Tiny Tim - Why so much hate?

I mentioned to my Mom that I added "Livin in the Sunlight" by Tiny Tim to my favorites playlist on my iPod and I was surprised when she responded, "I hate Tiny Tim." Wow, hate is such a strong word. It really took me aback that someone would have such vitriol for such a pleasant man. I am too young to have seen Tiny Tim on "Laugh In" or on "Johnny Carson" and only looked him up on YouTube after reading about him in Ian Whitcomb's new book "Ukulele Heroes". I get the feeling that most of the people who made Tiny Tim popular in the 60's watched him the same way they watch the American Idol auditions so they can laugh at those who's aren't smart enough to know they shouldn't be there. Then again I was blown away when I read in Ian's book, "His success was a hindrance to my ukulele and me, and to all the world's ukuleles!" I am sorry Ian, it was a great book and I would love to see you live the next time I'm in L.A. but I'm going to have to call bullshit. Did Courtney Love make it hard for other singers to find work, did the Diabolical Biz Markie make it hard for other rappers to get signed, did the "New Coke" make it hard for other soft drink makers to sell their product, did George W. make it hard for idiots to run for office? I think not, if Jake or Aldrine had come along in the 70's, with their musical brilliance, the ukulele revival would have happened then. Those who were cool enough, like George Harrison, carried their ukulele right through the 60's and 70's no matter what Tiny Tim was doing. So, why all the hate for Tiny Tim, is it just a generational thing, a time when to be different was to be hated? I say, God Bless Tiny Tim!

I wouldn't say I hate him but he for sure made it harder for people to take ukulele seriously. Very often when people hear you play the ukulele the first thing they think is Tiny Tim. Most mainstream folks have no idea who Jake and Aldrine and all of the other popular ukulele player even are. I always find it funny how the ukulele world dislikes it every time a mainstream artist uses a ukulele. (Eddie Vedder, Train, Dave Matthews) Eddie and these other pop/rock guys have showed the mainstream world that the ukulele is a real instrument. Then hopefully they'll find Jake and the other guys....Tiny Tim and George F didn't make it easy for us to be taken serious.

lancemanion said:

I mentioned to my Mom that I added "Livin in the Sunlight" by Tiny Tim to my favorites playlist on my iPod and I was surprised when she responded, "I hate Tiny Tim." Wow, hate is such a strong word. It really took me aback that someone would have such vitriol for such a pleasant man. I am too young to have seen Tiny Tim on "Laugh In" or on "Johnny Carson" and only looked him up on YouTube after reading about him in Ian Whitcomb's new book "Ukulele Heroes". I get the feeling that most of the people who made Tiny Tim popular in the 60's watched him the same way they watch the American Idol auditions so they can laugh at those who's aren't smart enough to know they shouldn't be there. Then again I was blown away when I read in Ian's book, "His success was a hindrance to my ukulele and me, and to all the world's ukuleles!" I am sorry Ian, it was a great book and I would love to see you live the next time I'm in L.A. but I'm going to have to call bullshit. Did Courtney Love make it hard for other singers to find work, did the Diabolical Biz Markie make it hard for other rappers to get signed, did the "New Coke" make it hard for other soft drink makers to sell their product, did George W. make it hard for idiots to run for office? I think not, if Jake or Aldrine had come along in the 70's, with their musical brilliance, the ukulele revival would have happened then. Those who were cool enough, like George Harrison, carried their ukulele right through the 60's and 70's no matter what Tiny Tim was doing. So, why all the hate for Tiny Tim, is it just a generational thing, a time when to be different was to be hated? I say, God Bless Tiny Tim!

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I'll take a stab at this, but it's some second hand information that I'm passing along and some thoughts I've heard from others.

I heard that Hawaiians disliked Tiny Tim because they felt his act was making fun of the Hawaiian falsetto tradition.

I've also heard that Tiny Tim had one of the most prolific collection of traditional ukulele music and instruments of anyone. He was supposed to be quite the uke historian.

Again, only what I've heard. Can't really answer your question.

Maybe cause his music was terrible?

I really don't have an answer. I remember seeing Tiny Tim on TV and he was quite a hit back then. I never thought of the ukulele as a toy or an instrument to not be taken seriously. To me, it was just another instrument and Tiny Tim was a funny guy. He was unique or different but, so was just about anyone then. Tiny Tim found a way to market himself and took full advantage of it. He was pretty successful.

I don't get the hate, either. I also think every player should has a version of Tip Toe Through the Tulips around to play. There are more versions of that song than Tiny Tim's. It's an old song from the '20s, I believe. How fun to prove the "haters" wrong.

As for people not caring for ukuleles....ukulele music sure is used in a lot of commercials. Most non-players probably aren't even aware of that. But they know the commercials because of the music a lot of the time. Must be a reason it is used so often.

I just let the criticism slide off my back.

Being taken 'seriously' is about the last thing on my mind with relation to ukulele playing. Seriously, who gives a flip? The instrument speaks for itself (with a little help from the guy holding it).

I don't get a strong negative for him either. Tiny Tim is just fine with me. I understand he could play right or left-handed which blows this fumble-fingers' mind. I thank him for bringing 'Tip Toe' to my consciousness way back when. It's a wonderful love song and a gateway to the ukulele stylings of the '20's and '30's.

I checked this out on YouTube. Is that a soprano he's playing? Seems very small.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skU-jBFzXl0

Tiny Tim recorded a lot of old songs from the 20's for the Smithsonian. He saved a lot of old music of that time from oblivion.

As a kid, after seeing Tiny Tim on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in and Johnny Carson, made me want to play the uke, and my parents gave me a uke for Christmas. Many parents saw the Beatles as creepy hooligans when they stepped off that airplane in 1964.

