Dudley "Tiny" Little, Jr. (August 31, 1930 – March 3, 2010) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 who appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show

The Lawrence Welk Show

The Lawrence Welk Show is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years , then nationally for another 27 years via the ABC network and first-run syndication .In the years since first-run syndication...

from 1955 to 1959. His primary instrument

Musical instrument

A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...

 was the piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

.

Biography

Born in Worthington, Minnesota

Worthington, Minnesota

Worthington is a city in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 12,764 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nobles County.The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Chicago, St...

, and the son of a prominent musician and bandleader, Tiny Little Sr. Big Tiny Little first took up playing piano at the age of five; becoming both a honky-tonk, ragtime pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 and playing other instruments such as the organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

, bass horn and bass fiddle. After playing in his father's band for a while, he joined the Air Force and did a tour in the Far East. He became a member of Lawrence Welk's famous Champagne music makers just one month after Welk's national TV debut in 1955. A regular feature of Welk's popular show, Tiny's outstanding keyboard artistry has earned him millions of fans from coast to coast.

After his tenure on the show (where he was replaced by Jo Ann Castle

Jo Ann Castle

Jo Ann Castle is a noted ragtime pianist. She adopted the stage name "Castle" from a type of accordion, another instrument she played with great proficiency...

), he went solo again; recording over 45 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

s and making guest appearances on several television program

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

s over the years. More recently, he played with Mary Lou Metzger

Mary Lou Metzger

Mary Lou Metzger is an American singer and dancer best known as a cast member on The Lawrence Welk Show....

, Jack Imel

Jack Imel

Lawrence Jack Imel is an American singer, dancer, musician, and television producer who is best known for his work on The Lawrence Welk Show....

, Ralna English

Ralna English

Ralna Eve English American-born singer was born in Haskell, the seat of Haskell County, north of Abilene, Texas. She gained fame as half of the husband-and-wife singing duo of Guy & Ralna with then-husband Guy Hovis, both of whom were featured performers on The Lawrence Welk Show.English was reared...

, Ava Barber

Ava Barber

Ava Barber is an American country music singer and performer. She is best remembered for having performed on The Lawrence Welk Show throughout much of the 1970s and early 1980s....

 and Dick Dale

Dick Dale (singer)

Dick Dale is an American singer and musician, best known as a featured singer and saxophone player on the TV variety show The Lawrence Welk Show....

 in the touring Live Lawrence Welk Show. Little also performed at President Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

's inaugural balls in 1985 and returned to television in the PBS special; Lawrence Welk: Milestones and Memories, which featured a reunion of stars from the Welk show.

He lived in Carson City

Carson City, Nevada

The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City is the capital of the state of Nevada. The words Consolidated Municipality refer to a series of changes in 1969 which abolished Ormsby County and merged all the settlements contained within its borders into Carson City. Since that time Carson City has...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

and died there on March 3, 2010, aged 79.

Discography

• Make Room for Tiny (Brunswick Records BL-54030) (Released 1957)
• Honky Tonk Piano (Brunswick Records BL-54049) (Released 1959)
• Christmas With Big Tiny Little (Corel Records CRL 757391) (Released 1961)
• "Golden Piano Hits" (GNP Crescendo Records GNPD 2113) (Released 1978)
• "Honky Tonk Piano" (with Mickey Finn) (GNP Crescendo GNPD 2127) (Released 1979)
• "Big Tiny Little's Music of the 20s(Brunswick Records BL-757057) (Released 1959)
• " "Big" Tiny's Little Black Book" (Coral Records CRL 757356) ( Released 1960)
• "Tiny Little's Forties" (Coral Records CRL 757445) (Released 1963)
• " "Big" Tiny Little's Singing Honky-Tonk (Coral Records CRL 757335) (Released 1960)
• "Big Tiny Little Movin' On" (Coral Records CRL 57425) (Released 1963)
• "Mr. Piano Personality "Big" Tiny Little" (Coral Records CRL57461) (Released 1964)
• 'Big' Tiny Little-"Honky Tonk Hootenanny" (Coral Records-CRL-57448) (Released 1963?)

External links

• http://www.welkshow.com/bigtiny.html (broken link)