I was a child in the late 1960s and early 1970s when Tiny Tim was at the peak of his fame, so I grew up with him sort of always in the background. Listening to this for the first time in decades, I found his wavering falsetto annoying. But he clearly loved the song he was performing and his love for it shines through in his performance, so I was able to listen to the whole thing.
Tiny Tim, born Herbert Khaury (1932-1996), was from New York City and developed an interest in early 20th-century music when he was very young. He started singing professionally in the early 1950s with occasional bursts of success but with other occasional bursts of audience hostility: when he performed at Expo '67 in Montreal, the audience threw beer cans at him.
Tim started appearing on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In in 1968 and became a regular guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He released an album that year, God Bless Tiny Tim, which became successful. "Tip-Toe Thru The Tulips With Me", a single released from that album, reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100; it was originally recorded in 1929 by Nick Lucas.
Tim gradually became less popular as the 1970s wore on but kept plugging away at his career. In later years, he struggled with diabetes and congestive heart failure, and he passed away after suffering a heart attack on stage while performing against his doctors' orders.
Created September 10, 2026.