Teresa Brewer
Encyclopedia
Teresa Brewer was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pop singer whose style incorporated elements of country, jazz, R&B, musicals and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of the 1950s, recording nearly 600 songs. Born Theresa Breuer in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

, Brewer died of a neuromuscular disease
Neuromuscular disease
Neuromuscular disease is a very broad term that encompasses many diseases and ailments that either directly, via intrinsic muscle pathology, or indirectly, via nerve pathology, impair the functioning of the muscles....

 at her home in New Rochelle, N.Y. at the age of 76.

Biography

Teresa Brewer grew up in Toledo, Ohio, USA. Her father was an inspector of glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...

 for the Libbey Owens Company (now Pilkington Glass); her mother was a housewife. At the age of two, Theresa was taken by her mother to audition for a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 program, "Uncle August's Kiddie Show" on Toledo's WSPD
WSPD
WSPD — branded The Talk of Toledo - 1370 WSPD — is a news-talk radio station licensed to Toledo, Ohio. WSPD broadcasts on a full-time basis with 5,000 watts, including a directional signal pattern at night...

.

She performed for cookies and cupcakes donated by the sponsor. Although she never took singing lessons, she took tap dancing
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...

 lessons. From age five to twelve, she sang and danced on the "Major Bowes Amateur Hour," then a popular touring radio show. Her aunt Mary traveled with Theresa until 1949, when Theresa married. She was devoted to her aunt, who shared Brewer's home until her death in 1993.

At the age of 12, Theresa returned to Toledo and ceased touring in order to have a normal school life. She continued to perform on local radio. In January 1948, 16 year-old Theresa won a local competition and (with three other winners) was sent to New York to appear on a talent show called "Stairway to the Stars", featuring Eddie Dowling
Eddie Dowling
Eddie Dowling was an American actor, screenwriter, playwright, director, producer, songwriter and composer....

. It was at about that time that she changed the spelling of her name from Theresa Breuer to Teresa Brewer. She won a number of talent shows and played night clubs in New York (including the famous Latin Quarter
Latin Quarter (nightclub)
Latin Quarter is a nightclub in New York City.The Club which originally opened in 1942 featured big name acts. In recent years it has been a focus of hip hop, reggaeton, and salsa music....

).

An agent, Richie Lisella, heard her sing and took her career in hand, and soon she was signed to a contract with London Records
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....

. In 1949 she recorded a record called "Copenhagen" with the Dixieland All-Stars. The B side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

 was a song called "Music! Music! Music!
Music! Music! Music!
"Music! Music! Music!" is a popular song written by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum and published in 1949.The biggest-selling version of the song was recorded by Teresa Brewer on December 20, 1949, and released by London Records as catalog number 604. It became a #1 hit and a million-seller in 1950...

" by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum
Bernie Baum
Bernie Baum was a songwriter who worked extensively with Elvis Presley. He grew up in New York City and later worked with Harvey Zimmerman and Florence Kaye. The majority of their songs were used in Presley's musicals. Their work was also credited in the American version of Kimba the White Lion...

. Unexpectedly, it was not the A side but the B side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

 that took off, selling over a million copies and becoming Teresa's signature song.

Another novelty song, "Choo'n Gum," hit the top 20 in 1950, followed by "Molasses, Molasses". Although she preferred to sing ballads, the only one of those that made the charts was "Longing for You
Longing for You
"Longing for You" is an American song performed by a number of popular artists in the 1950s.Vic Damone and Teresa Brewer had chart hits with the song in 1951....

" in 1951.

In 1951 she switched labels, going to Coral Records
Coral Records
Coral Records was a Decca Records subsidiary formed in 1949. It recorded pop artists McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, as well as rock and roller Buddy Holly....

. By this time she was married and had a daughter, Kathleen. Since she never learned to read music, she had demos sent to her to learn the melodies of the songs she would record. Despite her lack of formal training, she had a number of hits for Coral. One of her recordings, "Gonna Get Along Without You Now" (1952) was better known in a 1956 version by Patience and Prudence
Patience and Prudence
Patience and Prudence McIntyre, known professionally as Patience and Prudence, were two sisters who were a young singing act in the 1950s.-Career:...

 and was also a hit in 1964 for Skeeter Davis
Skeeter Davis
Mary Frances Penick , better known as Skeeter Davis, was an American country music singer best known for crossover pop music songs of the early 1960s. She started out as part of The Davis Sisters as a teenager in the late 1940s, eventually landing on RCA Records. In the late '50s, she became a solo...

 as well as Tracey Dey
Tracey Dey
Tracey Dey was an American girl group pop singer of the early and mid-1960s. Born Nora Ferrari, and hailing from Yonkers, New York, she was attending college at Fordham University when producer Bob Crewe became aware of a demo tape she had recorded.-Career:...

