Teresa Brewer was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, 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.
Biography
Early life
Brewer was born in Toledo, Ohio, the eldest of five siblings. Her father was a glass inspector for the Libbey Owens Company, and her mother was a housewife.
Personal life
Teresa married William "Bill" Monahan in 1949; the couple had four daughters, Kathleen, Susan, Megan and Michelle. They eventually separated, and the marriage was dissolved in 1972 shortly before she married Bob Thiele.
Career
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 the song Copenhagen with the Dixieland All-Stars. For the B side she recorded the song "Music! Music! Music!". Unexpectedly, it was not the A side but the B side which 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, her only recorded ballad to make the charts was "Longing for You" in 1951. In 1951 Brewer switched labels, going to Coral Records. 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. 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". In the mid-1950s she did a number of covers of rhythm and blues songs like "Pledging My Love" and "Tweedle Dee". She covered some country songs like "Jilted", "I Gotta Go Get My Baby", and "Let Me Go, Lover!". In 1956 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 a mutual attraction. Another 1956 hit was Brewer's syncopated rendition of "Mutual Admiration Society". In the same year her hit "A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl" demonstrated in one song her ballad and rock talents. In 1957 she recorded more covers: of country song "Teardrops in My Heart" and R&B songs "You Send Me" and "Empty Arms". She appeared as Pat Edmonds in the 1953 film musical Those Redheads from Seattle - she was a natural redhead herself. Her song from the film, "Baby Baby Baby" was successful as a single. She appeared on television as a guest star on such television shows as The Muppet Show and Sha Na Na. In 1968, Brewer sang the Star Spangled Banner at the 1968 MLB All Star Game. She released "Danny's Song" in 1972, in 1975, in 1986 and, again in 1991
Her record-producer husband died in 1996, and Brewer never recorded after that. All together, she had 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, she was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
