From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed May 7, 2003  1:19 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Teresa Brewer
 
TERESA BREWER (By Steve Walker)

Born Teresa Breuer, 7 May 1931, Toledo, Ohio

Teresa Breuer was born in Toledo, the first child of a glass inspector for
the Libby-Owens Company and his homemaker wife. Neither of Teresa's 
parents possessed a particular aptitude or interest in music or performance,
and none of the four younger brothers that would eventually make up the
family pursued vocal music, but it was clear from early in her life that 
Teresa was a natural talent.

Recognizing her young daughter's remarkable abilities and drive, Mrs. Breuer
auditioned Teresa, just over two years old, for radio station WSPD's "Uncle
August's Kiddie Show". Teresa performed on the show, singing "Take Me 
Out to the Ball Game", for pay consisting of cupcakes and cookies from the 
show's sponsor.
As a child, Teresa sounded much the way she later did as an adult. Mrs.
Breuer had said, "People who heard her on the radio didn't believe that she
was just a baby. Some even phoned accusing me of lying about her age."
Success on the "Kiddie Show" whetted the appetite of the child star. Teresa
took dance lessons and excelled as a strutting tap dancer but, surprisingly,
she never took singing lessons. An energetic Teresa would sing and dance
whether or not she had an audience, and she enjoyed performing tricks with
her voice just as much for her own entertainment as for the listener's.

At the age of five, Teresa sang in a talent competition at Toledo's
Paramount Theatre. Soon after, her rendition of "Ol' Man Mose" helped her
win a contract to perform on national radio and tour with one of the Major
Bowes production units. Teresa's life revolved around her singing and
dancing and it all came naturally to her. She required little instruction
about when to smile, how long to bow, or how to make the most of an
audience's applause. For the next seven years, she sang and tap danced 
as a regular on one of the country's most popular radio shows, "Major Bowes
Amateur Hour," and continued touring the country with the Bowes unit at the
same time.

Teresa always travelled with her Aunt Mary, beginning with her days as a
child performer - and continuing until she married Bill Monahan in 1949.
Teresa was devoted to her Aunt, and the two remained close. In her later
years, Aunt Mary lived with Teresa until her death in 1993.

When Teresa was twelve, her parents decided that she should curtail her
touring and travelling and return to Toledo to concentrate on her school
work. Teresa studied at Toledo's Holy Rosary School, the Birmingham 
School and Waite High School as she was growing up.

However, even while going to school and having a somewhat more normal home
life again, Teresa continued to keep active as a performer. She performed on
local radio shows, including a featured spot on the "The Pick and Pat Show"
and eventually starred in her own local program, billed as "Toledo's Miss
Talent." Ultimately, she quit school before finishing her education at Waite
High School.

In January 1948, at the age of sixteen, Teresa and three other Toledo
entertainers won a local competition and were flown to Manhattan to appear
on the Adams Hat "Stairway to the Stars" talent show with Eddie Dowling.
Teresa won a recording machine on which she could cut her own acetates
and a week's engagement at the famed Latin Quarter - a fortuitous booking
that launched her adult career. The new talent, Teresa Brewer - "Brewer" was
thought to appear more theatrical on marquees than the Breuer spelling - ran
through a string of talent shows in New York, winning many and sweeping away
all of the prizes on Eddie Dowling's "The Big Break" and Mutual's "Talent
Jackpot." Teresa's work continued in and around New York and she worked
into a singing and dancing role at the Latin Quarter.

Teresa Brewer was making her mark in New York, but still lacked a good agent
who could help her turn her ample talent into stardom. Another break for
Teresa occurred one night while she was singing at the Sawdust Trail, a
small night club just off of Times Square. To drum up business, the club
manager would often place a portable speaker next to the open door and,
during the floor show, turn up the volume as much as the law would allow. On
one such night, agent Ritchie Lisella heard the sounds of Teresa Brewer on
the sidewalk speaker and continued inside for a closer look and listen. By
the time Lisella left the club that night, he and Teresa had signed a
contract - Teresa had an agent, and Lisella had what was to become one of
the hottest new voices in recording.

