Tiny Tim (1932-1996) opinions on his music?

Subject: Tiny Tim
From: The Sandman
Date: 01 Dec 21 - 05:13 PM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076sg9 With his ukelele and his falsetto renditions of pre-Second World War popular songs like Tiptoe through the Tulips, Tiny Tim was an unlikely star, and an even less likely sex symbol.

Yet during the 1960s, he became the darling of the hippie counterculture.

He married three times, most famously live, on US network television, in front of 45 million viewers.

Writer and musician CP Lee tells the story of a very unusual talent and a genuine eccentric, Tiny Tim.

Tiny Tim died aged 64 in 1996.

Producer: Bob Dickinson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2005.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jun 06 - 09:04 PM

NPR's Fresh Air played an interview from the archives this evening, with Tiny Tim. I was in the truck and missed some chunks coming into the house and such, so I'll listen to it again. Very interesting, and a very knowledgeable man, as this thread confirmed already.

Fresh Air archive from June 16, 1996.

We listen back to an interview with the eccentric singer and performer Tiny Tim. Born Herbert B. Khaury, he began performing in the 1950s. He is best known for his performances on Laugh-In, especially his croonings of "Tip Toe Through the Tulips." Tiny Tim died in 1996. There's a new box set of his recordings God Bless Tiny Tim. This interview originally aired on June 16, 1996.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 May 06 - 07:08 PM

Tiny Tim lived in Minneapolis for several years before he died, and the local newspapers printed lengthy obituaries. A couple of facts I remember:
1. He knew hundreds of old songs. His favorite party trick: when he was introduced to a woman, he would sing a song with her name in it. For this and other reasons, women considered him very romantic.
2. One reason he played the ukulele was that he wanted to encourage more people to learn to play and make their own music, and the uke served his purpose because it was easy to learn.
The obits made him sound very interesting, the kind of person I would like to have known. I regret that I never heard him perform.

His funeral was held in the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, probably the most prestigious place in Minneapolis for any wedding or funeral. (The cathedral is in St. Paul.)

His widow was known as "Miss Sue." She was his third wife. I presume it was she and not "Miss Vicky" (his first wife) who inherited the rights to his recordings.

Wikipedia's article about Tiny Tim

The official Tiny Tim memorial web site. It contains a ten-page discography.

A recent article about a Fringe-Festival play about Tiny Tim.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: M.Ted
Date: 09 May 06 - 05:03 PM

Glad to help.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: number 6
Date: 09 May 06 - 01:20 PM

I appreciate your posts M. Ted. Now you have mentioned it I have seen a banjo uke ... a well worn, and in slightly need of repaire in a used instrument store. I was actually looking for a tenor banjo at the time.

I must say with honesty I am intrugued with this thread. Being slightly prejudiced and yes ingnorant of the artistry of Tiny Tim when I first posted ... this thread has now sparked some interest in him and I will now attempt to hear more of his recordings.

Thanks LH ... this is the stuff I appreciate about the Mudcat.

sincerely,
sIx

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: M.Ted
Date: 09 May 06 - 01:08 PM

George Formby's instrument was the ukulele banjo, banjo uke, banjolele, or whatever you want to call it. I am sure that had a regular uke , but this instrument was his trademark. Besides being a bit more interesting to look at, the banjo uke was a lot louder than the regular one(which is why it was invented, by one Alvin J. Keech, circa 1920), and was preferred by stage performers. Check here forThe George Formby Story

Uncle Albert, my guitar mentor, also taught me to play uke. His mother had been a vaudvillian, and had played the banjo uke--her specialty number was "Peggy O'Neill"--in her mid eighties, crippled by rheumatoid arthritis, and nearly blind, she could still fill a room with her voice, and, though I never understood how, she could make that banjo uke ring.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: number 6
Date: 09 May 06 - 12:18 AM

LH .... I think it's time you changed your the music you are listening to. Elvis, Tiny Tim ... yeah I know Bob mentioned him in his book, but please don't start a thread on Frank Sinatra Juniour!

Come to think of it ... Elvis did in Blue Hawaii

sIx

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 09 May 06 - 12:07 AM

Elvis also played the Ukelele, did he not?

