This week, Ira Sternberg spoke with Justin Martell, author (along with Alanna Wray McDonald) of “Eternal Troubadour: The Improbable Life Of Tiny Tim,” published byJawbone Press. In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Martell talks about Tiny Tim’s contribution to Las Vegas entertainment and pop culture; why the FBI was investigating Tiny Tim’s deal with Caesars Palace; what pop singer opened for him in Las Vegas; why there was no middle ground to people’s reaction to his “act”; and why the author became obsessed with Tiny Tim at an early age and eventually wrote this book.
Justin Martell is an independent filmmaker and writer. Considered one of the world’s foremost experts on Tiny Tim, he has consulted on and contributed liner notes to two posthumous Tiny Tim releases, I’ve Never Seen A Straight Banana (Collector’s Choice, 2009) and Lost & Found: Volume 1 (Secret Seven Records, 2011). In 2013, he put out a previously unreleased Tiny Tim track on a limited-edition Edison wax cylinder, which Time magazine dubbed the “most retro record release ever.”
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