My Yidishe Mama
Encyclopedia
My Yiddishe Momme is a song written by Jack Yellen
(words and music), and Lew Pollack
(music), first recorded by Willie Howard, and was made famous in Vaudeville
by Belle Baker
and by Sophie Tucker
, and later by the Barry Sisters
. Sophie Tucker began singing "My Yiddishe Momme" in 1925, after the death of her own mother. " She later dedicated her autobiography "Some Of These Days" to Yellen, "A grand song writer, and a grander friend". Sophie Tucker made `Mama' a top 5 USA hit in 1928, English on one side and Yiddish on the B-side. [Leo] Fuld
combined both in one track and made it a hit in the rest of the world."
The song, in English and Yiddish, sadder in the original Yiddish than in the English translation, the mother also implicitly symbolizes a sense of nostalgia for the "old world", as well as guilt for having left it behind in assimilating into American society.
There are several versions of the song, under different names:
There was also a Spanish version made in the early 1970s called "Mi Querida Mama" (My beloved Mama), it was sung by legendary singer Nino Bravo
.
Der Faier, Argentinian Yiddish & Klezmer Trio, plays a bolero-calypso version (www.sherbamate.com.ar).
Tom Jones
performed a memorable live version on his 1967 album "Live at the Talk of the Town". He also reprised this as a duet with John Farnham
on the 2005 album "Together In Concert".
Jack Yellen
Jack Selig Yellen was an American lyricist and screenwriter.-Life and career:Born in Poland, Yellen emigrated with his family to the United States when he was five years old. The oldest of seven children, he was raised in Buffalo, New York and began writing songs in high school...
(words and music), and Lew Pollack
Lew Pollack
Lew Pollack was a song composer active during the 1920s and the 1930s.Pollack was born in New York. Among his best known songs are "Charmaine" and "Diane" with Ernö Rapée, "Miss Annabelle Lee", "Two Cigarettes in the Dark", "At the Codfish Ball" , and Go In and Out The Window, now a...
(music), first recorded by Willie Howard, and was made famous in Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
by Belle Baker
Belle Baker
Belle Baker was an American singer and actress. Popular throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Baker introduced a number of ragtime and torch songs including Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" and "My Yiddishe Mama". She performed in the Ziegfeld Follies and introduced a number of Irving Berlin's songs...
and by Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
, and later by the Barry Sisters
The Barry Sisters (United States)
Clara and Minnie Barry were popular American Jazz and Klesmer entertainers of the 1940s to the early 1970s.-Early years:Born in the Bronx, New York, they were first known as The Bagelman Sisters. They made a name for themselves as Yiddish jazz singers. When their act became more popular, they...
. Sophie Tucker began singing "My Yiddishe Momme" in 1925, after the death of her own mother. " She later dedicated her autobiography "Some Of These Days" to Yellen, "A grand song writer, and a grander friend". Sophie Tucker made `Mama' a top 5 USA hit in 1928, English on one side and Yiddish on the B-side. [Leo] Fuld
Leo Fuld
Lazarus 'Leo' Fuld was a Dutch singer who specialised in Yiddish songs.Prior to World War II, Leo Fuld was one the most popular recording and concert artists in Europe...
combined both in one track and made it a hit in the rest of the world."
The song, in English and Yiddish, sadder in the original Yiddish than in the English translation, the mother also implicitly symbolizes a sense of nostalgia for the "old world", as well as guilt for having left it behind in assimilating into American society.
There are several versions of the song, under different names:
- "My Yiddishe Mama": by Yiddish star Leo FuldLeo FuldLazarus 'Leo' Fuld was a Dutch singer who specialised in Yiddish songs.Prior to World War II, Leo Fuld was one the most popular recording and concert artists in Europe...
(in English and Yiddish) - "On katseessa äidin": by Annikki Tähti (in Finnish)
- "The Jewish Mother (A Yiddishe Mamme)": by classical violinist Itzhak PerlmanItzhak PerlmanItzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
. - "My Yiddishe Momme": pop version by Connie FrancisConnie FrancisConnie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
, jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
/bossa novaBossa novaBossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
piano version by the Irving FieldsIrving FieldsIrving Fields is an American pianist and lounge music artist who was born in New York City, New York. Some of his most noteworthy compositions include "Miami Beach Rhumba", "Managua, Nicaragua" and "Chantez, Chantez," covered by Dinah Shore in the 1940s.Fields' most famous album is Bagels &...
Trio. - "A Yiddishe Mama (A Jewish Mama)": klezmerKlezmerKlezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
version by the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. - My Yiddishe Momme (Egy őszhajú asszony) instrumental version by Hungarian guitarist Faragó "Judy" István. Hungarian lyrics by G. Dénes György, sung by Vámosi János.
- My Yiddishe Mama by Yosef Rosenblatt
There was also a Spanish version made in the early 1970s called "Mi Querida Mama" (My beloved Mama), it was sung by legendary singer Nino Bravo
Nino Bravo
Luis Manuel Ferri Llopis , better known by his stage name Nino Bravo, was a Spanish pop singer.-Early life:...
.
Der Faier, Argentinian Yiddish & Klezmer Trio, plays a bolero-calypso version (www.sherbamate.com.ar).
Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
performed a memorable live version on his 1967 album "Live at the Talk of the Town". He also reprised this as a duet with John Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
on the 2005 album "Together In Concert".