Scatman John - Veronica Magazine Interview 25th August 1995 (Dutch) (+Google Translated English)

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Cover

Index

Dutch Interview (translation at bottom)

Charts

The "Scatman's World" title track was #5 that week, #6 the previous week, and on the charts for 6 total weeks up until that point.

The "Scatman's World" album was #26 that week, #40 the previous week, and on the charts for 4 total weeks up until that point.

English interview: (THIS WAS DONE WITH GOOGLE TRANSLATE AND MAY NOT BE 100% ACCURATE!)

“You are OK the way you are!”

Five years ago, Scatman John left his hometown of Los Angeles for Europe to start a new life. His career as a jazz pianist and singer received a new impetus and with two hits and his CD "Scatman's World", he has finally shaken off years of frustration.

“Man, I just don't know what hit me; an old guy like me in video clips, my single 'Scatman' that went platinum in many countries and all those young people who go crazy to my music," says the fifty-three-year-old singer in a happy tone. In a shiny tracksuit, he leans back relaxed on the couch during the interview. To demonstrate that all the scat work he shows on his record really comes from his vocal cords, he occasionally starts to scat spontaneously. Scat singing is nothing new, it has been used in jazz for years, Al Jarreau has also become famous from it, it's actually very fast babbling. Someone from the record company once heard me perform in Stockholm. He suggested doing a bit more with that scatting. And now all of a sudden I'm the Scatman. Weird, but very nice."

Complex

John would not have dared to think that he would become so famous five years ago. 

“I was still trying to kick my alcohol and drug addiction. Of course that cost me a lot of effort. I had always resorted to narcotics because I had a massive inferiority complex. As you can tell, I stutter terribly when I talk. I've always felt that I wasn't taken seriously because of that. At one point I realized that I had to make something of my life. When I almost had my addiction under control, I decided to move to Europe right away. As a jazz musician I was more likely to get work there than in the States. And that was right; I was soon able to work in all kinds of jazz clubs. For the first time in my life I felt that people really listened to me. That I was a normal person. Now that I'm so successful, I finally dare to think 'You're okay the way you are'. I would like to pass that message on to everyone.”

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