And the next stage of success was recordings. Teresa was soon signed with
London Records, a fledgling label from the U.K. attempting to enter the
American music market. After the release of three singles that went
virtually unnoticed, Teresa recorded "Copenhagen" in late 1949 with the
Dixieland All Stars. London considered the flip side a throw-away song - a
song titled "Music, Music, Music", by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum. 
"Music" eventually went gold, selling over a million copies - and, of course,
became Teresa's signature title.

Following the success of "Music, Music, Music", London Records released
another catchy, novelty-type song called "Choo'n Gum" (1950) which also made
the Top 20 list. With the release of "Molasses, Molasses", Teresa was cast
into a brassy, bouncy, up-beat image, even though at the time she preferred
Dixieland jazz, blues, and ballads. Teresa's only ballad to make the charts
during her tenure with London Records was "Longing for You" (1951), a song
based on Oskar Straus' Waltz Dream.

Teresa turned twenty and joined the Coral Records roster of artists in 1951.
By this time she had also married Bill Monahan and given birth to her first
daughter, Kathleen. Teresa still didn't read music - when it came time to
record, a demo of the cut was delivered to her so that she could listen to
it and learn it. It was a system that would be proven by a successful string
of hits under the Coral label during the 1950s. It was also while recording
for Coral - a subsidiary of Decca Records - that Teresa met and worked with
a young artists and repertoire (A&R) man by the name of Bob Thiele, a man
who would remain an important influence in her life.

Teresa's third release for Coral was her first hit for the label, "Gonna Get
Along Without Ya Now" (1952). "Gonna Get Along" would later become a hit 
for Patience and Prudence in 1957 and for Skeeter Davis in 1964 as well. 
Another Top 20 hit, "You'll Never Get Away" with Don Cornell, followed. Then,
in 1952, Teresa Brewer's biggest selling record of all time, "Till I Waltz
Again With You", was produced by Bob Thiele and released on Coral. Bill
Reeder recorded a great version of this in 1960/61 (Voll Para 100/Hi 2037).

Teresa Brewer's popularity soared, and she continued to ride a wave of
success in 1953. "Till I Waltz Again With You" went gold and became the
year's biggest-selling record. Teresa's looks, singing talent, and popularity
made her an easy winner when Paramount Pictures conducted a poll
to select the country's most popular female singer to cast in their 3D
Technicolor movie, "Those Redheads from Seattle". Brewer screen tested 
and landed one of the title roles. Variety's review said, "Teresa Brewer comes
over the screen like a million bucks," and Paramount eventually offered her
a seven-year contract. However, in consideration of the demands of her
family life, she declined the offer. She chose instead to stay on the east
coast living in New Rochelle, about a half hour drive from New York City,
where she continued to record and make television appearances while
attending to needs of her growing family.

In the summer of 1953, Teresa Brewer and Mel Torme co-starred on network
television in the well-received series "Summertime USA". It aired Tuesday
and Thursday evenings at 7:45 pm. Critics, fans and fellow celebrities
praised the pairing of Brewer and Torme. Bing Crosby, observing that
Teresa's big voice was disproportionate to her diminutive size, dubbed her
the "Sophie Tucker of the Girl Scouts."

The record hits kept coming in 1953 too, including "Dancin' with Someone",
"Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", and another gold record, "Ricochet".

Teresa was consistently on the charts during the following years with "Baby,
Baby, Baby" (from Those Redheads from Seattle), "Bell Bottom Blues", "Our
Heartbreaking Waltz" - written by "Till I Waltz Again With You" composer
Sidney Prosen, "Skinnie Minnie", and more. Her crisp and powerful voice
prompted one critic to call her a "stick of vocal dynamite." Teresa was
rated as the favourite female vocalist for two consecutive years in 1955 and
1956.

During these years, Teresa was also headlining in prestigious supper clubs
throughout the USA - the Versailles in Manhattan, Ciro's in Hollywood, The
Coconut Grove, Chicago's Palmer House, Blinstrub's in Boston, and many
others. Teresa's performances broke house records at the Latin Quarter in
New York and at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas.

1955/56 saw Teresa joining the trend of white pop singers covering r&b hits.
During this period she released recordings of "Tweedlee Dee", "Rock Love"
and "Pledging My Love". She also covered country songs with success - songs
like "Jilted" and "I Gotta Go Get My Baby". Some years after the release of
the original country version, Teresa recorded "Let Me Go Lover", which was
to become another of her biggest hits.

