#7: The Lullaby of Tiny Tim
A DIVINE MADMAN
Tiny Tim lived in his own bubble with angelic girls dancing in the clouds, while 1920’s Broadway lullabies played on harps. He became the biggest fad of 1968. But his lifelong dedication to early 20th-century music was without equal.
Episode Playlist
Prisoner of Love: A Tribute to Russ Columbo
Girl: Tiny Tim with Brave Combo
Read Josh’s original article with Tiny Tim on the blog
-
- Tiny serenades Josh at the office of Oui Magazine in 1983 (photo by Jeff Goodman)
-
- (illustration by Drew Friedman)
-
- This 8×10 publicity photo of Larry Love—“The Singing Canary”—ended up in the waste basket of every press agent in New York (from Harry Stein’s 1976 biography, Tiny Tim)
-
- Tiptoeing through the tulips
#6: Seymour the Kike
THE BRUTE PIMP OF WHITECHAPEL
The 19th century life model for anti-Semitic caricatures was quite a guy. Except I made him up. And he now joins the cast of this season’s Dead Heroes.
Episode Playlist
The Worst, Bela’s Funeral Dirge heard in this episode.
Seymour the Kike
#5: Keith Ferguson Remembers/Part 2
PACHUCO BLUES
Ferguson avoids the Vietnam draft, plays Houston lesbian clubs with young Johnny Winter, and joins the Thunderbirds. Like an old wolf, Keith paces his communal porch in Austin. It was his last refuge.
Recommended Playlist
-
- The killer smile of Keith Ferguson (photo: Gregory Carlson)
-
- Pachuco style
#4: Keith Ferguson Remembers/Part 1
AUSTIN’S GREATEST FALLEN MUSIC HERO
In a town known for its fallen musical heroes, Fabulous Thunderbirds bassist Keith Ferguson was a tour de force. He submerged into semi-retirement on his rustic estate, a hangout for wounded animals, reptiles and old pachuchos. The music biz turned ugly, but Austin’s beautiful losers—as well as the heroin—remained pure. And Keith was Numero Uno.
Recommended Playlist
-
- Keith and Muddy (photo: Watt Casey)
-
- The original Fabulous Thunderbirds of Austin
-
- El Mero Guero, Keith Ferguson
#3: Midnight Jerry Leiber/Part 2
IS THAT ALL THERE IS?
Writing songs with Jerry was, for me, like having a catch with Willie Mays or Joe DiMaggio—when they were old. But his genius was never far away. Cloistered in his exquisite home in Venice Beach, the awards for Leiber & Stoller’s achievements came in by the week. But only Mike Stoller showed up to receive them.
Episode Playlist
Peggy Lee Sings Leiber & Stoller
Josh Alan Band (“Strike A Match”)
-
- Making black folks laugh
-
- The kitchen where Jerry concocted the old-world recipes of his mother Manya, along with the greatest barbecue known to man
-
- Jerry’s desk at home in Venice Beach