Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886[3][4] – February 9, 1966) was a Ukrainian-American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality.

[5][3] Tucker was born Sofiya "Sonya" Kalish (Ukrainian: Соня Калиш; Yiddish: סאָפיאַ קאַליש) in 1886 to a Jewish family[6][7] in Tulchyn, Russian Empire, now Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine.

[10][11] 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.

"[citation needed] In 1903, around the age of 17, Tucker eloped with Louis Tuck, a beer cart driver, from whom she later derived her professional surname.

[3] However, shortly after Albert was born, the couple separated, and Tucker left the baby with her family and moved to New York City.

[2] After Tucker left her husband, Willie Howard gave her a letter of recommendation to Harold Von Tilzer,[2] a composer and theatrical producer in New York.

[12] When it failed to bring her work, Tucker found jobs in cafés and beer gardens, singing for food and tips from the customers.

Tucker remained a popular singer through the 1920s and became friends with stars such as Mamie Smith and Ethel Waters, who introduced her to jazz.

"[15] In 1925, Jack Yellen wrote "My Yiddishe Momme", a song which became strongly identified with her and was performed in cities which had a significant Jewish audience.

Tucker said "Even though I loved the song and it was a sensational hit every time I sang it, I was always careful to use it only when I knew the majority of the house would understand Yiddish.

[16] By the 1920s, Tucker's success had spread to Europe, and she began a tour of England, performing for King George V and Queen Mary at the London Palladium in 1926.

Tucker re-released her hit song "Some of These Days", backed by Ted Lewis and his band, which stayed at the number 1 position of the charts for five weeks beginning November 23, 1926.

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.

On April 13, 1963, a Broadway musical titled Sophie, based on Tucker's early life until 1922, opened with Libi Staiger as the lead.

She said "Once you start carrying your own suitcase, paying your own bills, running your own show, you've done something to yourself that makes you one of those women men like to call 'a pal' and 'a good sport,' the kind of woman they tell their troubles to.

[24] Tucker's comic and singing styles are credited with influencing later female entertainers, including Mae West, Rusty Warren, Carol Channing, Totie Fields, Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr, Ethel Merman, "Mama" Cass Elliot of the Mamas & the Papas, and Bette Midler, who has included Tuck as one of her stage characters.

Developed in-house by artistic director Richard Hopkins in 2000, it has enjoyed several productions across the country, including theatres in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, and Toronto.

Kathy Halenda, who originated the role of Tucker in the production, returned to FST for a limited engagement of The Last of the Red Hot Mamas in March 2012.

[32][33] During the Beatles' appearance at the Royal Variety Performance on November 4, 1963, Paul McCartney introduced the song "Till There Was You" as having been recorded "by our favourite American group, Sophie Tucker.