Sophie Tucker: Last of the Red Hot Mamas
A new movie, The Outrageous Sophie Tucker, purports to introduce audiences to the bawdy, brassy, ballsy singer who was once a household name. Today, she’s nearly forgotten—or remembered merely as an influence on The Divine Bette Midler—but oh, is she worth knowing. Sadly, the movie isn’t a great introduction. It needs a little less conversation, a little more action please (to quote another larger-than-life, sequin-loving singer whose weight was much scrutinized). It’s a fragmented, talking-head-filled balagan. And there’s not enough singing!
This is a shondeh. As Tablet contributor Jody Rosen points out in the New York Times: “Tucker’s vocals were a triumph of not just power but, in a raucous way, finesse. She slurs some vocal lines and punches out others hard against the beat. She attacks the chorus of “Please Don’t Take My Harem Away” like a deranged opera diva and delivers “My Husband’s in the City” in slyly syncopated speech, a kind of turn-of-the-century rapping. It’s a strikingly modern sound.”
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