The arrangements and orchestrations of some of Teresa's songs also began to
evolve during the mid-1950s. Most of the recording through 1955 had strong
components of trumpets, trombones, and saxophones, with Brewer's voice
acting as the lead instrument of a brass ensemble. After 1955, her voice
would be more and more often complemented with strings added to the brass
and with the use of male and full choral voices in the mixes.

By 1956, Teresa had added daughters Susan and Megan to the family - three
children under the age of six. To meet the needs of the family, Teresa cut
back further on her personal appearances. Instead, she opted to appear on
television, finding that the schedule - a day spent rehearsing plus the
actual air date performance - meshed well with her lifestyle. At the same
time she continued her recording.

By her own estimate, Teresa was spending only six to eight weeks a year away
from home. Her professional schedule consisted of 2-3 weeks of television
appearances, 3 weeks of club appearances, and a week or two in the recording
studio for Coral. When Teresa was on the road for club appearances, she
avoided one night performances and preferred longer runs at venues like the
Las Vegas showrooms so that her family could travel with her and settle in
for a longer stay.

This schedule earned Teresa the reputation of being a mother and wife who
moonlighted as a performer rather than the reverse, which seemed to occur
more often in show business. During this time, her popularity and prolific
catalogue of hits helped her reach a remarkable income level - which allowed
her the luxury of spending more time with her children.

In 1956, Teresa released "A Tear Fell", with Fats Domino's "Bo Weevil" on
the flip side. The two sides vied with one another in a race up the charts.
The follow-up release to the twin smash single was "A Sweet Old Fashioned
Girl".

In the summer of 1956, Teresa co-wrote "I Love Mickey", honouring baseball
great Mickey Mantle - and Mantle actually appears with Teresa on the
recording. This single is now one of the most collectible of all her recordings.
"Mutual Admiration Society" (backed by "Crazy with Love") was another big
hit for Brewer in 1956.

Teresa continued to guest-star on many television shows during the late
1950s. She also guest-hosted several of the leading variety shows -
including those of Ed Sullivan, Perry Como, and Arthur Godfrey. Hits for
1957 included a pop version of The Sons Of The Pioneers' "Teardrops in My
Heart" and covers of "Empty Arms" and "You Send Me".

Toward the later 1950s, record buyers were beginning to recognize the
original recordings of songs more and more. The industry began to realize
that the cover version of a recording - the version promoted on the cover of
a single - was no longer necessarily the better seller. In Teresa's case,
the results were mixed from the middle of the decade. She sold more copies
of Ivory Joe Hunter's "A Tear Fell" and "Empty Arms", Fats Domino's "Bo
Weevil" and possibly Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love" (both versions 
reached the same position on the Billboard charts) than the original artists.
However, her version of "Rock Love", "Tweedlee Dee" and "You Send Me" 
were bigger hits for the original artists - Lula Reed, Lavern Baker, and Sam
Cooke, respectively.

Teresa's fourth daughter Michelle was born in 1958, and Teresa was still
topping the various popularity polls and was strong on the charts with the
infectious "Pickle Up a Doodle". In the same year, she saw her version of
"The Hula Hoop Song" leap-frog up the hit parade in competition with the
version by Georgia Gibbs.

However, the end of the 1950s also marked the end of the heyday of Teresa
Brewer's mega-hit records. After the end of the decade, her songs continued
to make the charts, but not as consistently or as successfully. In 1959,
"The One Rose" and "Heavenly Lover" sold well, but were not the overwhelming
hits Teresa had previously produced.

Teresa continued to be in strong demand for personal appearances and
television. After appearing on his show nearly 40 times, she was invited by
Ed Sullivan to be guest hostess for a special show saluting the US armed
forces.

"Peace of Mind" and renditions of the country hits "Anymore" and "Have You
Ever Been Lonely" were chartmakers for Teresa in 1960. In 1961, "Milord",
Teresa's English version of French chanteuse Edith Piaf's best known song,
was the last song by Teresa to make the pop charts.

In 1962, Teresa Brewer signed a recording contract with Philips Records,
ending her work with Coral. This association produced eight albums over the
following four years, including "Teresa Brewer's Greatest Hits", a
collection of her previous songs re-recorded with the Nashville sound that
was popular at the time. During the same time, Teresa released about a dozen
singles for Philips.

