Herbert Khaury (April 12, 1932 ? November 30, 1996), better known by the stage name Tiny Tim, was an American singer, ukulele player, and musical archivist. He was most famous for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" sung in a distinctive high falsetto / vibrato voice (his normal singing voice was baritone). He was generally thought of as a novelty act, though his records display a wide knowledge of American songs. He had no official middle name, though some web sites report that it was "Butros," his father's first name, but adopted Buckingham for no explained reason. Accordingly, his headstone reads "Khaury / Herbert B / Tiny Tim / 1932 1996". Tiny Tim was born in New York City and grew up in an old apartment building in Washington Heights[1]. He was the son of a Lebanese father (Butros) and a Jewish mother (Tillie Staff) and was raised Catholic. When he was five years old his father brought home a wind up gramophone and a 78 rpm record that featured a 1905 recording of Henry Burr singing Beautiful Ohio[2]. Young Herbert immersed himself in the music of the past. Khaury would spend hours in his room listening to artists like Rudy Vallee, Al Jolson, Henry Burry, Irving Kaufman, Billy Murray, Ada Jones, Byron G. Harlan, and Bing Crosby. Khaury began singing and playing the ukulele in his naturally tenor voice, but it wasn't until 1952 that anyone paid him any attention. In an interview on the Tonight Show in 1968, Khaury described the discovery of his high voice; "I was listening to the radio and singing along," he said, "as I was singing I said 'Gee, it's strange. I can go up high as well.'" From there Tim entered into a local talent show and sang You Are My Sunshine in his newly discovered voice; it brought the house down. From there Khaury began to experiment with different stage names like Darry Dover, Vernon Castle, Larry Love, and Judas K. Foxglove[2]. He finally settled on Tiny Tim in 1962 when his manager at the time, George King, booked him at a club that favored midget acts[2].