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: number 6
Date: 09 May 06 - 12:05 AM

Mr. Ted I bleive George Formby played the standard ukele also. Correct me if I'm wrong. Regardless I prefer George Formby's singing much more than Tiny's. Arhtur Godfrey was also more appealing as a ukele artist.

sIx

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: M.Ted
Date: 08 May 06 - 11:42 PM

number 6,

Technically, George Formby played a ukulele banjo, which was a steel stringed instrument and very different in both sound and playing technique from the ukulele. Also a fine entertainer, and much more connected to Tiny Tim than you might think--both were highly influenced by Frank Crumit. And, again, like him or not, Tiny Tim was very, very, influential--the ukulele revival that we currently experience was started by him--f

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: number 6
Date: 08 May 06 - 10:17 PM

I know I haven't listened to much of his music, doesn't really bother me at all ... there are many, many other outstanding artists out there that I prefer that obscure Tiny off of the horizon of my listening to agenda.

sIx

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: GUEST,rubber bandedness
Date: 08 May 06 - 10:10 PM

Old beatles xmas albums, kenny everett radio caroline broadcasts, & other surreptitious tapes will illustrate both the fabs enjoyment of said tim, and also the real respect of attempting very good parodies, which can be found here & there (lenn0n yelling do tiny tim do tiny time i mean at first you think it's a joke but he's great, you know--then mcartney w/uke embarks on "nowhere man."

In "the rolling stone rock and roll reader" circa 1971 there's an account of tim visiting dylan in woodstock, etc., where the latter found him to be the real mccoy, & one cd suppose vice versa. there are also rare recordings of this session.

Highlight: Sungby lennon: "tiny tim for president, tiny tim for queen!" typical '68 lennon.

rudy vallee was resurrected, and some strange cat with talent made novelty money, but the big shots peers were arguably serious

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 May 06 - 09:57 PM

But he only sang falsetto on a couple of songs. He normally sang baritone. I think you have not listened to enough of his music, that's the problem.

Kaleea - Yes, I want the photos. Go dig them up right now, please. ;-P

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: number 6
Date: 08 May 06 - 09:42 PM

This thread has had more posts than the current Doc Watson one ... I dunno .... maybe I just don't get it. Anyway, Tiny Tim's falsetto singing makes me cringe. As for his being a maestro on the ukele, well I prefer George Formby.

sIx

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Kaleea
Date: 08 May 06 - 09:16 PM

Tiny Tim? All I recall is what I saw & heard on tv & radio---
   Baaaazaaaarrrre.



In jr hi a girlfriend & I wrote to tiny tim as a joke. We got autographed photos of him in the mail sometime later. If you want them, they are somewhere in the late 1960's layer of the dump in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 May 06 - 02:38 PM

Shatner has a much higher I.Q. than Britney, by all appearances.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: M.Ted
Date: 08 May 06 - 12:58 PM

I knew what you meant.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: catspaw49
Date: 08 May 06 - 12:56 PM

Kinda' like Shatner with tits..........

Spaw

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 May 06 - 12:25 PM

No, I mean her talent is not greater than the sum of her parts.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: M.Ted
Date: 08 May 06 - 09:18 AM

What, she's had a lot of musical training?

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 May 06 - 12:17 AM

...as opposed to Britney Spears. ;-)

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: M.Ted
Date: 08 May 06 - 12:04 AM

I love Tiny Tim, and don't really want to dis him, John--but read what JWB said--his talent was not honed with a lot of musical training--listen to his "Brave Combo" album and you can hear a lot rawness and uneveness, and a lot of stuff that trained singers just don't do--the energy is great, though, and it is great fun, and his presence was unforgettable--his was a talent that was greater than the sum of its parts--

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 May 06 - 06:33 PM

He also had an extraordinary appearance. That can be an asset when you are marketing really unusual songs.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 07 May 06 - 06:32 PM

"Yes, let's not underestimate the value of the occasional lunatic aside to an intelligent discussion."

Sigh! You caught me unprepared...

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: johnross
Date: 07 May 06 - 06:10 PM

Why do you think his voice was undisciplined? He had a fine baritone and (as noted earlier) a decent falsetto. He could do credible re-creations of many other singers.

