Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)

"Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)"
Single by Scatman John
from the album Scatman's World
Released	November 30, 1994
Format	12" maxi CD single CD maxi
Genre	Eurodance
Length	5:03 3:30 (radio edit)
Label	RCA Records
Writer(s)	John Larkin Antonio Nunzio Catania " Tony Catania " Catania Music Studios
Scatman John singles chronology
"Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)" (1994) "Scatman's World" (1995)

"Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" is a song by American Eurodance artist Scatman John (real name John Paul Larkin). The song was released in November 1994 as the lead single from his second album Scatman's World. Sales were slow at first, but the song was picked up by many radio stations and eventually became very successful internationally, reaching number one in many parts of Europe and charting in Australia, New Zealand and in Japan. Counter to standard practice, Larkin performed the song live on Top of the Pops. It was also used in the popular Good Humor ice cream advertising campaign of 1995–96, sung as "I'm a Good Humor Man".

Content

The lyrics detail how Scatman John overcame his difficulties with stuttering.

Track listings

CD maxi

1. "Scatman" (Basic-Radio) – 3:30
2. "Scatman" (Jazz-Level) – 3:41
3. "Scatman" (Second-Level) – 5:40
4. "Scatman" (Third-Level) – 5:46
5. "Scatman" (Game-Over-Jazz) – 5:03

CD maxi 2

1. "Scatman" (new radio edit) – 3:21
2. "Scatman" (Pech Remix) – 4:55
   • Remixed by Pech
3. "Scatman" (Arena di Verona Mix) – 6:04
4. "Scatman" (extended radio version) – 5:11

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1995) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[1] 8 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[1] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[1] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[1] 1 Canada (RPM)[2] 84 Canada Dance (RPM)[3] 1 Denmark (Tracklisten)[4] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[5] 1 France (SNEP)[1] 1 Germany (Media Control Charts)[6] 2 Ireland (IRMA)[7] 1 Italy (FIMI) 1 Japan (Oricon) 36 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 2 New Zealand (RIANZ)[1] 39 Norway (VG-lista)[1] 1 Spain (AFYVE)[9] 1 Spain (Los 40 Principales) 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[1] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[1] 1 United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company)[10] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] 60 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[11] 10 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[11] 15 U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[11] 40 U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[11] 40

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position Australian Singles Chart[12] 38 Austrian Singles Chart[13] 8 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[14] 7 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[15] 3 Canada Dance (RPM)[16] 1 Dutch Top 40[8] 11 French Singles Chart[17] 3 Swiss Singles Chart[18] 4 Swedish Singles Chart[19] 23 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Austria[20] Gold April 13, 1995 15,000 France[21] Platinum November 16, 1995 500,000 Germany[22] Platinum 1995 500,000 Norway[23] Gold 1995 20,000 Switzerland[24] Gold 1995 25,000

Chart successions

In film

Soundtrack was featured as background for some of the scenes in 1997 film Nothing to Lose.^[25] It was also featured in the 1998 film BASEketball.^[26]

References

1. "Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 6, 2008)
2. RPM: issue date November 6, 1995
3. RPM: issue date September 4, 1995
4. Billboard 25 March 1995. Billboard. 1995-03-25. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
5. Finnish peak
6. "Scatman John singles, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
7. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
8. "Single top 100 over 1995" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
9. Billboard: Hits of the World, May 13, 1995
10. UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
11. Billboard AllMusic (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
12. 1995 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
13. 1995 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
14. 1995 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
15. 1995 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
16. Canada Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1995
17. 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
18. 1995 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
19. 1995 Swedish Singles Chart
20. Austrian certifications ifpi.at (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
21. French certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
22. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Scatman')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
23. Norwegian certifications Ifpi.no (Retrieved July 10, 2008)
24. Swiss certifications Swisscharts.com (Retrieved July 24, 2008)
25. "Nothing to Lose (1997)- Soundtracks - Internet Movie Database".
26. "BASEketball (1998) - Soundtracks - Internet Movie Database".