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Steve Ison
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2/22/2009 6:34:11 PM
---- Updated 2/22/2009 6:37:55 PM
Biff Rose And Tiny Tim
Just discovered 2 wonderful artists i'd never heard before Biff Rose and Tiny Tim..
Biff Rose wrote the original 'Fill Your Heart' that Bowie fans would be familiar with(brilliant song!)-but i really love Tiny Tims version..
Molly by Biff Rose is just a heartbreakingly beautiful song-So much innocence,sadness and magic.
Both of them are American eccentrics-Biff Rose seems more European than American to me with his obvious music-hall influences-Tho maybe i havn't heard enough of his songs..
Tiny Tim is wonderful -Beautifully absurd and strange.A real non vegasy D.I.Y invention...I find it unbelivable that an artist so totally eccentric and outrageously camp would ever be popular in the States-'especially in the 60s/70s!
I had to check he was actually American 'cos i thought he must be British to get away with being like that and being accepted/tolerated by the mainstream-I mean at least there's a tradition and embrace of that sort of thing in the U.K
God bless 'him..Must've had to have nerves of steel!
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Kevin White
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2/22/2009 6:51:23 PM
We grew up w/ Tiny Tim, Steve. He was a regular on "Laugh In" ... his biggest hit was "Tiptoe through the Tulips"
Kev-
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LyinDan
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2/22/2009 6:51:42 PM
Steve, he's almost as celebrated here as Mike Hunt.
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Kevin White
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2/22/2009 6:56:24 PM
Isn't he married to Amanda Huggenkiss?
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2/22/2009 7:52:53 PM
I must say, Steve, Tiny Tim isn't one of your better discoveries. :D
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Night Krawler Blues
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2/22/2009 7:55:39 PM
eh!
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The GeeBees
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2/22/2009 8:01:34 PM
Don't worry Steve, you're just turning into a golden oldie like me. I'm sure I had a carot in the fridge but maybe I ate it without realising.
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Night Krawler Blues
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2/22/2009 8:03:52 PM
I like bacon eh! and lots of maple syrup eh eh!
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The GeeBees
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2/22/2009 8:03:55 PM
Why is the fake Bluto wearing brown trowsers I wonder, Hmm, I smell something odd there.
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Night Krawler Blues
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2/22/2009 8:05:16 PM
say what eh! do I smell , i will change my clothes right a away, first a shower though
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The Man With No Band
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2/22/2009 9:22:38 PM
Steve ... Tiny Tim was very popular here back in the day ... but your sentiments about American's not embracing the non-conformist is very true today, but it always wasn't like that ... Today, Tiny Tim would be crucified over here ... and even people who embraced him back then DO crucify him today ...
See it's an embarrassment to them ... to admit non-conformity ... because most sold out ... not only their beliefs but their lifestyles as well ... It's an embarrassment today for them to talk about the "hippie" ideology ... they've become a part of a brainwashed Capitalist society ... the idea of the world being one family is frowned upon, everyone is supposed to take care of "me" ... they can't talk about the time when they lived in a commune, or talk about living off the grid, or talk about Love or Peace or Sharing ...
The funny thing is ... most are putting on a facade ... sure, many of them are now driving BMW's ... and they live in fine homes ... and they attend Cliquish parties ... but they are not truly happy ... I know ... because I saw them and I remember when they were truly happy ... now they are slaves to the very conformity that they fought so hard against ... and guys like Tiny Tim remind them of a time that really meant something real, and how they traded it all off in the name of Capitalist conformity ... so yeah, you are very much right about attitudes over here ... not much is accepted that doesn't fit a certain mold ..
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2/22/2009 9:27:49 PM
I thought Tiny Tim actually became famous because the establishment wanted to get out the message that hippies were like him, as a form of ridicule.
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The Man With No Band
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2/22/2009 9:33:56 PM
Well ... guys like A**hole Nixon did use Tiny Tim as an example of mockery ... but the thing was Most people didn't care ... until one-by-one they fell victim to the propaganda and the all mighty dollar ...
Tiny Tim is a thorn in a lot of those people's minds now ...
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kurtkurtley
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2/22/2009 11:29:47 PM
Gee, I don't know Sam, I grant you that Nixon did have quite a pucker to him....
Don't forget that Tiny Tim was cross-generational (and probably cross-a-few-other-things-we-don't-want-to-know-about!) in the sense that he was a frequent guest of Johhny Carson, and even married the lovely "Miss Vickie" on the Carson show. So he was far from a counter-culture icon. I put him in the "Truly Unique" category. And it's sad, in a way, that people who found him entertaining then should shun him now. But you're right, there is not much market for "Unique" in our current society. So much the worse for us!
Hey, where's Old Man Warner with the curmudgeonly point of view on Tiny Tim??
And Steve, I've got to admit that I whiff completely on Biff Rose....I'll have to do a little research!
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Hugh Hamilton
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2/22/2009 11:34:41 PM
One of my favorite DJ's here at this site has publicly stated that she's a cousin of Tiny Tim's, Steve...she has been A.W.O.L. lately, but I'll give you a hint - Tiny Tim was known to make quite a commotion with that little uke of his...lol...
;)
H
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Steve Ison
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2/23/2009 7:23:51 PM
---- Updated 2/23/2009 7:26:20 PM
Kevin...The 'Fill Your Heart'i posted was actually the B side of Tiptoe thru the tulips..
Sam..Yeh,thats a sad indication of modern corporatism,ultra conservatism and peoples lack of tolerance,openess and imagination in the U.S..Things MUST'VE been very different for him to be succesful then..
I actually think the Biff Rose track 'Mollie' i posted reminds me a little of you in terms of delivery, spirit heart and vibe :)
Kurt..'Truly Unique' is how i'd describe him too...From a world that didn't rely on cynical corporate playlists and everything having to be shoved in a frikkin' box..Its always the people who blur the boundaries and just do their own thing who are the most interesting..
Hugh..Woh Eliz is related to Tiny Tim hey? Thats really cool..I know he's from New York like her. My girlfriend reminded me today he's mentioned in Dylans Chronicles as playing on the same Coffee bar circuit as him in the early 60s..
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the perfect banana
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2/23/2009 8:05:47 PM
Being an actual fan of Tiny Tim is sort of like having a foot fetish, isn't it?
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Jesse Adams
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2/23/2009 10:30:16 PM
Hey PB can I borrow you for a movie I'm making?
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qelizabeth
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2/23/2009 11:47:59 PM
---- Updated 2/24/2009 12:02:44 AM
Steve, Tiny Tim is my first cousin twice removed! And might I add that my son does quite an interpretation of Tip Toe through the tulips.
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Sly Witt
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2/24/2009 4:04:36 AM
I've got to admit that I had thought of TT as kind of a tragic victim of his own celebrity. He liked to act as if he didn't understand the 'camp' aspect of his act, even though he came to the attention of most of us on comedy programs.
I watched him get married to 'Miss Vickie' on the 'Tonight Show with Johnny Carson', as did 40 million other people. I distinctly remember him saying that they wouldn't consummate the marriage because it was 'disgusting', but he fathered 'Tulip' with Miss Vickie, so I guess it was just part of the act. .
This post got me to digging through a bit of his story and listening to a bit more of his music. I never really heard him do anything other than 'tiptoe thru the tulips'. it seems that he did 'get it'. No matter what, he was sure one of a kind.
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