100 years ago: Sophie Tucker charted for the first time with “Some of These Days”

Some of These Days Sophie Tucker

Writer(s): Shelton Brooks (see lyrics here) First Charted: July 8, 1911 Peak: 2 US, 13 GA, 14 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 (sheet music), 1.0 US (1927 version with Ted Lewis) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This has been called “the most important turning point in Tin Pan Alley history” because it was completely different than other popular music of the day. RCG Canadian songwriter Shelton Brooks Overheard a conversation between a couple in which she said, “some of these days, you’re gonna miss me, honey” and matched the phrase to a song. TY2 He composed this blues number as a waltz, but integrated jazz into the song’s loose structure. As such, jazz musicians had a wide-open pallet on which to improvise. RCG Brooks brought the song to Sophie Tucker, TY2 a vaudeville singer and comedienne known as “The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas.” Born Sonia Kalish in Russia in 1884, she got started as a singing waitress at her father’s Connecticut restaurant and became a star on Broadway, in movies, with her own radio show, and via TV appearances as part of her nearly fifty-year recording career. SS Tucker was so taken with the song that she performed it the next day. She introduced “Days” in 1910 at Chicago’s White City Park. It became her lifelong theme song, PM showcasing “emotional poser that matched her volume and visceral stage presence.” SS Tucker had chart success with “Some of These Days” twice. She reached #2 with the song in 1911 and in 1927 her rerecorded version with Ted Lewis & His Band went to the top of the charts and became a million seller. PM Three other acts charted with the song – the American Quartet (#3 – 1911), the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (#5 – 1923), and Bing Crosby (#16 – 1932). PM Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Bobby Darin, Judy Garland, and Paul Whiteman are among the others to record the song. It has also been performed in numerous movies and Broadway revues. RCG Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sophie Tucker DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Ted Lewis RCG RimChiGuy.com The Old Songs (1900-1929) SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland.Page 9. TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 152-3. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 424. Last updated 2/24/2023.