Customer Reviews

Tiny Tim

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I knew Tiny Tim, & I can guarantee you that reading this book is as close to the Tiny Tim experience as you'll ever come now that this utterly unique individual has passed away. He was one of a kind, & this book captures him in all his eccentric glory. A real page turner!

"Tiny Tim" by Harry Stein was published by Playboy Press in 1976. It's a hardcover biography on Tiny Tim, chronicling his rise and fall from stardom. An intriguing read, the author interviewed numerous people involved in Tiny's life and career, including old neighborhood friends, managers, producers, bodyguards, associates, fans, Miss Vicki, and even Tillie Khaury, Tiny's mother. Two sides of each subject are presented--- alternating between each interviewee's topic, and Tiny's version of it.

It's an excellent resource, going into great detail about the early days, the decade leading up to Tiny finally being "discovered" in 1968, the superstardom from 1968-1970, and the decline. Many questions about Tiny Tim's career are left for the reader to ponder, with two sides of the story presented (i.e. his manager's version, and Tiny's version). And yes, there is great detail about his eccentric love life, personal habits and beliefs, et cetera. Tiny Tim was utterly unique and this fine biography paints a fascinating portrait of the man. Written with much wit and objectivity.

Don't pay $80 for it though... I got a copy on a certain popular auction site for $[...]!

Harry Stein's biography of Tiny Tim provides not only serious insight into the true character of one of the most bizarre characters in popular music history -- but some stunning insight into the psychedelic, groovy times that allowed his star to rise.

What is odd here is that Tiny Tim was most definitely a misfit in the era that so honored him. His clothes and hair made one statement, but his music and character was out of sync with the 60s and 70s. Where did Tiny Tim belong? He was a one-of-a-kind phenomenon, uncompromising in his dedication to the culture of a bygone era -- an era that would have recoiled in horror from his appearance and presentation.

It was Tiny Tim's amazing talent that defied definition, making him an icon of the music world. His work still stands today as proof that talent crosses all cultural barriers.

"The world is wide with many things within, but none so rare as him -- God Bless Tiny Tim."

This was an interesting biography of Tiny Tim written in the 70's. Tiny Tim was a nice man but had many strange habits and ideas about many things. It seems he actually got even weirder as the years passed. He was even more off the wall in interviews I remember hearing with him on Howard Stern in the 90's than he was in this book and thats saying a lot. In this age of contrived weirdness its rather nice to read about someone who really was an entertaining unique odd personality instead of todays pathological attention seekers.