Tiny Tim

Artist: Tiny Tim

LP: For All My Little Friends

Song: "They Always Pick On Me"
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Song: "Chickery Chick"
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If you're a genuine Greenwich Village super-hipster, then you probably know this popular musician by one of his earlier monikers: Dary Dover, Judas K. Foxglove, Emmett Swink, Vernon Castle, or maybe Sir Timothy Timms, Texarcana Tex or Larry Love, the Singing Canary. But to the rest of us, he's just Tiny Tim. Nowadays all the cool bands have a ukulele in their midst, but where was that moral support back in 1969? A trail-blazer is Tiny Tim.

On the way home from work tonight I suddenly had a hankering for a burrito at Gorditos. I hadn't been there in years (and years). The two gals behind me in line were discussing Tiny Tim, how there's the Charles Dickens one, and then the other one, the singer. One of the gals broke into mini performance of Tim's hit single "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." When she finished I asked her to do it again. She would not, but it still made my night. The burrito helped too. Damn their burritos are good. You can read all about Judas K. Foxglove on Wikipedia here.

[ Tiny Tim: April 12, 1932 — November 30, 1996 ]

Peggy Hayama w/ Hibari Children's Choir of Leon San Jonet

Artist: Peggy Hayama w/ Hibari Children's Choir of Leon San Jonet

LP: 7" single

Song: "The Lonely Goatherd"
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I couldn't find anything quite so organically endowed with as much gay pride as this 1966 Japanese cover of Rogers & Hammerstein's "The Lonely Goatherd" from the 1965 Julie Andrews musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC. There's even rainbow-colored lettering on the cover. Sadly, Peggy Hayama did not live to see this tribute; she passed away from pneumonia just over two months ago at the age of 83.

[ Peggy Hayama: December 9, 1933 — April 12, 2017 ]

Slim Goodbody

Artist: Slim Goodbody

LP: Inside-Out

Song: "Imagination" 
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Song: "The Body Symphony" 
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Martin and I popped into the Second Chance Thrift Store when we passed through Raymond, WA (it's where Nirvana played their first show!) on our way to the coast last Friday. They had some interesting LPs for sale, including this one from John Burstein, who goes by the name Slim Goodbody when he puts on his $4,000 flesh-colored unitard covered with guts. Discogs says the album was released in 1974 (with a different cover), but Wikipedia says Burstein first appeared as Mr. Goodbody in 1975, so I don't know what's going on. What I do know is that people were able to borrow this album from the Public Library in Clatskanie, OR between the summer of 1983 and the end of 1988 (what I don't know is the proper pronunciation of 'Clatskanie'), and I know that copies of this particular record sell for $15 online! What I admire most is that Slim Goodbody managed to release a children's record that includes repeated references to drugs, pills and liquor. That takes some serious balls, even if Slim chooses not to display them on his unitard.

[ Slim Goodbody ]

[ Martin at the Second Chance Thrift Store — Raymond, WA ]

Nat King Cole

Artist: Nat King Cole

LP: The Magic of Christmas With Children

Song: "The Happiest Christmas Tree" 
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There are several voices I've simply got to hear crooning at Christmas time in order for the holidays to seem complete. They give me that special holiday tingle. Doris Day's is one (of course); Johnny Mathis' is another. A third voice that fills my head with visions of dancing sugarplums is the one belonging to Nat King Cole. At Goodwill a few days ago I found this terrific 1970 compilation of holiday tunes by the velvety-voiced Mr. Cole. It's evidently a limited edition release assembled especially for the Safeway supermarket stores. Of course I'd rather have found the original 1959 "Happiest Christmas Tree" single, but for .60¢ it's hardly fair to complain. I'd never heard this particular carol before; it's awfully catchy and has been stuck in my head ever since I got home from Goodwill and gave it a listen. You can read all about Nat King Cole here.

[ Nat King Cole: March 17, 1919 — February 15, 1965 ]

The Pickwick Children's Chorus and Musical Friends

Artist: The Pickwick Children's Chorus and Musical Friends

LP: Sesame Street & Other Children's Pop Hits!

Song: "Bozo's Song"

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Here's a kids' record I found at Goodwill yesterday, featuring a song performed by Bozo the Clown. That reminds me: I read in the news last week that a powerful Mexican drug lord was shot dead by assassins dressed as clowns at a family children's party in Cabo San Lucas. There's a picture of Pickwick Children's Chorus leader Laurie Ringham on the back of this slightly disturbing LP, along with photos of other young ladies (one toothless lass is featured in unflattering closeup). But nothing in the liner notes, evidently written by a four-year-old, indicates whether the girls pictured are actual members of The Pickwick Children's Chorus or just some of their Musical Friends.

Louis Prima

Artist: Louis Prima

LP: 7" single

Song: "Winnie the Pooh"

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I had a few extra minutes on the meter after collecting my Sparks single at Zion's Gate Records last Saturday, so I was able to poke around the place a bit. This "Winnie the Pooh" 45 from bandleader Louis Prima (and his 5th wife, Gia Maione, who performs a more traditional version of the song on the b-side) is one of the things I found. The single was released in 1966, the year before Prima provided the voice of King Louis the Ape in Disney's THE JUNGLE BOOK. You can read all about the life and career of New Orleans native Louis Prima here.

[ Louis Prima: December 7, 1910 — August 24, 1978 ]

Ricky Segall and The Segalls

Artist: Ricky Segall and The Segalls

LP: Ricky Segall and The Segalls

Song: "What Kind of Noise Do You Make"

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I had a Chipotle burrito with white rice and pinto beans for dinner last night, so you can probably guess what kind of noise I make. To be honest, my noises don't sound half bad compared to the ones Ricky Segall makes on this 1973 collection of songs that he performed as "Ricky the neighbor kid" on the fourth and final season of "The Partridge Family" TV show. Born on Long Island in 1969, Ricky is now married with three kids and, after working as a minister in Texas for a number of years, he returned to Los Angeles in 2006 to go back into show business. You can check out his IMDB biography page here.