Tiny Tim is an outsider object lesson in two ways:
1) He embodies the compulsion to create against astronomical odds. He could never quit. He had a destiny, which he would fulfill to the grave, regardless of public indifference, lack of money, or changing musical fashions.
2) He demonstrated how far a genuine outsider musician could go without a manufactured makeover. No one else in this book appeared on The Tonight Show. Tiny Tim made over 20 appearances. He also guested on the Andy Williams, Merv Griffin, and Red Skelton TV shows. He dueted with Bing Crosby. Played the Royal Albert Hall. Spent the night at Bob Dylan's house. Performed on a Beatles album. And in true outsider form, accomplished it all without modifying his style one iota - that is, without compromise.
Not that he had any choice in the matter. Like any for-real outsider, Tiny Tim couldn't be anything but himself.
—Irwin Chusid, Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music
