Sophie Tucker lung cancer and kidney failure on February 9, 1966, aged 79, in New York City. She had continued working until the months before her death, playing shows at the Latin Quarter just weeks before. She is buried in Emanuel Cemetery, in Wethersfield, Connecticut, her home state. Tucker's comic and singing styles are credited with influencing later female entertainers including Mae West, Rusty Warren, Carol Channing, Totie Fields, Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr, Ethel Merman, "Mama" Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas, and most notably Bette Midler, who has included "Soph" as one of her many stage characters. She also
The Mamas & the Papas sometimes referred to as "Cass, John, Michelle, Dennie", whose names appear above the band's name on the cover, including the unexplained misspelling of Doherty's first name. Recording was reportedly interrupted when Michelle Phillips became indiscreet about her affair with Gene Clark of the Byrds. A liaison the previous year between Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty had been forgiven by her husband John Phillips; Doherty and John Phillips had reconciled and written "I Saw Her Again" about the episode. They later disagreed about how much Doherty contributed to the song. But after Michelle's affair with Clark, John Phillips was determined to