He was no ukulele virtuoso-he was a strummer first and foremost-but he had a savant-like knowledge of popular music from the turn of the 20th century through the 1950s, and he could play hundreds of songs. ![]() He rode the wave of his truly odd celebrity for a few years, and though he never achieved much more commercial success, he managed to eke out a living (barely, sometimes) until his death at the age of 64 in 1996, of a heart attack, onstage, ukulele in hand. He had one album that made the Billboard Top 100- God Bless Tiny Tim, which came out in early 1968 and was on the charts for 32 weeks, making it all the way to #7-and one noteworthy single from that record, “Tiptoe Through the Tulips,” which peaked at #17. Yes, he was unquestionably a freakish novelty act, who traded on a bizarre gimmick-an unearthly, quavering falsetto-and a sunny, solicitous stage personality that was either charming or borderline creepy (if you didn’t buy it). ![]() I think it’s safe to say that there has never been a figure in the ukulele world who has provoked as much derision, dismissal, and out-and-out hostility as the late-’60s uke-playing phenomenon known as Tiny Tim. ![]() BY BLAIR JACKSON | FROM THE SPRING 2020 ISSUE OF UKULELE
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