DOWNLOAD THE SONGSHEET
Tiptoe Through The Tulips (WORD)
Tiptoe Through The Tulips (PDF)
FOR THE OPENING VERSE, you can alternately pluck the 4th string, then the 3 other strings together.
‘Crooning Troubadour’ Nick Lucas’ recording of "Tip-Toe Through The Tulips" hit the top of the charts in May 1929. The song he introduced in the 1929 musical talkie Gold Diggers of Broadway held the #1 position for 10 weeks. Other artists charted the song in 1929, including Jean Goldkette, Johnny Marvin, and Roy Fox.
In May we have the Ottawa Tulip Festival and here's an interesting tidbit about Tiny Tim and the huge hit he was at the Tulip Festival in 1983. Some of the comments folks have made about that visit - "he entertained a large appreciative crowd for an hour with traditional old favourites", "he was the hit of that year's festival", "very approachable and friendly".... He was a very talented man and an expert on Tin Pan Alley music.
Background: Tiny Tim displayed musical talent at a very young age. At the age of five, his father gave him a vintage wind-up Gramophone and a 78-RPM record of "Beautiful Ohio" by Henry Burr. He would sit for hours listening to the record. At the age of six, he began teaching himself guitar. By his pre-teen years, he developed a passion for records, specifically those from the 1900s through the 1930s. He began spending most of his free time at the New York Public Library, reading about the history of the phonograph industry and its first recording artists. He researched sheet music, often making photographic copies to take home to learn, a hobby he continued for his entire life. By the time Tiny Tim was eleven years old, he began learning to play the violin and enjoyed performing at home for his parents' entertainment. He later picked up the mandolin and the ukulele—the latter of which became his signature instrument. Eventually adopting the name Tiny Tim, from the Charles Dickens character, he began performing in clubs in the busy Greenwich Village music scene. He also played at talent shows and parties, often using different names. His parents tried to dissuade him from pursuing a career in music, but Tiny Tim was committed. Tiny Tim performed as a singer and guitar/ukulele player in 1960s Greenwich Village before making guest appearances on Laugh-In, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Johnny Carson. Known for his distinctive falsetto, he had a hit with his remake of "Tip-Toe Through the Tulips With Me." His wedding to his fiancée Miss Vicki on The Tonight Show also drew the most viewers in the show’s history. On September 28, 1996, Tiny Tim suffered a heart attack while appearing at a ukulele festival in Massachusetts. Released from the hospital after three weeks, he was warned to give up his touring and performing. Tiny Tim chose to pursue his art, however, and suffered a fatal heart attack in Minneapolis on November 30, 1996. He left the stage after performing "Tip Toe Through the Tulips," his signature song, and died an hour later.