Seems like that took some kind of skill and discipline.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: M.Ted
Date: 07 May 06 - 06:02 PM

I meant to put in my two cents early in the thread, but for some reason, my server had trouble connecting. Everything I had to say was said, and better, by other folks--Tiny Tim was a great entertainer, he had a fine(if a bit undisciplined) voice, he knew and kept alive a lot of great and forgotten music, and he loved the "deliciously bad"--If there was one single thing, above all others, though, it was that he made the ukulele cool again--

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 May 06 - 02:29 PM

Yes, let's not underestimate the value of the occasional lunatic aside to an intelligent discussion.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Peter T.
Date: 07 May 06 - 02:16 PM

Nonsequitur?? This is more sequitur than most of the Mudcat threads I have ever been associated with. If someone went down a single road around here, I for one would be very, very worried.

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 May 06 - 01:55 PM

The knowledge and song collection may be what people have missed and is, in the long run, the most valuable contribution he made. It would be nice to see a documentary or some publication that examines his work. Is there anything like this in the offing from these Sydney folks?

SRS

(A mudelf wouldn't be out of line to remove all of the nonsequitur owl and camel stuff that is stuck in the middle of this otherwise valuable thread.)

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: hilda fish
Date: 07 May 06 - 02:40 AM

Sydney writer Lowell Tarling and Sydney artist Martin Sharp have both extensively documented Tiny Tim both through taped interview, film and video. Since Tiny Tims death they have been in close contact with TT's former wife Miss Vicky who has inherited all copyright of his work. Both Lowell and Martin state that Tiny Tim was a significant artist in his own right but also, that he was an important performer of many songs that perhaps America may well have forgotten over time. His repetoire was formidable as can be seen from his recordings, and his performance unique/individual, a quality we so often look for in an artist and so rarely get. TT was a great respecter of the material he performed as he respected the history and tradition of American performance. Was he a GREAT artist? No. Was he a significant contributer to an ongoing history of American performance, particularly song. Yes. Was he a whacko rugged American individualist? Yep, think so.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Cluin
Date: 07 May 06 - 01:31 AM

If an owl ever needed blowing, it's this one.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 May 06 - 12:55 AM

Great post, Jerry!

As it happens, the songs being discussed on the other thread that inspired Little Hawk to start this one were mostly pretty good songs. I think the topic was as much the public perception of the songs, particularly after an unnatural amount of hype and airtime (until one was sick of them, reguardless of their quality). That was the case for this one song of Tim's, with the resulting invisibility of his body of work. Too bad!

SRS

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: catspaw49
Date: 07 May 06 - 12:43 AM

Its all a matter of technique, like with this camel thing..........

A guy is planning a trip across the desert and he goes to the Hertz Rent-A-Camel joint and tells them he wants to rent one. The Hertz agent asks if he wants a 7 day or a 14 day camel. Well, the trip is for 16 days and the fellow can't figure out a way to shorten it. After much cajoling, the Hertz rep says, "I'll see what I can do."

He walks over and selects a large 14 day camel and sticks its head in the water trough. As the camel is drinking, he goes into the Hertz Kiosk and returns with two bricks. The camel is almost full and ready to take its last slurp when the Hertz guy walks behind it. Then, with a powerful swing, he claps the 2 bricks together, smashing the camel's nuts in between. The camel goes 'SSLLLLLUUUOOOORRRRPPPSSSSHHH', and sucks up a ton more water. The Hertz guy walks around to the front and says, "There ya' go pal. That oughta' do it."

The traveller is appalled. "JESUS CHRIST MAN!!!!!! Doesn't that HURT???"...to which the Hertz guy replies,

"Nah........Not if you keep your thumbs out of the way."

Spaw

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 May 06 - 12:24 AM

Not easily. Owls object violently to being blown. If what Spaw says is true, it proves that Tiny Tim had tremendous courage, in addition to great talent.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: JWB
Date: 07 May 06 - 12:16 AM

Spaw,

How, exactly, does one blow an owl?

:0)

Jerry

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: catspaw49
Date: 07 May 06 - 12:08 AM

Jerry, we cross posted there but thanks for that post and it makes my point in a great way.

And no......I still don't like him in any style on any song.......and I think he blew owls.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: catspaw49
Date: 07 May 06 - 12:03 AM

"On his own terms" is an interesting phrase. Had he played it on his own terms as he had for most of his career, he would be remembered even less than he is now or possibly not at all. As it was he garnered fame/popularity and I would think considerably more money than had been coming his way before he tiptoed into the limelight.