. In 1952, she also recorded "You'll Never Get Away" in a duet with Don Cornell
Don Cornell
Don Cornell was an American singer prominent mainly in the 1940s and 1950s noted for his smooth but robust baritone voice....

, followed in 1953 by her best selling hit, "Till I Waltz Again with You
Till I Waltz Again with You
"Till I Waltz Again with You" is a popular song written by Sid Prosen and published in 1952. Rather than a waltz, it is a slow AABA shuffle.The recording by Teresa Brewer was recorded on August 19, 1952 and released by Coral Records as catalog number 60873...

".

More 1953 hits were "Dancin' with Someone," "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall
Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall
"Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" is a 1944 song performed as a duet by The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald. The song was written by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher . The successful single went to number one on both The Harlem Hit Parade and the pop chart . The B-side of the single entitled,...

", and another gold record, "Ricochet
Ricochet (song)
"Ricochet" is a popular song. The credits show it to be written by Larry Coleman, Joe Darion, and Norman Gimbel, without apportioning the work on the lyrics and music, in 1953...

". In later years she followed with "Baby, Baby, Baby," "Bell Bottom Blues," "Our Heartbreaking Waltz" (written by Sidney Prosen, who had written "Till I Waltz Again With You
Till I Waltz Again with You
"Till I Waltz Again with You" is a popular song written by Sid Prosen and published in 1952. Rather than a waltz, it is a slow AABA shuffle.The recording by Teresa Brewer was recorded on August 19, 1952 and released by Coral Records as catalog number 60873...

") and "Skinnie Minnie." During those years she continued to play night clubs in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and elsewhere.

In the mid-50s, she did a number of covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 songs like "Pledging My Love
Pledging My Love
"Pledging My Love" is a blues ballad. It was written by Ferdinand Washington and Don Robey and published in 1954.The song's theme is captured in the title and the opening lines:-Johnny Ace:The most popular recording of the song was done by Johnny Ace...

," "Tweedle Dee
Tweedle Dee
"Tweedlee Dee" is a rhythm and blues novelty song with a Latin-influenced riff written by Winfield Scott for LaVern Baker and recorded by her at Atlantic Records' studio in New York City in 1954. It was her first hit, reaching #4 on Billboard's R&B chart and #14 on its Pop chart...

" and "Rock Love." She also covered some country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 songs like "Jilted
Jilted (song)
"Jilted" is a popular song with music by Dick Manning and lyrics by Robert Colby, published in 1954.Teresa Brewer recorded the biggest-selling version on December 29, 1953. This recording was released by Coral Records as catalog number 61152. It first reached the U.S. Billboard chart on April 14,...

," "I Gotta Go Get My Baby" and "Let Me Go, Lover!
Let Me Go, Lover!
"Let Me Go, Lover!", a popular song, was written by Jenny Lou Carson and Al Hill, a pseudonym used by Fred Wise, Kathleen Twomey, and Ben Weisman. It is based on an earlier song called "Let Me Go, Devil," about alcoholism. It was featured on the television program Studio One on November 15, 1954,...

."

In 1956 she had a two-sided hit with "A Tear Fell
A Tear Fell
"A Tear Fell" is a popular song. It was written by Eugene Randolph and Dorian Burton and released in 1956.The best-known version of the song was recorded by Teresa Brewer the same year, peaking at #2 in the UK Singles Chart.-Cover versions:...

" and "Bo Weevil," both covers of R&B songs. This was followed by "Sweet Old-Fashioned Girl." Also that year she co-wrote "I Love Mickey", about New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 center fielder Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...

, who appeared on the record with Brewer. It was also reported that the two had developed an attraction for each other. Another big hit in 1956 was Brewer's syncopated rendition of "Mutual Admiration Society
Mutual Admiration Society (song)
"Mutual Admiration Society" is a popular song published in 1956 from the Broadway musical Happy Hunting. The song's tune was written by Harold Karr, the lyrics by Matt Dubey.-The song:...

". Some of her songs have a decidedly pre-rock beat to them, especially "Ricochet," "Jilted," and "A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl".

In 1957 she recorded more covers: of country song "Teardrops in My Heart" and R&B songs "You Send Me
You Send Me
-Background:Cooke made a demo recording of "You Send Me" featuring only his own guitar accompaniment in the winter of 1955. The first recording of the track was made in New Orleans in December 1956 in the same sessions which produced "Lovable", the first release outside the gospel field for Cooke...

" and "Empty Arms
Empty Arms
"Empty Arms" is a 1971 single by Sonny James. "Empty Arms" would be Sonny James' eighteenth number one on the country charts. The single stayed at number one for four weeks and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the chart.-Chart performance:...

