On the trail of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Co.: Film about one of music’s most unusual legends

With the string of letters “Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop” anyone who grew up in the 90s or is a fan of Eurodance should immediately recognize the song Think “Scatman” by artist Scatman John. His special life story is now being filmed. Stephen Basilone and Annie Mebane, of “The Goldbergs” fame, are already working on a screenplay for a “Scatman” movie. They have access to the estate of the deceased artist and can also use their original music. And they have a lot to say.

Scatman: Late music career after drug addiction

Because Scatman had John, whose real name was John Paul Larkin and died in 1999 a very touching life made for a movie with a classic underdog working his way up to the top story.

Born in 1942, Larkin suffered from a severe stutter – so much so that he became increasingly withdrawn as a teenager. He later hid behind alcohol and drugs and became heavily addicted. It was only after the death of a close friend that he began to withdraw and met the love of his life. Together with his new wife Judy, he wanted to build a new life, which led him to Berlin, among other places. In this country, the American earned his living as a pianist in bars and on ships.

He developed his own style of singing, scat singing. His agent Manfred Zähringer, who is now also involved in the film project, came up with the idea of ​​making it a Euro Dance number. In 1994 “Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)” was released, a song in which he also treated and addressed his stuttering. Gradually, the song became a worldwide hit and is still a cult. The official music video has been viewed more than 166 million times on YouTube.

Scatman John suddenly became a superstar at the age of 53, went on a tour around the world and has just been wildly celebrated in some Asian countries. But he could only enjoy his huge success for a few years. After being diagnosed with lung cancer in 1998, he died just over a year later. Incidentally, his wife Judy passed away earlier this year.

It is not yet known when the movie about Scatman John will be released.