"Tiny Bubbles" is a song written by Leon Pober and performed by Don Ho. It comes from the album of the same name. The single peaked at #57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #14 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

charts in March 1967. By 1968, "Tiny Bubbles" was covered about 34 times. It was considered to be Ho's signature song.

Production

The song was requested by producer

Sonny Burke Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. Early life and career Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Francis P. Burke and Rhoda Nihany, Burke grew up in D ...

after Ho couldn't successfully perform the song "

Born Free ''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple, who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released h ...

". "Tiny Bubbles" was originally written for

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

, since he tended to perform "champagne music". Welk turned it down, although he later performed the song several times on his

television show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

after it became a hit.

Legacy

"Tiny Bubbles" was considered to be Ho's signature song. During one performance, after nearly thousands, Ho reportedly quipped "God, I hate that song". *The second season of the American game show '' The Mole'' incorporated the song in a creative way - one test had a contestant confined to sleeping or staying on a bed while "Tiny Bubbles" was played on repeat in various versions (sped up, slowed down, backwards, etc). Fans believe it is an iconic moment of the short-lived series. *It was featured in the 2001 film '' Bubble Boy''. *Alongside Ho's other songs, "E Le Ka Lei Lei (Beach Party Song)" and "Wish They Didn't Mean Goodbye", "Tiny Bubbles" was featured in the Season 7 '' Hawaii Five-0'' episode, "Elua la ma Nowemapa". *The song alone was also featured in the Season 3 episode, "Mohai".

Covers

*In 1966,

Billy Vaughn William Vaughn, popularly known as Billy Vaughn (born Richard Smith Vaughn, April 12, 1919 – September 26, 1991) was an American musician, singer, multi-instrumentalist, orchestra leader, and A&R man for Dot Records. Biography Vaughn was bor ...

released an instrumental cover and charted at #31 in the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart. *In 1967,

Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...

performed a piano version on the album, ''Roger!'' *In 1968, American country singer Rex Allen released a cover, which peaked at #71 in the Billboard country charts. *In 1974, Scottish country singer Sydney Devine performed "Tiny Bubbles" for his album, ''Encores''; it is considered to be his signature song. *Others who have done renditions of the tune included Al Caiola,

Nora Aunor Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (May 21, 1953 – April 16, 2025), known professionally as Nora Aunor (), was a Filipino actress, producer and singer. Known for her leading roles with patriotic, feminist and Political sociology, socio-political th ...

and Tiny Tim.

References

1967 singles 1966 songs Easy listening songs Reprise Records singles Traditional pop songs Songs about alcohol {{1960s-single-stub