Marking
its 55th anniversary this month is the debut LP from American songbook
walking encyclopedia, Tiny Tim, with God Bless Tiny Tim being released
in April of 1968. Along with the single, Tiptoe Through the Tulips, and
a few critical TV appearances on Laugh In and The Tonight Show with
Johnny Carson, it would help propel this eccentric outsider artist to
novelty act national stardom.
Herbert Butros Khaury was a
native New Yorker born to a Jewish mother and Catholic father. Coming
from a deeply religious background, he would carry his theological
interests throughout his life, but it was music which was his ultimate
passion, an obsession which started as a child after his father bought
him a phonograph player and 78-RPM record of "Beautiful Ohio" by Henry
Burr, which he played for hours on end. This kicked off his collecting
of recordings and photographs of sheet music found in libraries, a hobby
he continued throughout his life. His interest was predominantly early
20th century popular music, particularly from the period from 1900 to
the 1930s. As he delved into this treasure-trove of Americana song
craft, he became something of an expert musicologist, despite having
dropped out of high school after failing several attempts to graduate
his sophomore year.
His passion for music soon lead him to pick
up playing violin at the age of 11 and then guitar, mandolin and, what
would become his signature instrument, the ukulele, performing for his
parents amusement. Once he was old enough, he began to develop a stage
act, performing often for free in the East Village of NYC. Throughout
his early career, he’d cycle through a variety of pseudonyms, refining
his eccentric style and presence, growing out his hair and adopting a
pale white clown-like makeup. His mother was initially rather concerned
about these changes and tried to get him to see a therapist, but his
father dissuaded her against pursuing such concerns. Eventually, while
working with a novelty act featuring little people, his manager
ironically suggested calling the 6’1” performer “Tiny Tim” and that
particular name ended up sticking. In the early 1960s, he began to
develop a following for his unique performances and eventually caught
the attention of scouts for Reprise Records, who signed him to a record
deal.
God Bless Tiny Tim focuses its songs primarily on the
obscure early 20th century popular music Tim had become so knowledgeable
about, though a version of the contemporary Sony & Cher hit, I Got
You Babe, was included to showcase both is baritone and falsetto vocal
ranges within the same song, with Tim playing both the male and female
roles. Thanks to his recurring and baffling appearances on the hip
sketch comedy series, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In, Tim developed a
cult following within the hippie & youth audience, appealing to the
psychedelic era’s sense of the surreal and absurd-ism. With the success
of the single for Tiptoe Through The Tulips, Tiny Tim became a
household name, with the peak of his fame being when he had his marriage
performed on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, a spectacle which
generated phenomenal ratings.
Tim released two more LPs on
Reprise before his contract was dropped and he went on to form his own
label, but after his peak in the 1960s, his popularity waned
significantly. He managed to resurface here and there throughout the
‘70s & ‘80s, most notably with a performance of Rod Stewart’s Do You
Think I’m Sexy, which he brought to The Tonight Show and other programs
of the day. In the later years of his life, he became something of a
cult figure within the Neo-Folk set as artists like David Tibet
championed his vast knowledge of vintage songs from the early eras of
popular music. They even helped produce records for him and had them
released on labels usually reserved for strange avant-garde acts. Tim
died in 1996, leaving a legacy as one of America’s most inimitable
performers, taking with him a knowledge of early popular music which is
incalculable in its significance and overwhelming in its loss.