It was a trade-off he made and perhaps he was happy or unhappy with it...I don't know. His "natural audience" would probably never have encountered him at all. He did reach a few through his notoriety and may never have been heard any other way.

When I said earlier that I admired his courage, it was in making that trade-off and I suppose I should have made that more clear. Its easy to think and say that he "sold out" and gave in to the bigshots but I think it took at least a soupcon of courage to do it and THAT became his own terms......a shot at a long term career of making "his kind" of music in exchange for some easy buffonery at the time.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: JWB
Date: 06 May 06 - 11:56 PM

You may scoff if you like, but I think Tiny Tim was prodigiously talented. Narrowly so, but prodigious, nonetheless. I know because I played a gig with him in the early 1990s, at a club in Niantic, Connecticut, on St. Patrick's Day.

My band Finest Kind (the New England one, not the Canadian, with Bill on mandolin, me on guitar, and Gary on tuba) was hired to open for Tiny Tim at a seaside restaurant and club, and the manager asked if we'd be willing to stay on and play back up for Tiny Tim, who was the headliner. Why not, we all said.

When we arrived we were shown to the green room, and there he was, looking much like I remembered from his TV appearances: a beak of a nose, sallow complexion, long lank hair. He was shy, retiring, and conversation was not free-flowing. We decided to talk business.

Did he have a set list? No, he wasn't sure exactly what songs he'd be doing. Did he want us to do anything in particular when he performed? No, whatever we came up with was fine. Shall we tune up? OK. He picked up his uke and played a G chord. It didn't take us long to figure out he was a half-step higher than the three of us. Would he mind tuning to us, since the tuba had limited ability to move? Oh no, that would never do – he'd be lost and he wasn't exactly sure how to tune the uke anyway. Bill offered to do it for him, but he emphatically refused to let anyone touch the instrument.. The implication for Bill and me was to slap on a capo at the first fret. For Gary, it meant a night of transposing, in his head, up half a step: Tim had no charts.

We did our set to a distracted audience and then girded our musical loins as Tim was introduced to an enthusiastic welcome. There were a disproportionate number of middle-aged women in the house, and they pressed eagerly to the edge of the stage, holding signs with such statements as "I Love You".

Bill and I got our capos in place, and Gary jammed his tuning slide in as far as it would go. Tim turned to us and said "Grand Old Flag in D" and started to sing. For the next 45 minutes he DID NOT STOP! I mean literally – he did a 45-minute medley of songs from the Gay Nineties to the Roaring Twenties, all delivered in a fine, true baritone. Some were well known, some we vaguely remembered, and some we'd never heard before. Bill can play anything, so he was OK; I managed to find a couple of chords to play for each song. Poor Gary (who's day job at the time was first chair tuba for the Coast Guard Band) was able to pick out a bass line for just about everything, whether he was playing in D#, G# or C#.

When Tim finally stopped singing, we were amazed, fagged and sore. He, however, seemed just as fresh as when we'd started. He then did his signature number, and that was what the crowd had come for – they threw dozens of tulips on the stage (I remember there were even some carved from wood). This was the only song he did in falsetto all night. To prolonged applause, cheers and whistles, we all retired to the green room.

During the break we learned that Tim was a walking encyclopedia of the popular songs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He knew who composed each song, who first popularized it, who the publisher was and who'd subsequently recorded covers of it. It was striking, the difference between his knowledge of the music and ability to deliver it and his social ineptitude (his public persona was not an act, unless he was acting for us). It seemed to be, almost, an idiot-savant type of thing.

We did another set just like the first. It was really astonishing how he let the songs flow, changing keys but rarely tempo. I do believe he didn't have a set list planned out, he just channeled the music. I don't know what he made for that gig, but Gary, Bill and I earned every damned penny we were paid – that was hard work.

He thanked us and his driver took him back to Manhattan (Tim didn't drive). He died a couple of years later.

He really ENTERTAINED his audience. He believed in the songs he sang, and he brought out their real essence. I learned from being on stage with him that night that technical skill was no substitute for passion. While I don't have any of his recordings, I imagine that if you want to hear a classic song done right you can't go wrong listening to Tiny Tim.

