Tom Tipton used to sing for millions of TV viewers on the "Hour of Power" and for jam-packed stadiums as part of Billy Graham's crusades. The 76-year-old gospel legend is still performing, but these days it's at assisted-living facilities, senior centers and veterans' hospitals for crowds of 25 to 30. Not that the size of the audience matters to him.
"This is my calling," he said. "This is what God wants me do, and I will keep doing it as long as I can halfway carry a tune."
Performing in his rich baritone under the auspices of Tipton Music Ministries, he doesn't charge for his services. That doesn't mean that he gets nothing out of it.
"I love to watch the people who are touched by the spirit of songs that give them hope," he said. "We give them hope, strength and faith, and we let them know that someone loves them. I'm more touched than they are. I'm blessed to be able to still do this."
Sometimes the listeners cry. Sometimes Tipton feels like crying when he realizes the impact he's had.
"I was performing at an assisted-living center, and this lady started singing along way off key," he recalled. "I figured, 'OK, I'll just keep going.' Afterwards, one of the attendants told me that she hadn't spoken a single word in five years."
His appearances are coordinated by a staff member at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Maple Grove, where he is a member. "Tom really touches people," said the Rev. Peter Geisendorfer-Lindren. "He gets marriage proposals all the time. ... He got three of them in one day."
When it came time to retire, he chose Minnesota because he considers himself a Minnesotan, even though he's a native of Washington, D.C. He first came here to work on Hubert Humphrey's 1968 presidential campaign as a marketing executive. After the election, he founded a Minneapolis-based advertising agency, Vanguard Associates, and did jazz and gospel singing on the side.
In 1978, he was asked to sing at Humphrey's funeral. "Right before the funeral, organizers got a call from Frank Sinatra, saying that he wanted to sing at it," Geisendorfer-Lindren said. "They told him that they already had a singer. 'Who?' he demanded. They said, 'Tom Tipton.' He said, 'Who the hell is Tom Tipton?' And then he hung up on them."
People weren't asking who he was for long. The Rev. Robert Schuller spoke at the funeral, and was so impressed with Tipton that he invited him to sing on his "Hour of Power" telecast. For a decade, he did double duty, running his ad agency during the week and flying off to sing with Schuller on weekends. In 1989, he sold his agency and moved to California to work for Schuller full-time.
Five years ago, he decided it was time to call it quits.
"I sat down with Bob Schuller and told him I was going back to Minnesota," he recalled. "He said, 'Why Minnesota?' And I said it was because the people are different there. In Minnesota, when people say 'good morning' to you, they really mean it."
Butt of famous jokes
Tipton can name-drop with the best of them. He's sung for presidents and governors. Walter Mondale was the best man at his wedding, the groomsmen included Alan Page and Wheelock Whitney, and the soloist was Roberta Flack. When his friends threw a party for his 75th birthday, the 300-person guest list was a Who's Who of Minnesotans, from athletes and business executives to politicians and media figures.
He doesn't drop names to impress. More often than not, any story that starts with a famous name ends with a joke at his expense.
His first brush with famous people didn't go so well. When he was 9, he heard about the Easter egg roll on the White House lawn and thought it sounded like fun. But they wouldn't let him in because it was for whites only.
"The guard at the gate told me, 'Boy, you can't come in here,'" he recalled. "I went home and told my mother. She said, 'Junior, don't worry about it. Just love everybody.' "
Four decades later, he passed through the White House gate in a limousine to give a command performance for President Jimmy Carter. He came back for a repeat performance for President Bill Clinton.
Oldies but goodies
Tipton's repertoire consists primarily of old standards. His two favorites -- "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" -- are included in every performance he gives these days.
"That's one reason he's so popular with seniors," Geisendorfer-Lindren said. "Sure, they recognize him from TV. But he sings their songs, the old hymns, the ones they sang."
He considers his musical talent a gift from God and, in his mind, there's no doubt that without it, his life would have been much different. As proof, he points to his first job. After a three-year hitch in the Army, he landed a job selling vacuum cleaners.
"I sold two of them," he recalled. "One was to my mother."
A record promoter hired him to appear at sock hops. "He said I had a good voice but I needed a better name," Tipton said. "So he billed me as King Hi-Fi." He laughed at the memory. "That's how I started my career, as King Hi-Fi."
As for how his career will end, that's up to the promoter in the sky.
"I pray, 'Lord, you brought me this far, don't let me down now,'" he said. "He never has. The Lord still is using me. He told me, 'Tom, you're on this Earth for one reason: to serve others.' I believe that's true of everybody. I don't care how big you are, you are on this Earth to serve."
Jeff Strickler • 612-673-7392