John Paul Larkin (born March 13, 1942 in El Monte, California; died December 3, 1999 in Los Angeles), known as Scatman John, was a famous stutterer who invented a unique fusion of scat singing and disco. As he liked to say, this was a process of "turning my biggest problem into my biggest asset." Scatman John has received 14 golds and 18 platinums for his albums and singles. He was also the recipient of the Annie Glenn Award for his outstanding service to the stuttering community, and was also inducted to the National Stuttering Association's Hall of Fame. He was later diagnosed with lung cancer and soon went into intensive treatment. He maintained a positive attitude throughout, declaring that "whatever God wants is fine by me... I've had the very best life. I have tasted beauty." He died in his Los Angeles home on December 3, 1999, at the age of 57. "I hope that the kids, while they sing along to my songs or dance to it, feel that life is not that bad at all. Even for just a minute." - John "Scatman" Larkin Discography: 1986 - John Larkin (jazz album released under the name John Larkin) 1995 - Scatman's World 1996 - Everybody Jam! 1999 - Take Your Time Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.