Teresa Brewer
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| Teresa Brewer | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Theresa Breuer |
| Born | May 7, 1931 Toledo, Ohio |
| Died | October 17, 2007 (aged 76) New Rochelle, New York |
| Genres | Traditional pop, Jazz |
| Years active | 1949-1970s |
| Labels | London, Coral, RCA Victor, Philips |
| Website | Teresa Brewer Center |
Teresa Brewer (7 May 1931 – 17 October 2007) was an American 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, Brewer died of a neuromuscular disease at her home in New Rochelle, N.Y. at the age of 76.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Teresa Brewer grew up in Toledo, Ohio, USA. Her father was an inspector of glass 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 program, "Uncle August's Kiddie Show" on Toledo's WSPD.
She performed for cookies and cupcakes donated by the sponsor. Although she never took singing lessons, she took tap dancing 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. 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).
An agent, Richie Lisella, heard her sing and took her career in hand, and soon she was signed to a contract with London Records. In 1949 she recorded a record called "Copenhagen" with the Dixieland All-Stars. The B side was a song called "Music! Music! Music!" by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum. Unexpectedly, it was not the A side but the B side 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" in 1951.
In 1951 she switched labels, going to Coral Records. 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 and was also a hit in 1964 for Skeeter Davis as well as Tracey Dey. In 1952, she also recorded "You'll Never Get Away" in a duet with Don Cornell, followed in 1953 by her best selling hit, "Till I Waltz Again with You".
More 1953 hits were "Dancin' with Someone," "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", and another gold record, "Ricochet". 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") 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 of rhythm and blues songs like "Pledging My Love," "Tweedle Dee" and "Rock Love." She also covered some country songs like "Jilted," "I Gotta Go Get My Baby" and "Let Me Go, Lover!."
In 1956 she had a two-sided hit with "A Tear Fell" 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 center fielder Mickey Mantle, 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". 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" and "Empty Arms." In 1960, she had another hit with a cover of the standard Have You Ever Been Lonely?. The last chart hit of hers was "Milord" in 1961, an English language version of a song by Édith Piaf.
In 1962 she switched labels again, to Philips Records, 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 owned by her second husband, jazz producer Bob Thiele. 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 and Sha Na Na in 1977.
[edit] 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, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Irving Berlin. She also recorded with such jazz greats as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Hines and Bobby Hackett.
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 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, of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a rare degenerative brain disease. She was 76.
[edit] Hit Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | ||
| 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 | |
[edit] References
- ^ Nelson, Valerie (2007-10-19). "Teresa Brewer, 76; 1950s pop singer". Obituaries (Los Angeles Times). http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/19/local/me-brewer19. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
[edit] External links
- Teresa Brewer Center
- Teresa Brewer page on [1] Olde Time Cooking & Nostalgia site
- Teresa Brewer at Allmusic
- Teresa Brewer in the 1960s
