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 ]

Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau

Artist: Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau

LP: No Kristo

Song: "Waikiki Hula" 
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Speaking of Fantasy Islands, here's something soothing from the beautiful state of Hawaii. This 1976 LP was the first from Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau, which included siblings Skippy and Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole. When Skippy died in 1982 at age 38, his younger brother followed in his musical footsteps and eventually became rather famous throughout the world. Sadly, Israel (far right on the LP cover) also died at age 38, back in June of 1997. You can read about Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau here. 

Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau in 1979 on YouTube:
[ "Ka Mamakakaua" ]

[ Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau ]

Ray Anthony and His Orchestra

Artist: Ray Anthony and His Orchestra

LP: Young Ideas

Song: "Coquette"

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According to the drawing on the back of this 1957 Ray Anthony LP, one young idea—admittedly not a very good one—is to bring your records and a record player with you to the beach and set them on the ground next to your towel so people can kick sand all over them. The album's front cover shows a woman in a bathing suit laying on top of a scantily-clad man who's holding a ukulele. Other "young ideas" are undoubtedly being formulated here, but for the life of me I can't imagine what they are. Ray Anthony, who celebrated his 90th birthday this past January, was at one time married to Mamie Van Doren, who's been giving fellows young ideas for the past 60 years, and who apparently doesn't take very good care of her records either. Van Doren divorced Anthony in 1958, citing cruelty, but the candid photo I've included below reveals what was really going on in the relationship. You can read all about talented trumpeteer extraordinaire Ray Anthony on Wikipedia here.

 [ Mamie & Ray ]

Jonnie Aluani and His Orchestra

Artist: Jonnie Aluani and His Orchestra

LP: Hawaiian Interlude

Song: "Hawaiian Holiday"

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Song: "Hawaiian Starlight"

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Here's a neat Hawaiian-rockabilly-surf-themed LP I came across in Toledo, Ohio last summer. There's no photo or information about Jonnie Aluani to be found on the web, but that might be because he doesn't really exist. Click here to visit The Atomic Attic blog where you can read about how the songs on this album have been recycled, re-packaged, and re-released by a variety of different "artists" with Hawaiian-sounding names. Even the "Hawaiian Interlude" liner notes avoid mentioning Jonnie Aluani and His Orchestra, rambling on instead about geography, the weather, the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands, and the placidity of the Polynesian people. Visit The Steel Guitar Forum here to find more confusion about who's actually playing these songs and to log your own complaint about Jonnie's choppy work on steel guitar. After taking a good hard look at the LP cover, Gerald Ross of Ann Arbor, MI even goes so far as to call that lovely Hawaiian lady's ukulele-playing abilities into question.