Baby Name: Rosemary

The name Timi saw a swift rise in usage during the first half of the 1960s:

• 1965: 67 baby girls named Timi
• 1964: 71 baby girls named Timi [peak usage]
• 1963: 54 baby girls named Timi
• 1962: 47 baby girls named Timi
• 1961: 17 baby girls named Timi
• 1960: unlisted

Why?

Because of Italian-American singer Timi Yuro, born Rosemary Timotea Auro in Chicago in 1940.

Her deep, strident, almost masculine voice, staggered delivery and the occasional sob, created a compelling musical presence.

Timi’s first hit song, “Hurt,” was also her biggest hit song. The R&B ballad reached #4 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in September of 1961. Other singles that did well on the charts were “Smile” (1961), “What’s A Matter Baby” (1962), and “Make the World Go Away” (1963).

She also made a number of TV appearances during the ’60s, both on late-night talk shows (like The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show) and on music shows (like American Bandstand and The Lloyd Thaxton Show).

Interestingly, Timi was almost the original singer of Burt Bacharach’s “What The World Needs Now.” Here’s how she told the story:

…And I missed out on a friggin’ smash. I went to the office a few days later, and [Bacharach] played “What the World Needs Now” for me. And I started singing it and he said, “No, I want you to say, [beats hand against the table to accent every word] What…the…world…needs…now…” And I said, “Oh, go f*ck yourself,” and I left his office. And I blew that song. It was out a few weeks later with Jackie DeShannon.

What are your thoughts on the name Timi?

Sources:

• Dickinson, Bob. “Timi Yuro.” Guardian 9 Apr. 2004.
• Freeland, David. Ladies of Soul. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2001.
• Timi Yuro | Artist | Grammy.com
• Timi Yuro – IMDb
• Timi Yuro – Wikipedia
• SSA