Sophie Tucker: Last of the Red-Hot Mamas

By , September 16, 2013 10:00 am
Portrait of Sophie Tucker, the American vaudeville singer and entertainer

Known as the Last of the Red Hot Mamas, Sophie Tucker had a career that began in vaudeville, embraced the new jazz age of the 1920’s and lasted well into the 1960s.

Widely known for her bawdy humor (which may seem tame by today’s standards) and her big personality, she never lost touch with her Jewish roots. Read More About This…

High Holy Days in a Conservative Synagogue

By , August 22, 2013 12:59 pm

5774 A new year. In case you haven’t noticed...the world is changing.

Cantor Stephen Texon

By , July 29, 2013 10:22 am
Portrait of Cantor Stephen Texon

Equally at home on the opera stage and in the synagogue, Stephen Texon’s successful and distinguished singing career spans decades.

The Judaica Sound Archives is delighted to add the voice of Cantor Stephen Texon to its distinguished online collection of Cantorial and operatic recordings. A native New Yorker, Texon studied at Yeshiva University and NYU. His rich baritone voice was a natural for the opera stage and he was inspired to pursue operatic training in Geneva, Switzerland and at the Met in NYC. Read More About This…

Martin Bookspan: My friends Leonard Bernstein & Aaron Copeland

By , July 1, 2013 10:02 am

 

Photo of Martin Bookspan
Photo of Martin Bookspan

Martin Bookspan had life-long friendships with two great classical music geniuses, Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland.

As the voice of the PBS television series Live from Lincoln Center from 1976 to 2006, Martin Bookspan riveted audiences with his eloquently distinctive voice and extensive knowledge of classical music. The N.Y. Times (May 24, 2006) described Bookspan as  “One half erudite informer, the other half grandfatherly guide, [who kept audiences] tuned in during intermissions with easy-to-digest program notes and anecdotes.”

A generous supporter of the Judaica Sound Archives at Florida Atlantic University Libraries, Bookspan spoke before a sold-out audience at FAU Libraries’ 2013 Kultur Festival in March. Read More About This…

Molly Picon

By , May 20, 2013 2:38 pm
Portrait of Molly Picon
Portrait of Molly Picon

The Judaica Sound Archives at FAU Libraries honors the work and life of Molly Picon. Compiling 58 of her earliest songs produced on 78 rpm records and four of her LP albums produced later in her career, the JSA invites you to revisit the talents of a truly great Jewish female icon.

Who was Molly Picon? Read More About This…