Sophie Tucker
Jazz Age Hot Mamma
A young Sophie Abuza honed her singing skills by entertaining patrons at her family's cafe in Hartford, Connecticut. A brief marriage to Louis Tuck with the later addition of "er" to her surname provided Sophie Tucker with one of the best-known stage names of the day.
Tucker's impressive career started in the 1900s Ragtime era, thrived through the Jazz age and swing era and continued nearly to the time of her death in 1966. Similarly, a lengthy recording career started in 1910 with cylinder records and continued into the LP period as late as 1960.
Our release includes songs recorded from 1922 to 1929, a time in which Tucker was a vaudeville headliner (today we use the term "superstar") and celebrity nightclub performer. Tucker's theme song over these years was Some Of These Days. The first six titles, from the early 1920s, were recorded acoustically (i.e., without a microphone. That means literally shouting into a horn) a process for which her powerful voice excelled. A good example is Papa Better Watch Your Step. Of special interest are the final six numbers in this collection which are from the soundtrack disc of her 1929 movie Honky Tonk. A poignant ballad written for this lost film is I'm Doing What I'm Doing For Love. Fortunately, she can still be heard if not seen in this film.
Tucker's impressive career started in the 1900s Ragtime era, thrived through the Jazz age and swing era and continued nearly to the time of her death in 1966. Similarly, a lengthy recording career started in 1910 with cylinder records and continued into the LP period as late as 1960.
Our release includes songs recorded from 1922 to 1929, a time in which Tucker was a vaudeville headliner (today we use the term "superstar") and celebrity nightclub performer. Tucker's theme song over these years was Some Of These Days. The first six titles, from the early 1920s, were recorded acoustically (i.e., without a microphone. That means literally shouting into a horn) a process for which her powerful voice excelled. A good example is Papa Better Watch Your Step. Of special interest are the final six numbers in this collection which are from the soundtrack disc of her 1929 movie Honky Tonk. A poignant ballad written for this lost film is I'm Doing What I'm Doing For Love. Fortunately, she can still be heard if not seen in this film.
