Sophie Tucker

Sophie Tucker Artistfacts

  • January 13, 1887 - February 9, 1966
  • She was born Sonya Kalish to a Russian-Jewish family from Tulchyn, Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire. (It is now Vinnytsia Oblast, in the Ukraine) Sophie arrived in the United States at the age of three months.
  • The Jewish family were en route to America, fleeing Russian persecution when Sophie entered this world. Tucker later wrote in her autobiography that she was born not on a vaudeville circuit, but the road between Russia and United States.
  • One of her most famous songs was " My Yiddishe Momme". She performed it in large American cities where there were large Jewish audiences.
  • Her signature song was "Some Of These Days." Tucker laid down the first of her several versions of it in 1911, one of ten that she recorded on wax cylinders for the Edison Company, for a fee of $1,000.

    The most successful version of the song was one where she was backed by Ted Lewis and his band in 1926. It stayed in the #1 position on the charts for five weeks and earned her a gold disc.

    Tucker titled her 1945 autobiography "Some Of These Days."
  • When The Beatles played " Till There Was You" at the Royal Command Performance of 1963. Paul McCartney introduced the song as previously being performed "by our favorite American group, Sophie Tucker."
  • Sophie Tucker greeted George V of the United Kingdom, in her 1934 Royal Command performance, by saying: "Hiya King!"
  • She was so famous that when in 1962 Americans were asked what they thought on hearing the name Sophie, 95 per cent answered "Tucker."
  • Tucker died of lung cancer and kidney failure on February 9, 1966. It was said she smoked so much that a friend's parrot would cough every time her name was mentioned.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.