Tiny Tim (musician)
| Tiny Tim | |
|---|---|
Tiny Tim performing at an event in Tennessee in the late 1980's
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| Born |
Herbert B. Khaury April 12, 1932 Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States |
| Died |
November 30, 1996 (aged 64) |
| Resting place | Memorial Mausoleum, Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota 44°56'11.2"N, 93°18'05.1"W |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | Tulip Victoria Khaury Stewart (1971 - ) |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | New York City, United States |
| Genres | Americana |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician |
| Instruments | Ukulele, mandolin, guitar, violin, vocals |
| Years active | 1962–1996 |
| Labels | Reprise Records, Rhino Handmade, Rounder Records, Seeland Records |
November 30, 1996 (aged 64)
Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States
Herbert Buckingham Khaury (April 12, 1932 - November 30, 1996), known professionally as Tiny Tim, was an American singer, most of the time ukulele player, and musical archivist. He is best remembered for his hit "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" sung in a high falsetto/vibrato voice.
Tiny Tim was born in Manhattan, New York City on April 12, 1932. His mother was Tillie (née Staff), a garment worker, who was the daughter of a rabbi. She had immigrated from Brest-Litovsk as a teen in 1914. Tiny's father, Butros Khaury, was a textile worker from Beirut, Lebanon who was also a Maronite Christian priest.
Tiny Tim displayed musical talent at a very young age. At the age of five, his father gave him a vintage wind up Gramophone and a 78 RPM record of "Beautiful Ohio" by Henry Burr. He would sit for hours listening to the record. At the age of six, he began teaching himself guitar. By his pre-teen years, he developed a passion for records, specifically those from the 1900s through the 1930s. He began spending most of his free time at the New York Public Library, reading about the history of the phonograph industry and its first recording artists. He would research sheet music, often making photographic copies to take home to learn, a hobby he continued for his entire life.
At eleven years of age Khaury began learning to play the violin, and later picked up the mandolin, and what would be considered his signature instrument, the ukulele, and enjoyed performing at home for his parents. During his recovery from having his appendix removed in 1945, he read the Bible, listened to music on the radio and sang along, and after that rarely left his room, except to go to school, where he was a mediocre student. After repeating his sophomore year of high school, he dropped out entirely, taking a series of menial jobs.
In a 1968 interview on The Tonight Show, he described the discovery of his ability to sing in an upper register: "I was listening to the radio and singing along; as I was singing I said 'Gee, it's strange. I can go up high as well.'" In a 1969 interview he said he was listening to Rudy Vallee sing in a falsetto, and "had something of a revelation--I never knew that I had another top register," describing it as a religious experience.
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