Never hit your grandma with a shovel,
It makes a bad impression on her mind.
-Tiny Tim
It’s hard to image a stranger person than Tiny Tim hitting the big time, but he did. He became an icon of the sixties when he got married on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and he was a one hit wonder with Tip Toe Through the Tulips. I found this LP when I was in high school and a huge fan of The Beatles. There was a story that Tiny Tim was mad at Capitol records for signing the Beatles and not signing him. He complained that they had long hair, after they had refused him, for among other reasons, having long hair. The receptionist is reported to have said-“The Beatles look like the Moe from Three Stooges, not you.”
In any case, Tiny Tim landed a record contract with Reprise records and God Bless Tiny Tim was brought into the world.
The songs are an odd mixture of the old and the new. For the older folks that remember ed Rudy Vallee, the only other ukulele player that really comes to mind, he did sound sort like Vallee. But really, Tiny Tim sounded like no one but Tiny Tim. One of the interesting and oddball things about this album is that he sings a number of duets with himself-singing both the male and female parts. Despite the fact that he was not a great singer, this is a great album. It is sad and funny and gives anyone who has ever wanted to be a pop star proof that anyone can be a pop star.
This album is now available on Rhapsody and you can listen to the whole thing if you like. But I think that most people will not be that crazy about it. Despite the fact the Tiny Tim died while preforming in from of a sold out show, he was really a product of the sixties. He never had another hit, though he tried several times to parody himself by doing different versions of Tiptoe. My favorite track is #7, Then I’d be satisfied with life, in which he laments the fact that he doesn’t have 50 million dollars and that Tuesday Weld will never be his wife. But honestly, I love the whole thing.
Track list for the 1968 album God Bless Tiny Tim
| 1. Welcome to My Dreams |
| 2. Tiptoe Through the Tulips with Me |
| 3. Livin’ in the Sunlight, Lovin’ in the Moonlight |
| 4. On the Old Front Porch |
| 5. Viper |
| 6. Stay Down Here Where You Belong |
| 7. Then I’d Be Satisfied with Life |
| 8. Strawberry Tea |
| 9. Other Side |
| 10. Ever Since You Told Me That You Love Me (I’m a Nut) |
| 11. Daddy, Daddy, What Is Heaven Like? |
| 12. Coming Home Party |
| 13. Fill Your Heart |
| 14. I Got You Babe |
| 15. This Is All I Ask |
