Media commented, "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."[7] 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".[8] Debby Peterson from The Network Forty called it a "hellacious techno-dance groove".[9]

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 Chart. Additionally, it also reached the Top 10 in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and the UK. In the latter, the single reached number 3 in its third week at the UK Singles Chart, on May 21, 1995.[10] It climbed into the Top 20 in Iceland and Poland, and the Top 40 in Japan and New Zealand. In the US, the single peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play. Scatman John was awarded the March 1996 Echo Award in Germany for the best Rock/Pop single with "Scatman".[11] The single was also awarded with a gold record in Australia, Austria, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and a platinum record in France and Germany.

Music video[]

The music video for "Scatman" was released in 1994 and directed by Kerstin Mueller. It was also produced by Ariola Records.[12] It was shot in black and white, and features a fractured screen with several boxes showing shots of John singing, along with various people dancing, miming and playing drums. The video was played in heavy rotation on music channels in 1995. It was uploaded to YouTube in November 2013. It has amassed over 110 million views as of May 2021.[13]

Sampling[]

In 2021, music producers Alan Walker and Imanbek sampled on the song and additionally used wording from the title of the song in their hit "Sweet Dreams".

Accolades[]

Year Publisher Country Accolade Rank
2013 Vibe United States "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks From The '90s That Changed The Game"[14] #28
2017 BuzzFeed United States "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s"[15] #94

Track listings[]

Charts and sales[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Echo 1996 - The Winners" (PDF). Music & Media (1996-03-09, page 15). Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  2. ^ Soininen, Juha (26 August 2020). Move Your Body (2 The 90's): Unlimited Eurodance. BoD - Books on Demand. p. 276. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  3. ^ Scatman John’s Interview with Ira Zimmerman, mnsu.edu.
  4. ^ Soininen, Juha (August 26, 2020). Move Your Body (2 The 90's): Unlimited Eurodance. BoD - Books on Demand. p. 276. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  5. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. July 22, 1995. p. 57. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  6. ^ Ehrlich, Dimitri. "Music Single Review: Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. January 7, 1995. p. 7. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  8. ^ Hamilton, James (April 29, 1995). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 11. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  9. ^ "Crossover" (PDF). The Network Forty. June 30, 1995. p. 40. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  10. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 21 May 1995 - 27 May 1995". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "Echo 1996 - The Winners" (PDF). Music & Media (1996-03-09, page 15). Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  12. ^ "Scatman John Music Videos". IMVDb. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  13. ^ "Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop) Official Video HD -Scatman John". YouTube. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  14. ^ "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks From The '90s That Changed The Game". Vibe. October 9, 2018.
  15. ^ "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s". BuzzFeed. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 6, 2008)
  17. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2794." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 2738." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  19. ^ Billboard 25 March 1995. Billboard. 1995-03-25. Retrieved 2010-12-01. hits of the world.
  20. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12 no. 15. 15 April 1995. p. 28. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  21. ^ Finnish peak
  22. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Scatman John - Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop) Single" (in German). BVMI Bundesverband Musikindustrie; GfK Entertainment GmbH. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 04.02.1995 – 10.02.1995" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir – Tónlist. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  24. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know - Scatman John". IRMA. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  25. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12 no. 24. 17 June 1995. p. 30. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Japan #1 IMPORT DISKS by Oricon Hot Singles". Hbr3.sakura.ne.jp. Archived from the original on September 11, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  27. ^ "Single top 100 over 1995" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  28. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Scatman John – Scatman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 21 May 1995 - 27 May 1995". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  30. ^ Billboard: Hits of the World, May 13, 1995
  31. ^ Official UK Singles Chart Top 100 (21 May 1995-27 May 1995) (Retrieved October 23, 2018)]
  32. ^ "Official UK Dance Singles Chart (07 May 1995-20 May 1995)". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  33. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Billboard AllMusic (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
  34. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box (1995-10-14). Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  35. ^ Jump up to: a b "1995 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  36. ^ 1995 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at Archived 2010-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
  37. ^ 1995 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
  38. ^ 1995 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
  39. ^ Canada Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1995
  40. ^ "Jaarlijsten 1995" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  41. ^ 1995 Dutch Singles Top 100 (then Mega Top 50) Dutch Charts.nl (Retrieved August 29, 2019)
  42. ^ "1995 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  43. ^ 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com Archived 2009-02-14 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
  44. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  45. ^ "VG-lista Topp 20 Single Vinter 1995" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  46. ^ 1995 Swedish Singles Chart
  47. ^ 1995 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
  48. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
  49. ^ Austrian certifications ifpi.at Archived 2010-02-01 at WebCite (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
  50. ^ French certifications Disqueenfrance.com Archived 2012-01-11 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
  51. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Scatman')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
  52. ^ Norwegian certifications Ifpi.no Archived 2007-06-13 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved July 10, 2008)
  53. ^ Swiss certifications Swisscharts.com (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
  54. ^ https://www.bpi.co.uk/brit-certified/
Retrieved from ""