." In 1960, she had another hit with a cover of the standard Have You Ever Been Lonely?
Have You Ever Been Lonely?
"Have You Ever Been Lonely?" is a popular song with music by Peter De Rose and lyrics by Billy Hill , published in 1932. It has been recorded by many singers, becoming a standard.**1933 Ted Lewis, Ray Noble**1955 Jaye P...

. The last chart hit of hers was "Milord
Milord (song)
"Milord" or "Ombre de la Rue" is a 1959 song , famously sung by Édith Piaf. It is a chanson that recounts the feelings of a lower-class "girl of the port" who develops a crush on an elegantly attired apparent upper-class British traveller , whom she has seen walking the streets of the...

" in 1961, an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 version of a song by Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...

.

In 1962 she switched labels again, to Philips Records
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...

, where she recorded many singles and albums over a five year period, including Gold Country in 1966. In addition to having her record new and contemporary material, Philips put Brewer in the studio to re-record her earlier material with new arrangements, instrumentation and recording equipment: the resulting album (PHM 200-062) was issued as Teresa Brewer's Greatest Hits. After leaving Philips, Brewer made a few recordings for other companies, but with no more big chart hits. In the 1970s she released a few albums on Flying Dutchman Records
Flying Dutchman Records
Flying Dutchman Records was a jazz record label which was owned by veteran music industry executive, producer and songwriter Bob Thiele. Initially distributed by Atlantic Records, it was later distributed by RCA Records which took over the label in 1976...

 owned by her second husband, jazz producer Bob Thiele
Bob Thiele
Bob Thiele was an American record producer who worked on countless classic jazz albums and record labels.-Biography:...

. In 1975 she release an album "Unliberated Woman" produced by Elvis Presley's producer Felton Jarvis. One of the tracks is "For the Heart" written by Dennis Linde.

Teresa appeared in the 1953 musical "Those Redheads from Seattle" - she was a natural redhead herself - and "stole the picture" from strong competition such as Rhonda Fleming, Agnes Moorhead and Guy Mitchell.

She appeared on television as a guest star on The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...

 and Sha Na Na
Sha Na Na
Sha Na Na is an American rock and roll group. The name is taken from a part of the long series of nonsense syllables in the doo-wop hit song "Get a Job", originally recorded in 1957 by the Silhouettes....

 in 1977.

Later career

Teresa Brewer re-emerged as a jazz vocalist on Thiele's Amsterdam label in the 1980s and 1990s recording a number of albums including tribute albums to Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...

, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

, Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...

 and Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...

. She also recorded with such jazz greats as Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...

, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...

, Earl Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...

 and Bobby Hackett
Bobby Hackett
Robert Leo "Bobby" Hackett was an US jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late thirties and early forties.-Biography:...

.

Altogether, she recorded nearly 600 song titles. For her contribution to the recording industry, Teresa Brewer has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

 at 1708 Vine Street.

In 2007 Teresa Brewer was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

The singer died on October 17, 2007, at her home in New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...

, of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific areas of the brain....

 (PSP), a rare degenerative brain disease. She was 76.

Hit Singles

Year Single Chart positions
US
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

UK
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

1950 "Music! Music! Music!" 1
"Choo'n Gum" 17
1951 "Longing For You" 23
1952 "Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now" 25
"You'll Never Get Away"(with Don Cornell) 17
"Till I Waltz Again With You" 1
1953 "Dancin' With Someone (Longin' For You)" 17
"Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" 23
"Ricochet (Rick-O-Shay)" 2
"Baby, Baby, Baby" 12
1954 "Bell Bottom Blues" 17
"Our Heartbreaking Waltz" 23
"Jilted" 6
"Skinnie Minnie (Fish Tail)" 22
"Let Me Go, Lover" 6 9
1955 "Pledging My Love" 17
"How Important Can It Be?" Flip
"Silver Dollar" 20
"The Banjo's Back In Town" 15
"Shoot It Again" 66
1956 "A Tear Fell" 5 2
"Bo Weevil" 17
"A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl" 7 3
"I Love Mickey"(with Mickey Mantle) 87
"Mutual Admiration Society" 21
"Crazy With Love" 73
1957 "Empty Arms" 13
"Teardrops In My Heart" 64
"You Send Me" 8
"Nora Malone" 26
1958 "Pickle Up a Doodle" 99
"The Hula Hoop Song" 38
1959 "The One Rose (That's Left In My Heart)" 75
"Heavenly Lover" 40
"Bye Bye Bye Baby Goodbye" 115
1960 "Peace of Mind" 66
"Anymore" 31
"Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue)" 84
"How Do You Know It's Love" 21
1961 "Milord" 74
1963 "She'll Never Love You (Like I Do)" 122
"He Understands Me" 130
1973 "Music! Music! Music!"(new version) 109

External links

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