History Photographed on Instagram: "Scatman John's lifelong and prominent stutter was a source of deep pain and trauma during his childhood, but it eventually became his greatest asset and the cornerstone of his worldwide fame. His experience with stuttering shaped his music and his message of self-acceptance. While his music was directly about his stuttering, Scatman John believed the message was for everyone. In 1995, he explained that "everybody stutters one way or the other," referring to th