John Paul Larkin, globally recognized as “Scatman John,” transformed his lifelong struggle with stuttering into an extraordinary career, achieving international stardom through his unique scat singing. He passed away at 57 due to lung cancer, leaving behind a legacy of musical innovation and profound inspiration for individuals facing speech impediments.
Larkin’s journey was remarkable. Before reinventing himself as Scatman John, he was a talented jazz pianist and songwriter. His foray into scat singing led to phenomenal success, selling 8 million CDs and accumulating 14 gold and 18 platinum records. He died in his Los Angeles home on a Friday, leaving behind a world touched by his music and message.
“I’m a star… not although I stutter, but because I stutter,” John Paul Larkin famously declared to his global fanbase. This powerful statement encapsulated his philosophy: embracing his stutter, the very challenge he faced, became the cornerstone of his identity and success. “Stuttering has paid off!” he would often exclaim, highlighting the unexpected positive outcome of his lifelong speech impediment.
His inspiring journey and dedication to uplifting others struggling with stuttering earned John Paul Larkin the prestigious Annie Glenn Award in 1996 from the National Council of Communicative Disorders. This award recognized his significant contribution to raising awareness and inspiring hope within the communicative disorders community.
The years 1995 and 1996 marked peak global recognition for John Paul Larkin. He achieved world records as the artist with recordings sold in the most countries worldwide. His stardom, although arriving later in life, was meteoric and impactful.
John Paul Larkin’s breakthrough came in his last decade. Following the immense success of his singles “I’m the Scatman” and “Scatman’s World,” his 1995 debut album, aptly titled “Scatman’s World,” garnered widespread acclaim. He was honored with Japan’s Artist of the Year award, alongside prestigious European accolades like the Goldene Europa and Echo awards, and an MTV music award for Best Male Artist.
Reflecting on his unique vocal style, John Paul Larkin shared with The Times in 1990, “The fact that I’ve been a stutterer since I’ve been speaking has compelled me to find another way to speak another language.” Scatting, the art of improvising vocalized syllables, became his liberating language.
Born in El Monte and raised in El Sereno, John Paul Larkin’s fascination with jazz ignited in his childhood, sparked by Ella Fitzgerald’s scat rendition of “How High the Moon.” He later explained, “Scatting gave me a way to stutter freely,” indicating that this musical form allowed him to express himself without the constraints of conventional speech.
Initially, John Paul Larkin’s career centered on playing piano in jazz clubs across Southern California. He later admitted to “hid[ing] behind [the] piano because I was scared to speak,” revealing the deep-seated anxiety associated with his stutter.
It wasn’t until 1984, while performing on a cruise ship, that John Paul Larkin integrated singing into his act. His scatting performances were met with enthusiastic applause, bolstering his confidence to incorporate singing into all his performances.
Six years later, while living and performing in Berlin, John Paul Larkin experienced transformative success. He consistently received standing ovations at the 400-seat Cafe Moscow. Recounting this pivotal period to The Times, he said, “I began to own that I really could sing, that I was good.”
John Paul Larkin possessed an exceptional vocal ability to sing chords with up to four notes simultaneously, a technique he likened to ancient Hindu throat singing. By fusing this with scat singing, and elements of modern urban rap and dance music, he evolved into “Scatman John, the master of ‘scat-rap,’” by 1994.
At the time, he was working in a hotel in Norway. Once his unique musical identity solidified, his agent promptly arranged a recording session. Just six hours later, “Scatman” was born, marking the inception of his global phenomenon.
“My greatest problem in my childhood is now my greatest asset,” John Paul Larkin reflected in 1996. His story carries a powerful message, “I’m trying to tell the kids today that Creation gave us all problems for a purpose, and that your biggest problems contain a source of strength to not only step over those problems, but all our other problems as well.”
John Paul Larkin is survived by his wife, Judy, his mother, Harriet, and his brother, Bill. In lieu of flowers, the family requested memorial donations be directed to the Scatland Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting individuals who stutter, located at 9229 Sunset Blvd., Suite 505, Los Angeles 90069.
