TIL Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944) believed she was a great opera singer despite being completely tone-deaf. She performed in extravagant costumes, including tinsel wings, and dismissed laughter as jealousy. Her famous quote: "People may say I can't sing, but no one can ever say I didn't sing."

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[–] 29 points 2 years ago (6 children)

The movie about her was absolutely phenomenal. I strongly encourage anyone interested in this stranger-than-fiction account to check it out.

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago (3 children)
  • [–] [S] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Yes, I love biopics about interesting people. If I may offer another one, there is a lady on Youtube named Kaz Rowe, and a fella named Matt Baume who cover interesting historical figures. Matt Baume did a video on John Waters that I truly think improved my mental health, and Kaz Rowe did an awesome video on Eartha Kitt. I will post the links here.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    There's a wonderful album of her recordings. It's probably easier to find nowadays, now that the movie has made her a bit more well known.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 2 years ago

    Ah cool. Thank you! I love reading about interesting people from back in the day. If I may offer another one, I stumbled on this musician and went down a small rabbit hole learning about him. His stage name was Street Singer Arthur Tracy, and he performed vaudeville acts, which eventually made it onto the radio. I'll post the wiki link here. I listened to his music on the Internet Archive. You can find all his music there.

    I thought it was cool how he was involved in what was becoming a dying art. I came to understand he was fairly popular with the female audiences.

    Alright, have a good day. 😊

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