Tiny Tim ROCK! Eve of Destruction
Tiny tears it up on this "all too prophetic" hidden rock classic from the early 90s!
Some 30 years ago, the author of this particular Substack was fortunate enough to be the guitar player on this fabulously crazy track! (among others).
It was recorded live at Rich Studios in Sydney Australia as part of what ultimately became the ‘Tiny Tim Rock’ album. Of course on lead vocal was the mighty, well— Tiny Tim! Yes, that’s right… “THAT” Tiny Tim (he of “Tiptoe through the Tulips” fame!)— (he of “married live on the Johnny Carson show” fame!)
At the stroke of midnight on the 7th of April 1992 (to my utter surprise and astonishment)—Tiny walked right into the main recording room where the band were taking a short well earned break—and sang me a ‘personal left-hand ukulele backed rendition’ of (you guessed it)— “Happy Birthday to you!”
One of the greatest—‘if not most bizarre nights of my life!’
I look back on my time spent in Tiny’s Australian band with great fondness. You could not have met a more genuinely bizarre character/artist than Tiny Tim, and a truer gentleman you could not have hoped to meet! A total pleasure to work with.
Well… that’s pretty much my claim to fame anyway... (my 15 minutes if you will)
I thought it quite apt to share this little musical wonderment in a time where we see our entire world—our freedoms and sovereign bodily autonomy—our right to live upon this earth as free and unfettered human beings—being literally torn apart through globalised tyranny!
Ha, yup, I git a lotta bemused looks myself at times (a few from my own kids!) fer some'a my music faves but I agree--Tiny was a genius! I'll betcha yer right about him not trustin' the clot shots had he been around now--he was wired differently, not one to foller' any leader. We need more singular talents like that 'stead o' what goes fer "music" today (with some exceptions but not many...). We're all lucky ducks to have a lexicon've all the incredible music from the 20th c! Let's hope THEY don't erase that part of his'try--too many absurdly canceled already.
BTW, I too gave a nod to Tiny back in August (scroll down on this one, link is at the end):
https://thcsofdaisymoses.substack.com/p/when-cabbages-and-kings-catch-covid
Talk about singular thinkers!
Brilliant! This warn't on my radar (glad to know it!) but Daisy here's always been a HUGE Tiny fan--all his incarnations (and tarnations!) I love that he was fearless--tried everything--like the polka-punk stuff with Brave Combo (their Stairway to Heaven's a hoot!), horror movies--the baritone falsetto range, and of course making the Uke awesome again etc. A friend'a mine that worked with him on somethin' r' other back in the 90s said he was really nice but had some form of OCD (hand washing or some related obsession?). The man broke the mold an' if I'm correct, he went out "singin'" too--I believe he died onstage, trooper 'til the end. (Apt song choice now that we're all really livin' day-to-day on the Eve of Destruction... ) Long Live Tiny!
PS imo he wasn't a freak show--we statesiders gotta REAL Freak Show in the White House. Tiny's an old pro Music Hall feller that decided to take some wild risks (but he had musical chops unlike a lotta 21st c bozo's cain't play 'r sing fer nuttin')