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.

L’dor vador: From generation to generation

By , August 14, 2013 3:28 pm
Album Cover with portrait of Cantor Gedalie Bargad

One family’s ancestor remembered…a shared culture preserved.

The music of the traditional synagogue in America has strong roots in the culture and shtetls of 19th and early 20th century Eastern Europe. Like many of the greats of the Golden Era of Hazzanut Cantor Gedalie Bargad was a gifted hazzan who grew out of the chassidic environment.

Born in 1898 on Kol Nidre evening in the small town of Slavuta (Volhynia Province, Russia), his promising career as a cantor was disrupted by war, civil strife and his family’s struggle for survival. Eventually Bargad and his bride were able obtain travel documents and arrived in Boston on May 25, 1921. Read More About This…

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…

Spin Doctors: FAU restoring children’s records damaged by Superstorm Sandy

By , July 1, 2013 5:41 pm
Photo of vintage children’s record sleeves from the RSA’s kiddie records collection.
By Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel

June 30, 2013

A pile of stained, mildewed debris from Superstorm Sandy has turned into a nostalgic treasure trove for Florida Atlantic University. Read More About This…