And that's the truth.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: johnross
Date: 06 May 06 - 11:16 PM

Somebody did a presentation about Tiny Tim at the recent Pop Conference at the Experience Music Project museum in Seattle.

It's unfortunate that he is mostly remembered as some kind of freak -- the long stringy hair, ukelele and falsetto voice; the wedding on TV; the child-like overly respectful speech patterns all made him the butt of hundreds of jokes -- because he was a great re-creator of American popular music between about 1900 and 1950. If you can find it, listen to the original Nick Lucas record of "Tiptoe Thru the Tulips" and compare it to the Tiny Tim hit. It's almost note for note identical.

A lot of Tim's repertiore was taken from great old records and sheet music. There's a clip of an appearance on the "Hollywood Palace" TV show with Bing Crosby where Tim sings an obscure song and Crosby looks at him in amazement and says he hasn't heard that song since he sang it with Jessica Dragonette on his old radio show thirty years earlier.

But somehow, his appearance and the way he was packaged turned away most of what should have been his natural audience of old-timers who remembered the originals. And the record companies gave him current rock and roll songs that brought out the freak image, like "Stairway to Heaven."

So you have to be somewhat selective in choosing which of his recordings to listen to. And it helps to know something about the earlier singers he was imitating (or channeling). For example, try the "Tribute to Russ Columbo," and compare it to a collection of Columbo originals.

On his own terms, he was a fine singer and a keeper of the flame of American Popular Songs.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Peter T.
Date: 06 May 06 - 10:04 PM

Why I have always thought you were one of the best and lesser things that happened to me, CP.......

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Alba
Date: 06 May 06 - 10:03 PM

The Clips are great Spaw :)

One of the Musicians I was touring with last Summer brought a Ukulele with him on the Road and when I asked if he could play my favourite Timster version of the Song 'Sweet Rosie O'Grady". He said he could and did and sounded just like Tiny Tim!

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Al
Date: 06 May 06 - 09:29 PM

He figured out how to achieve fame and fortune on ONE TUNE! That makes him a pretty big kahuna musician in my book, and a hard act to follow.
Al

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 May 06 - 09:16 PM

I remember "The Viper". It's hilarious.

The mere fact that most people have written off something is not necessarily any indication of its worth. ;-)

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Nick
Date: 06 May 06 - 09:02 PM

I presume that is why he has stood the test of time so well ;)

So what are Tiny Tims 10 greatest songs that we all remember?

Joe got it pretty much right - "I mean, you could write the guy off as a novelty/comedy act..."

You could, and most people have done.

If you want vaudeville or burlesque give me Dita von Teese any time

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 May 06 - 08:58 PM

Vaudeville included a lot of music, but was not restricted to only music. It could involve music, dance, stand-up comedy, pratfalls and sight gags, and theatrics of every kind imaginable.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 06 May 06 - 08:50 PM

I thought he was a brilliant performer - YOU try doing that stuff he did! :-)

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Nick
Date: 06 May 06 - 08:14 PM

Strangely I always thought he bore an uncanny resemblance to Alice Cooper.

Is vaudeville a style that people take to musically? I always thouhgt it was a performance rather than musical thing.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Alba
Date: 06 May 06 - 08:03 PM

"Hey! Jude is priceless"
Why Thank you Spaw, what a lovely thing to.......wait a minute
"Hey Jude" is priceless.

Forget I said anything...I'll go listen to that soundbyte..:)
Jude

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 May 06 - 07:56 PM

The "Rust Level" treatment sounds like the ultimate all right, Spaw. Wow, eh? They say it never sleeps! I think if Neil and Shatner ever teamed up together on something it might be just the shock this civilization needs to jumpstart it into a whole new era.

Subject: RE: Tiny Tim - opinions on his music?
From: catspaw49
Date: 06 May 06 - 07:47 PM

HEY!!! If y'all got a Dell Jukebox or somethin' where you can play some clips, you'll love it! "Hey Jude" is priceless. Dell has 3 of the albums and I sat listening to 30 second clips and lmao........a few goodies but for the most part it was a riot. Try out "Stairway to Heaven" and "White Christmas."

Spaw