20,000 vinyl LPs 377: Sophie Tucker – Bigger And Better Than Ever

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Sophie Tucker  ~ Bigger And Better Than Ever

vinyl LP front cover 

 cover photographer unknown

photo of album cover by Styrous®

Today is the birthday of Sophie Tucker, who was a Ukrainian-American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs. She was one of the most popular entertainers in the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century. She was known by the nickname "the Last of the Red-Hot Mamas"  

 

 

Sophie Tucker  ~ Bigger And Better Than Ever

vinyl LP front cover signed

 cover photographer unknown

photo of album cover by Styrous®

 

She was born Sofiya "Sonya" Kalish (Ukrainian: Соня Калиш; Yiddish: סאָפיאַ קאַליש) in 1886 to a Jewish family in Tulchyn, Russian Empire, now Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. She began singing at her parents' restaurant for tips. Between taking orders and serving customers, Tucker recalled that she "would stand up in the narrow space by the door and sing with all the drama I could put into it. At the end of the last chorus, between me and the onions, there wasn't a dry eye in the place.   

 

 

Sophie Tucker  ~ Bigger And Better Than Ever

vinyl LP back cover 

 cover photographer unknown

photo of album cover by Styrous®

 

In 1907, Tucker made her first theater appearance, singing at an amateur night in a vaudeville establishment. The producers thought that the crowd would tease her for being "so big and ugly." Early in her career, Tucker appeared in blackface as a minstrel singer, but she disliked this work and would sabotage the act by revealing that she was white at the end of the show, first removing a glove to reveal her white hand, then by pulling off her wig and exposing her blonde hair. Tucker also began integrating "fat girl" humor, which became a common thread in her acts. Her songs included I Don't Want to Get Thin and Nobody Loves a Fat Girl, But Oh How a Fat Girl Can Love.          

 

 

 Sophie Tucker  ~ Bigger And Better Than Ever

vinyl LP back cover details

 cover photographer unknown

detail photos of album cover by Styrous®

 

 

 

In 1909, Tucker performed with the Ziegfeld Follies. Tucker released Some of These Days on Edison Records, written by Shelton Brooks. The title of the song was used as the title of Tucker's 1945 biography. In 1921, Tucker hired pianist and songwriter Ted Shapiro as her accompanist and musical director, a position he would keep throughout her career. Besides writing a number of songs for her, Shapiro became part of her stage act, playing piano on stage while she sang, and exchanging banter and wisecracks with her in between numbers.       

 

 

 Sophie Tucker  ~ Bigger And Better Than Ever

vinyl LP back cover details

 cover photographer unknown

detail photos of album cover by Styrous®

 

In 1929, she made her first movie appearance in Honky Tonk. During the 1930s, Tucker brought elements of nostalgia for the early years of the 20th century into her show. She was billed as "the Last of the Red Hot Mamas" as her hearty sexual appetite was a frequent subject of her songs, unusual for female performers of the day after the decline of vaudeville.          

 

 

 

 

   

Tracklist:
       
Side 1:

        

A1 - Take A Look At Yourself
Accompanied By – Ted Shapiro
Written By – Mac Maurzda, Reginald Montgomery
Written-By – Mac Maurzda*, Reginald Montgomery - 4:56

A2 - Be As Big As The World You Live In
Accompanied By – Ted Shapiro
Written By – Mac Maurzda, Alex Studer
Written-By – Alex Studer, Mac Maurzda* - 4:19

A3 - Open Your Heart, Open Your Mind
Accompanied By – Ted Shapiro
Written By – Mac Maurzda, Dick Bailey
Written-By – Dick Bailey (3), Mac Maurzda* - 4:55

A4 - With Your Life You Can Do What You Will
Accompanied By – Ted Shapiro
Written By – Mac Maurzda, Reginald Montgomery
Written-By – Mac Maurzda*, Reginald Montgomery - 4:17

       
Side 2:
       

B1 - I'm Bigger And Better Than Ever
Accompanied By – Ted Shapiro
Written By – Mac Maurzda, Ted Shapiro
Written-By – Mac Maurzda*, Ted Shapiro - 2:31

B2 - Love Is My One Bad Habit
Accompanied By – Ted Shapiro
Written By – Mac Maurzda, Ted Shapiro
Written-By – Mac Maurzda*, Ted Shapiro - 3:22

B3 - The Fountain Of Youth
Accompanied By – Ted Shapiro
Written By – Mac Maurzda, Alex Studer
Written-By – Alex Studer, Mac Maurzda* - 4:15

B4 - I'm As Modern As Tomorrow And As Old As Yesterday
Accompanied By – Ted Shapiro
Written By – Mac Maurzda, Reginald Montgomery
Written-By – Mac Maurzda*, Reginald Montgomery - 4:50

B5 - Sophie's Matrimonial Mart
Accompanied By – Ted Shapiro
Written By – Mac Maurzda, Alex Studer
Written-By – Alex Studer, Mac Maurzda* - 6:00
       
Credits:
       
     Piano, Orchestra – Ted Shapiro

 

 

Sophie Tucker – Bigger And Better Than Ever
Label: Wing Records – MGW 12176
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1956
Genre: Jazz
Style: Comedy, Easy Listening

         

         

Viewfinder links:        

        

         

        

Ted Shapiro        

Sophie Tucker        

        

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Styrous® ~ Monday, January 20, 2024       
       

 

 

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