Scat Singing's Origin, Inspiration, And Icons
Scat Singing’s Origin, Inspiration, and Icons
Scatting was a form of expression that allowed singers to compose their melody for a song. It evolved from the early 1900s ragtime and has been used in jazz since then. It is believed to have been inspired by West African folk music and has also been found in various cultures. Scat singing gained popularity in 1926 after trumpeter-singer Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five recorded a cover of “The Heebie Jeebies”. Soon after, scat became better known in jazz, with influential musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald and Cab Calloway incorporating it into their music. Over the decades, it has changed and evolved into different styles. Today, scat singing continues to be used by artists all over the world,
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In the song, Louis substituted the lyrics with scat. There is a very common legend saying he did this because he forgot the lyrics, but this has been proven to be false. Nobody truly knows why Armstrong improvised, but his song was a huge success and he began using scat in his regular music. Although he wasn’t the first to scat sing, he brought it to a wider audience and inspired generations of jazz singers, like Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, and Sarah Vaughn, to use scat in their music. The scat singing styles and syllables used by the great practitioners of the art form tended to reflect the periods and scenes in which they existed (Discover Jazz). Ella Fitzgerald was known for being the queen of scat singing during the rise of bebop jazz. She introduced variations of scat that showcased a segment of songs made famous by other performers (Zumwalt). Her distinct style pushed scat singing to the forefront of jazz and even inspired Louis Armstrong. Cab Calloway was known for his impeccable scat singing skills and for leading one of the biggest African American bands during the Harlem Renaissance. His signature style was improvising nonsense (but incredibly inventive) lyrics on the spot, often incorporating snippets of Harlem street slang in his monologues and songs (ARTSEDGE). Sarah Vaughn was named the most influential singer of the bebop jazz era …show more content…
Accessed 2 Mar. 2023.
Burrows, George. “How Scat Singing Became an Expressive Language in Its Own Right.” Independent, The Independent, 2 Nov. 2018, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/scat-singing-definition-jazz-history-louis-armstrong-ella-fitzgerald-cab-calloway-slavery-african-americans-a8607061.html.
---. “Scooby-Dooby-Doo: Making Sense of Scat Singing.” The Conversation, Oct. 2018, http://theconversation.com/scooby-dooby-doo-making-sense-of-scat-singing-105190.
Cofresi, Diana. “Sarah Vaughan ~ about Sarah Vaughan.” American Masters, American Masters | PBS, 8 Oct. 2005, https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/sarah-vaughan-about-sarah-vaughan/723/.
Discover Jazz. “What Is Scat Singing? [+ 10 of the Best Scat Solos in Jazz].” Jazzfuel, 31 Oct. 2020, https://jazzfuel.com/jazz-scat-singing/.
Fitzpatrick, Colin. “Cab Calloway: Sketches.” American Masters, American Masters | PBS, 19 Jan. 2012,
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