A Little Pearl Of Uke History

H

Hippie Dribble

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Laugh you may, but today I hit gold. Rummaging through an old bin of vinyl on my weekly sojourn to Salamanca Market I found this little pearl of musical history. I'd never even seen a Tiny Tim rekkid before, but I handed over my dollar coin and it is now mine.

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Nice score!

Looking forward to hearing you cover these tunes.
 
Awesome find, I hope you have a turntable. :)
 
What a cool score, congrats ....wow....was Tiny Tim ever popular in Australia way back then too..
 
Cool! I'll give you the chance to double your money and give you $2 for it!
 
Tiny Tim, one of our greatest old time music archivists, would be so happy you are preserving one of his records. Share details about your find.
 
Cool! I'll give you the chance to double your money and give you $2 for it!

I'll give him a chance to cut his losses and give him 50 cents for it... :)

Just not a Tiny Tim fan, myself.

John
 
Lads, thankyou for your generous offers to relieve me off this piece of black plastic and glorious 60's artwork but I wouldn't even sell it to you for $50, let alone 50 cents.

Just giving the rekkid a spin as we speak. Totally adore the songs and the warmth of personality that shines through, especially on the animal songs. Favourite tracks: "Sunshine Cake"; "They Always Pick On Me"; "Remember Your Name And Address" and a beautifully arranged production of "What the World Needs Now Is Love"

Tim was such a maligned figure, and remains so, but the truth is he had a love of music and for the ukulele that demands great respect I believe. Though he sang in falsetto often, he has a great vocal range and his commitment to keeping alive the old material made him a rare figure of his time. This particular recording is bursting with energy and fun, and the songs and the performances are interspersed with some lovely spoken word stuff oozing with good natured humour.

Though many of you may have suspected this would be in *mint* condition LOL it does have some nasty scratches from it's 45 years of life but still very listenable and only one of the 15 songs gets stuck in the groove.

Yesterday was a red letter day in the vinyl bins for me. I also found copies of John Prine's "Sweet Revenge" and Odetta's "Live at Carnegie Hall", but if you asked me which one was most precious to me, it's the Tiny Tim recording hands down.
 
Jon, I never cared for TT but I am eager to hear your renditions of some of his tunes! Glad it was a great day for you!
 
Yep, production by Richard Perry and Gene Shiveley for Reprise Records, 1969. It's a classy effort, especially on the larger arrangements with the strings.
 
Laugh you may, but today I hit gold. Rummaging through an old bin of vinyl on my weekly sojourn to Salamanca Market I found this little pearl of musical history. I'd never even seen a Tiny Tim rekkid before, but I handed over my dollar coin and it is now mine.

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I read that as "nekkid" on first read, and thought "OMG, Jon has lost his mind!"

After I re-read it, I decided you had made a good purchase.
 
I was just reading Ian Whitcomb's latest Uke book, and he had a section about Tiny Tim, and how Whitcomb's ukulele career was ruined when Tim came along, because Whitcomb was being called a copycat and also-ran...

While it had some good things about TT's history, and why things happened, I was expecting a real chop job. And that is what it appeared was going to happen, until I got to the part where Whitcomb attended one of Tim's concerts...


... And became a Fan.


I remember seeing Tiny Tim on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, and on The Tonight Show, and he really never did anything for me. But in recent years, I've heard some of his other recordings, and seen a few of the videos from his appearances on Australian television, and there was definitely something there, (Apart from what looked to be an incredible desire to be liked, and to be allowed to just be himself - even if he really wasn't sure who or what that was) that I think, had he gone in a slightly different direction, would have made him a true Star, rather than an object of ridicule when he stopped being the "Weirdo of the Moment".

So, Jon - Good Score!

-Kurt​
 
Cool! I'd love to hear it. Can it be put (legally?) on sound cloud?
 
Tiny Tim, one of our greatest old time music archivists, would be so happy you are preserving one of his records. Share details about your find.

You nailed it, Phil -

Tim was a true student of the Jazz Age. You may love or hate his singing, but here’s a song from one of my favorite vocalists of the era, “Whispering” Jack Smith.

http://www.southcoastukes.com/sound/WhisperingJackSmith-Shadow.mp3

Jack was one of the first of the Crooners, a radical new style of singing in that era. In his case, that style was a necessity as a result of the effect of a mustard gas attack in the first World War. He was lucky to have been performing when microphone use was first becoming widespread.

The song above, “Me and my Shadow” was one of his most famous pieces. As you listen to the soft tremolo singing, imagine it frenetic, exaggerated, and at a higher pitch. This is Tim's approach to singing. It wasn't some bizarre style he invented on his own, but an offbeat imitation of Jack and some of the other crooners of the day.
 
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