Shooby Taylor - "Stout-Hearted Man". There's not much to say. It has to be heard to be believed. Shooby Taylor took up scat singing in the 1950's as an homage to his own hero, Babs Gonzales. His inimitable style of brutal syllabic spitting and blowing, the incongruity between his vocal line and the accompaniment—they make Taylor's voice unmistakable and unlike any other recording artist in the genre. His recordings, though completely serious to him, only caught the ears of a few fans who traded cassette transfers of his Angel Sound sessions.

It's difficult to say how many of them enjoy Shooby strictly for laughs. But the New York Times article on him is right: ''It may seem to be incompetent and it may be laughable, but it has an identity and a palpable sense of joy. Shooby is so absurd it's impossible to be depressed and listen to his music."

Perhaps almost as interesting as Shooby Taylor's singing is the story of his rediscovery in a Newark rest home by a fan in 2002. The story [from his discovery to his death] is told here.

And for the true fan, a mostly-accurate syllabic transcription of "Stout-Hearted Man."

Rah Saw Plaw!!!!