Good to be back with Sepia Saturday, especially with the wonderful Sophie Tucker--The Last of the Red Hot Mamas. Tucker had an exceptionally long career, starting in vaudeville, but extending into the 1960s. I remember seeing her on the old Ed Sullivan show. And her memoir, "Some of These Days," based on the title of one of her most famous songs, is one of my favorites. This card from the 1970s reproduced the cover of sheet music (I'd guess the 1940s) celebrating the anniversary of her most famous hit. From the picture, you can see Tucker (born in 1886) must have been in her 50s or 60s in this photo.
Tucker in her early days was not exactly family fare. The Sepia Saturday post of her in her youth tells the story: leaning over a chair, with a slightly come hither look. "I can't get enough of it" indeed.
I laughed out loud when I saw that pose -- the last music star I saw do that was the late, great Etta James, using a stool, leering over her shoulder on stage at the Bottom Line. That was part of her nightclub act sometime in the late 1970s. Bette Midler adapted a Tucker persona called "Soph" to recite the racier jokes in her act, too, using an old boyfriend "Ernie" as a straight man. WARNING: dirty joke below, avert your eyes if you're a sensitive soul
Ernie: Soph, you got no tits and a tight box
Soph: Ernie, get off my back
Drum roll. Thank you. Read more about Sophie Tucker here.
Click below for more takes on the this week's theme:
