okay, here's the deal, after becoming a ukulelist in late 2005, i couldn't avoid getting acquainted with most people's (well, most middle aged folks) association with Tiny Tim and the uke. Actually, who the hell can?
over and over, you share your enthusiasm for this unique instrument and some dip wad has to start trying to sing the falsetto version of "tip toe through the tulips" with that same ol' boring and sarcastic attitude.
can you feel the love here yet?
Anyway, i posted on another blog an article entitled, "To Tiny or not to Tiny?...that is the question" and the responses were pretty mixed, but some uke players sounded like they were almost angry at the guy because he wasn't that good of a player and he was different/quirky....which chalked off as him being a big joke...
Well, here's my conclusion after talking to a couple of different people, downloading some of Tiny's songs, and surfing you tube for interviews, etc.
...Tiny was all right man...he was all right...
maybe not for everyone, but here are some positive things that i've come away with...
1.) Tiny was a pop music archivist/musicologist for sure: from his early passion of pouring over old 78 albums to his later years of discussing the classic crooners with interviewers...this dude knew his stuff....his repertoire of songs (especially from 1850 to 1950) one source says, could've reached into the "tens or possibly hundreds of thousands."
2.) Tiny was known for being kind-hearted: if you read or listen to the interviews, Tiny often gave "props" in a big way to folks who influenced him. He came across as being very thankful for whatever opportunities were presented to him...and I am told he often gave huge tips to people who helped him even when he could barely make his own rent....Actually, I was told that he was 'kind to a default.' Pretty cool i think for someone who suffered abuse in his younger years.
3.) Tiny didn't let his poor uke skills stop him: from what i can gather, Tiny's uke skills were pretty choppy at best....i don't know why after playing for 40 or 50 years he didn't get much better, but he had this kinda 'chunka, chunka, chunka' style. this didn't stop him though...if you listen a little, you find that the dude had a pretty impressive vocal range and his tone was pretty darn good, especially when singing in the lower registers....
4.) Tiny was an outsider for sure: God bless him...'God bless the freaks.' You see, the way i look at it, there needs to be a place for 'outsiders.' The world of music is no exception. My biggest Hero is an 'outsider-magnet'...the least, the lost, the disenfranchised, and probably nerds, misfits, and the socially retarded (forgive the uncouth term, but it seems to work the best). let me digress with a funny story.....after hearing my friend Russ do a uke version of "Rocky Mountain High" on You tube, i asked a co-worker, who is in his mid-fifties, if he ever got into John Denver (this seemed to be about the right age i thought). His reply was, 'uh...you kinda had to be a nerd to be into John Denver'.... so, i'll be researching his tunes shortly. Anyway, it's public knowledge that Tiny suffered abuse as a youngster and this could've played into his quirky persona....so, God bless Tiny Tim!
enough...what songs have i enjoyed and what songs would i recommend....some of the ones i donwloaded were O.K., but these ones i've really enjoyed....
'tip toe through the tulips' he's the one who did it 'his way.' it's all right with me
'strawberry tea' kind of a vaudeville meets psychadelia tune....i like it...
'then i'd be satisfied with life' this is BY FAR my favorite...it's a country tune and he kills it!
'aren't you glad you're you' recorded for his kid's album....
'i'm a lonesome little raindrop' i like the words and chords....
so, there you have it...my take on Tiny Tim :)....he was all right in my book...
hugs and well wishes :)
At the very least Tiny Tim deserves credit for being a part of the New York Greenwich Village scene. He, along with Bob Dylan was one of the few major success stories from those days.
ReplyDeleteWell put John,
ReplyDeletehave you heard the stories of their 'song swapping sessions?'
i thought it was pretty cool...
Agian Todd a wonderful perspective.
ReplyDeleteI do have to ask about the "few major success stories of Greenwich Village?" Are we to exclude The Mamas and the Papas? Or say, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, uh...Oh yeah, Simon and Garfunkel? Just wondering. :) The list could go on.
Mr. Anderson, There have been a few successful musicians who started their careers in New York City, I'll grant you that. You forgot to mention David Peel and Lower East Side. (That's a joke son) I think most of the artists that you mention came along a bit later than Bob and Tiny Tim. I'm thinking Mimi and Richard Farina, The New Lost City Ramblers, Dave Van Ronk or even my personal faves, The Holy Modal Rounders. All of them enjoyed some degree of popularity but Tiny Tim and Bob Dylan were the only ones to become household names.
ReplyDeleteTodd,seems like I heard something about Dylan and Tiny Tim, but I can't remember.
Jon,
ReplyDeletethe "Holy Modal Rounders??!!!" those guys were brilliant!!! slightly insane, but brilliant...i used to play with this dude who was 20 years older than me when i lived on the colorado river and he turned me onto them...i check out one of their cds at the library every once in awhile...
Oh, and Tiny went up to Dylan's place in upstate NY after his motorcycle wreck and they spent an evening swapping songs...Dylan...the folk stuff...tiny...the tin pan alley/crooner stuff...a fond memory of Tiny's according to an interview i read...
Marcus,
thanks for commenting
Well I must say that I stand enlightened. Thank you Jon. I often think of time and place in a much too general way. I have to check out the Holy Modal Rounders now.
ReplyDeleteTodd, From what you say about yourself, I'm guessing I'm fifteen or twenty years older than you. I probably discovered The Rounders around the same time as your friend.
ReplyDeleteMr. Anderson, it would sound great if I lied and said that I've always known about the Greenwich Village folk scene. The truth is that I fairly recently read the book "Positively 4th Street" and saw the movies "No Direction Home", about Dylan and "Bound To Lose" about the Holy Modal Rounders. I did grow up in the New York suburbs and my family went to The Village to gawk at the "Beatnik Folk Singers" a few times. I think my parents were trying to inoculate us against growing up to be weirdoes. It didn't seem to work in my case as I grew up to be pretty weird.
I liked John Denver. So the whole nerd thing seems about right.
ReplyDelete