Sophie Tucker (Jan.13,1884-Feb.9,1966) was a singer and comedian, one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first two-thirds of the 20th century. She was born Sonia Kalish to a Jewish family in Tsarist Russia. Her family emigrated to the United States when she was an infant, and settled in Hartford, Connecticut. The family changed its name to Abuza, and her parents opened a restaurant. She started singing for tips in her family’s restaurant. In 1903, at the age of 19, she was briefly married to Louis Tuck, from which she decided to change her name to “Tucker.” Tucker played piano and sang burlesque and vaudeville tunes, at first in blackface. She later said that this was at the insistence of theatre managers, who said she was “too fat and ugly” to be accepted by an audience in any other context. She made a name for herself in a style that was known at the time as a “Coon Shouter”, performing African American influenced songs. Not content with performing in the simple minstrel traditions, Tucker hired some of the best African American singers of the time to give her lessons, and hired African American composers to write songs for her act. Tucker made her first appearance in the Ziegfeld Follies in 1909, but didn’t last long there because Florenz Ziegfeld’s other female stars soon refused to share the spotlight with the popular Tucker. Tucker made several popular recordings. They included “Some of These Days,” which came out in 1911 on Edison Records. The …

BmssPos on Sharp
Video Rating: 5 / 5