Teresa Brewer
| Teresa Brewer | |
|---|---|
Teresa Brewer in the trailer for the film Those Redheads from Seattle
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Theresa Veronica Breuer |
| Born |
May 7, 1931 Toledo, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | October 17, 2007 (aged 76) New Rochelle, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1949–1990s |
| Labels | |
Teresa Brewer (May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated 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.
Theresa Veronica Breuer was born in Toledo, Ohio, the eldest of five siblings. Her father was a glass inspector for the Libbey Owens Company (now part of Pilkington Glass), and her mother was a housewife.
When she was two years old, her mother entered her in an 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 wed William Monahan.
At the age of 12, Brewer returned to Toledo and ceased touring in order to have a normal school life. She continued to perform on local radio. In January 1948, the 16-year-old 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 Latin Quarter).
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.
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 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.
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