Tiny Tim: King for a Day

Kenn2018 said:

A very polarizing performer for uke players. He was fun and interesting. And totally unique. Most people over 40 remember "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."

I personally think he set ukulele instruments back 40 years. When I mention that I am learning to play ukulele, the most common thing I hear is: Why? Then they confess that's what they think of when ukuleles are mentioned. A tiny toy instrument played by a person singing with a quavery falsetto voice.

I used to think the same way. I know better now, and try to spread the word.

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BiliBug said:

I had the pleasure of working with him for a few hours in the mid-80's, when he was touring with the circus and I was working in a small local recording studio in PA. He arrived straight from his performance, still dressed in his colorful costume. The duct tape repair on the edge of his ukulele was the first red flag for me, a certain indication that he had fallen into hard times.

I too had the preconceived opinion of who he was, based on my childhood recollection of his appearances on Laugh-In, until that day. He was extremely nice, a story teller, and loved people, but was also tragically tied to the persona that gave him fame/infamy, and little else. He seemed lost, and wounded, and didn't seem to understand the cruelty directed towards him.

Some of his stories, about how he was exploited by the entertainment industry were heart-breaking. He was also not well treated, and others made the money on his fame.

During his visit, he recorded a few demos - In The Shade of the Old Apple Tree, Mary-Lou, Am I Wasting My Time, and I think one more. What we learned was that he was a lover of old vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley songs, many of which were only available on old Edison cylinders and 78 shellac records (if at all), of which he had an extensive collection. His dream was to re-record all of these songs as a historical record, to preserve them for the ages. My boss was trying to determine if it was a good business decision to help produce the project.

Unfortunately, it never materialized, and Tiny Tim went on to record ridiculous, offensive and often humiliating projects (Heavy Metal? Santa Claus has the AIDS?), being poorly guided and exploited once again, as he tried to regain his so called fame.

I'm glad that I got to meet him, and talk to him. That is the Herbert Khaury I will choose to remember. The one who's love of music was his driving force, regardless of his true talent, and who died doing what he loved best.

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Kenn2018 said:

A very polarizing performer for uke players. He was fun and interesting. And totally unique. Most people over 40 remember "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."

I personally think he set ukulele instruments back 40 years. When I mention that I am learning to play ukulele, the most common thing I hear is: Why? Then they confess that's what they think of when ukuleles are mentioned. A tiny toy instrument played by a person singing with a quavery falsetto voice.

I used to think the same way. I know better now, and try to spread the word.

Click to expand...