Tucker was born Sofya "Sonya" Kalish (in Russian, Sof'ia <<Sonia>> Kalish) in 1887 to a Jewish family en route to America from Tulchyn, Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire, now Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. ("Sonya" is a nickname for the name "Sofya", the Russian form of the name Sophie.) The family adopted the surname Abuza, settled in Hartford, Connecticut, and opened a restaurant. At a young age, she began singing at her parents' restaurant for tips.

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 23 November 1926. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.  Tucker was strongly affected by the decline of vaudeville. Speaking about performing in the final show at E. F. Albee's Palace in New York City, she remarked, "Everyone knew the theater was to be closed down, and a landmark in show business would be gone. That feeling got into the acts. The whole place, even the performers, stank of decay. I seemed to smell it. It challenged me. I was determined to give the audience the idea: why brood over yesterday? We have tomorrow. As I sang I could feel the atmosphere change. The gloom began to lift, the spirit which formerly filled the Palace and which made it famous among vaudeville houses the world over came back. That's what an entertainer can do." During this time, Tucker began to look to film and radio as possible extensions of her career.  In 1929, she made her first movie appearance, in the sound picture Honky Tonk. During the 1930s, Tucker brought elements of nostalgia for the early years of 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.  The Beatles once introduced the song "Till There Was You" as previously being performed "by our favorite American group, Sophie Tucker."  The cartoon The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos caricatures Tucker as "Sophie Turkey".

Ask a question about this article.
What other songs she released