Just in general, different provokes "hate." Damn shame. But he WAS off the wall and annoying as...

costaricadave said:

I wouldn't say I hate him but he for sure made it harder for people to take ukulele seriously. Very often when people hear you play the ukulele the first thing they think is Tiny Tim. Most mainstream folks have no idea who Jake and Aldrine and all of the other popular ukulele player even are. I always find it funny how the ukulele world dislikes it every time a mainstream artist uses a ukulele. (Eddie Vedder, Train, Dave Matthews) Eddie and these other pop/rock guys have showed the mainstream world that the ukulele is a real instrument. Then hopefully they'll find Jake and the other guys....Tiny Tim and George F didn't make it easy for us to be taken serious.

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Yup. And my family doesn't take me seriously at all if I say a word about uke. I'm even made fun of, with the words Tiny Tim used as an insult. He really really did the uke world harm. But of course hate is a strong word and if he were around today, active in the forums... His style wouldn't be my thing, but I'd have nothing against him.

Those uke players who post entire blogs of butthurt about mainstream artists use of uke, are just sad wannabe hipster posers. No musician gives a toss who else plays, it doesn't change what you do.

Kinda like... Oh no, this Adam Sandler movie is an insult to bad movies, and it featured a uke in the score! Oh no! But do you think a French Horn player is threatened by its use in a bad movie's score? Like the most used movie instrument evar?? Of course not! It's just a side rant, but uke players need to get over themselves sometimes.

Tiny Tim loved the ukulele like few ever have. But no one ever did more harm to the instrument.

He singlehandedly reduced the ukulele to a laughing-stock for a good 30 years. In the '70s and '80s, no ukulele player outside of Hawaii could hope to get any other musician to be willing to play along with them. There was an automatic sneer when someone saw you with a ukulele. Today, there's still some people my age who when they hear you play the uke, will scoff "Oh, do you play 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips'?" The Tiny Tim after-effect can still be felt in how many uke players to this day only think their instrument is useful for being campy.

Sorry, Lance, but you weren't there and you honestly have no idea what things were like then. No one saw any pictures of George Harrison with a uke back then. There was no YouTube to check out musicians. There was no iTunes with every possible kind of music available at a touch. You only got to hear whatever music sold well enough to be on the radio and in your local record store. If you weren't in Hawaii, you weren't going to hear any post-'20s uke music except Tiny Tim. It wasn't until 1988 that I ever heard a band with a ukulele player that wasn't playing Hawaiian or '20s music. Beirut in 2006 was about the first mainstream band anyone heard with ukulele, to give people a positive impression of the uke. All the commercials on the TV now didn't begin until after Train had a hit with "Hey, Soul Sister" in 2009. Great as players like Jake, Aldrine, and James Hill are, they are not well known except among people who are already uke players -- if we were still reliant on radio and record stores most uke players today would not have heard of them.

Tiny Tim was one of the Great Misfits..... He spent a lonely chidhood locked away with his parents record collection - listening, absorbing the sounds of previous generations - not his own. His whole "act" was really a tribute to an era of wonderful songs that he preferred to contempory stuff - does that ring a bell with anyone out there? That he discovered his own unique style and was hugely successful by being totally different is inspirational to me. Any fear or loathing that people felt towards him tells more about their insecurities than anything else.
I'm perfectly happy to strum into "Tiptoe" when requested - it feels good.

I think it's because people didn't "get" or understand him. He was a great musician, who loved early 20th century music, and wanted to imitate that. Not all of his songs he did the falsetto thing on. They thought he was trying to be a comedian of sorts, which is what the tv shows made him out to be.

I really like the things that Jim Beloff said about Tim in the Mighty Uke documentary.

I don't "hate" Tiny Tim. I just hate what he did the the Ukes reputation. He was actually VERY musical. He is the reason most people don't take the Uke seriously today. Its been 50 years, and people still remember that.

hoosierhiver said:

Tiny Tim recorded a lot of old songs from the 20's for the Smithsonian. He saved a lot of old music of that time from oblivion.

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YES!!!! He had a deep love for what he was doing and adored the old songs and kept them alive. His passion for music and for the ukulele should be more admired and respected.

There is a really insightful interview now available on DVD. By an amazing coincidence, this turned out to be Tiny's final interview, as soon after it's recording, he went out and performed a show and collapsed with a heart attack. He died not long after at a 'comeback' performance in Nov '96. It's a real eye opener for anyone wanting to understand the real man behind the mask.

http://www.vidsync.com/tintim

corrected url: http://www.vidsync.com/tinytim/

About to watch it now. Thanks for posting eugene.

edited to add: oh, it's an ad for the dvd. Shoot.

eugene ukulele said:

YES!!!! He had a deep love for what he was doing and adored the old songs and kept them alive. His passion for music and for the ukulele should be more admired and respected.

There is a really insightful interview now available on DVD. By an amazing coincidence, this turned out to be Tiny's final interview, as soon after it's recording, he went out and performed a show and collapsed with a heart attack. He died not long after at a 'comeback' performance in Nov '96. It's a real eye opener for anyone wanting to understand the real man behind the mask.

http://www.vidsync.com/tintim

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The uke is an inanimate object. It can't have a reputation. Only people have reputations. You are who you are because of you, not because of what someone else did or does

As I watch some of Tiny Tim on YouTube, his playing ability seems to have been pretty limited, and his ability to tune his instrument even more limited than that. It makes me wonder if the combination of his odd persona along with a terrible sounding ukulele helped to create an odd and even an uncomfortable perception of the instrument in the broad culture.

I am surprised at how much people from the baby boomer generation seem amazed at how my ukulele sounds (and I'm no great player), and I get comments like "I've never heard a ukulele sound so wonderful". Just a thought.....