Teresa continued to make frequent television guest appearances on many of
the major talk shows in the early 1960s. She and Tony Bennett were cast to
co-host "Perry Presents" - a New York-based summer replacement show for
the Perry Como Saturday night time slot - in the summer of 1959. Teresa only
appeared for the first four weeks of the show. After her departure, other
performers - Jaye P. Morgan, for instance - filled in for her.

Brewer spent the late 1960s almost exclusively with her family, releasing
only occasional singles on the ABC Paramount and SSS International labels.
She performed only when she wanted to, and even then only at very select
engagements.

In the early 1970s Teresa became reacquainted with Bob Thiele. Teresa's
passion for singing, and Thiele's enthusiasm for it, prompted Teresa to
return to recording full time once again - this time for Thiele's label -
Flying Dutchman Records.

In 1972, Teresa was divorced from Bill Monahan and was remarried to Bob
Thiele - his third marriage. Following this pairing, an entire new Teresa
Brewer catalogue began to develop. The only Brewer material available at
the time was an assortment of compilations of her older hits. Beginning in
the 1970s, Teresa began a new and prolific recording phase of her career,
sampling many musical styles - jazz, rock, pop, country - and performing
with some of the best known musicians in each of these fields.

During the 1970s and 1980s Teresa recorded albums with jazz greats such as
Count Basie ("The Songs of Bessie Smith"), Earl "Fatha" Hines ("We Love You,
Fats"), Bobby Hackett ("What a Wonderful World"), the World's Greatest Jazz
Band ("Good News"), Stephane Grappelli ("On the Road Again"), Slam Stewart
and Ruby Braff ("Midnight Café") and more.

When Duke Ellington heard Teresa singing "The Songs of Bessie Smith", he
asked her pointblank: "When are we, you and I, going to do an album
together?" The result was "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing"
, the Duke's last recording. Brewer enjoyed singing Ellington's music so
much that she recorded and released another set of his songs with Shelly
Manne ("A Sophisticated Lady"). Later, with the Duke's son Mercer, Teresa
sang hits of the Cotton Club era on an album titled "The Cotton Connection".

Other albums released in the 1970s and 1980s represented a wide range of
musical sounds. Teresa's rock entry "Teresa Brewer in London" included a
rock version of "Music, Music, Music", with Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock - 
a version that reached the top ten charts in countries in the Orient. Teresa
appeared as guest artist in three songs of George Segal's "A Touch of
Ragtime". Songs of the 1940's, performed as medleys, were featured in "I Dig
Big Band Singers". In 1983, Teresa's recording "No Way, Conway" was a brief
hit on the country charts. Throughout the period, there were several
additional reissues of Teresa's "greatest hits" in various combinations and
formats. Teresa also made guest appearances on several albums recorded by
other artists.

Over the last 25 years, Teresa has continued to make live performances.
Highlights include her concert at Carnegie Hall in New York on April 5, 1978
with guest stars Dizzy Gillespie and Stephane Grappelli, and the Montreux
Jazz Festival in 1983. Teresa was invited to appear at the Palace Theatre in
London in a UK commemoration honouring world peace on Sunday, May 5,
1985. The gala, "A Royal Celebration - Forty Years of Peace", was broadcast
on live television and featured a host of international entertainers. Teresa
opened the "Nifty Fifties" segment of the show with a performance of "Music,
Music, Music".

On April 29, 1986, the US Postal Service issued a commemorative postage
stamp honouring Duke Ellington. Teresa and Bob Thiele attended the issuance
ceremony and the Ellington sacred concert at the Church of Saint John the
Divine in New York. A first-day cover, featuring a photo of Teresa and Duke
Ellington in the recording studio - and autographed by Teresa and the Duke's
son Mercer - was also issued.

In 1991, Teresa returned to the recording studio to create a jazz tribute to
Louis Armstrong, which was released as "Memories of Louis". The recording
includes trumpeters Wynton Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, Ruby Braff, Yank
Lawson, Roy Hargrove and more.

Teresa Brewer's husband and creative partner Bob Thiele died at age 73 on
January 30, 1996 following several months of declining health.

All of the above information, with minimal editing, came from the very
informative web page: http://members.aol.com/teresafans/teresa.html