# How many young people have ever heard Tiny Tim singing "Tiptoe Through The Tulips"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242 "2005-04-26T20:39:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/1 "2005-04-26T20:39:02Z")
Even by the standards of the 60’s, Tiny Tim was weird. “Tiptoe Through The Tulips” is an unforgettable (traumatic?) experience. I’m 44; how old are you and have you ever heard (or better, seen the performance of) this classic? ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/2 "2005-04-26T20:41:31Z")
1. I’ve heard it for sure, I vaguely remember it on Carson. I recommend his cover of _Stairway to Heaven_, backed by **Brave Combo**. In fact the whole _Girl_ album is … um … interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/3 "2005-04-26T20:44:41Z")
I’m 23 and I’ve heard snippets from “Tiptoe…” before. I remember when I was a sophmore in high school we did these word tricks like: * * * ## town (downtown) One of the things was T t U i L p I t P o S e Tip Toe Through the Tulips I was the only one in the class who got it and I was surprised that nobody else had heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![davmilasav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@davmilasav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davmilasav)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/4 "2005-04-26T20:47:02Z")
I’m 36 and I caught it on syndie radio show **Little Steven’s Underground Garage** when TT was “Freak of the Week.” Wow. Just… Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/5 "2005-04-26T20:51:32Z")
17, yes ---
**Author:** ![StarsApart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@StarsApart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarsApart)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/6 "2005-04-26T20:52:59Z")
I’m 18. I’ve heard of it, but haven’t heard or seen it performed. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/7 "2005-04-26T20:54:55Z")
> [@Agrippina](#): > > I’m 23 and I’ve heard snippets from “Tiptoe…” before. Ditto, though I’ve seen full (archived) performances, not just snippets. Then again, I’ve always gone in for kitsch and eccentricity. I don’t remember, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the child-OMD had searched out freaky fatty frazzle-haired Tiny Tim. I distinctly remember confusion that such a high voice would come out of such a man. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/8 "2005-04-26T21:00:59Z")
I just did a quick survey in the office. Of the four people who had heard _of_ Tiny Tim, none of them had ever heard him sing the song or seen him on TV. These folks are an average of half my age. I’m 46. I was there at the time. P.S.: It was an act. IRL he sounded like a truck driver. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/9 "2005-04-26T21:06:27Z")
He did it on _Roseanne_ once. Up until Dan came in a did his John Belushi impersonation. That is, if any of the youngsters watching _knew_ he was referencing a 20 year old movie :eek: I’ve heard it, but not as an original performance (unless the above counts). I’m not THAT old :D. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/10 "2005-04-26T21:08:24Z")
I’m 45, and I saw him sing it live, when I was around eight years old. I got his autograph too. The Peppermint Rainbow opened for him. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/11 "2005-04-26T21:12:10Z")
1. I know the song and had heard it by the time I was 11. I’ve also seen clips of Tiny Tim getting married on TV. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/12 "2005-04-26T21:18:54Z")
I’m 49. I heard it, saw it and what’s worse – back in the day if you put a fright wig on my dad you’d have a dead ringer. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/13 "2005-04-26T21:39:10Z")
I’m 48, and I saw his very first appearance on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-in. I remember thinking it was Dick Martin in a wig! ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/14 "2005-04-26T21:41:47Z")
1. I heard him being interviewed on a local radio station in my hometown of Oshkosh, Wisconsin when I was a sophomore in high school. He performed Tip Toe live. ICK. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/15 "2005-04-26T22:14:27Z")
27, seen it on Johnny Carson specials. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/16 "2005-04-26T23:52:22Z")
> [@betenoir](#): > > He did it on _Roseanne_ once. Up until Dan came in a did his John Belushi impersonation. That is, if any of the youngsters watching _knew_ he was referencing a 20 year old movie :eek: > > I’ve heard it, but not as an original performance (unless the above counts). I’m not THAT old :D. I’ve heard it on Dr. Demento (I’m 21). I also saw it on Roseanne. IIRC, he was only in the very end scene (the one that runs over the credits). The characters had mentioned the word “ukulele” in passing, and then at the end, there he was. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/17 "2005-04-26T23:59:20Z")
> [@want2know](#): > > I’m 48, and I saw his very first appearance on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-in. Me, too, and me, too. I also know where he got it: a few years ago I was watching a 1930s movie with Billie Burke (you remember, Glinda from _The Wizard of Oz_? Keep that voice in mind). Billie sat down at a piano and started trilling, “_ooooh_, tip-toe by the window, by the window, that is where _I’ll_ be . . .” Light bulb goes on over head–that’s where he got it! He was doing a Billie Burke imitation! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/18 "2005-04-26T23:59:47Z")
When I was a kid (I’m 36 now), we had one of those K-Tel albums (yes, on vinyl) of goofy novelty songs, and TT’s TTTT was on there. ---
**Author:** ![EmeraldGrue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dc4da7/32.png) [@EmeraldGrue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmeraldGrue)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/19 "2005-04-27T00:02:30Z")
19, and god it’s creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Graycat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Graycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Graycat)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242/20 "2005-04-27T01:47:19Z")
46, saw it on TV, (probably \* Laugh-In\*) _and_ saw his romance with Miss Vicky. Uber-creepy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-young-people-have-ever-heard-tiny-tim-singing-tiptoe-through-the-tulips/301242.md?page=2)