Customer Reviews

Music! Music! Music!: The Best of Teresa Brewer

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The customer/reviewer from Florida is mistaken: the 18 tracks on this CD are ALL original recordings. Upon listening, it is obvious why the fantastic and delightful and beautiful Teresa Brewer was one of the best and most influential singers of her era. A wonderful, wonderful collection of her biggest hits. She had many more. So where is volume 2?

In response to May 30, 2000 "Music Fan" reviewer......time to tune up your ear to the "great" old standards, i.e., Teresa Brewer, Andy Williams. They just don't make music like this any more. You can actually understand the words, there is a melody, and the words are nice! I think if you are patient, and willing to listen and learn, you might mellow a little. You know - chill!!!!! Otherwise I would recommend that you get back into heavy rock and lets count the #1 hits there, OK?

Here she is, the little girl with the big voice. Teresa Brewer belts out her greatest hits from the early 1950's. The music is as good now as it was then. Don't miss out. Buy it. You can thank me later.

In the beginning Theresa Breuer from Toledo reminded people of Kay Starr but when she became the record sensation Teresa Brewer it was clear she had a voice and style all her own. The variety of material she recorded for Coral is amazing, from ballad beauties, to Dixieland, to turn of the century music hall titles, to rock, to country, to modern jazz. And she did it all perfectly in tune, with a beautiful long arcing vocal line and crystal clear pronunciation. Teresa was an efficient wonder in the studio (they hauled her in the middle of the night to get out "Let Me Go, Lover" and she did it in a take or so) who regarded recording sessions as a break in the day while raising her four beautiful daughters. Still beautiful, poised and with voice and style intact, she can only be very proud of these wonderful recordings which remain as enjoyable as the days they first appeared. Incidentally, the version of "Music, Music, Music" here is the original on London--taken much slower than the Coral remake, which was slower than the RCA remake, which was slower than the...well, you get the idea.

I've been searching a long time for a collection of songs by Teresa Brewer, but then I found Amazon and ordered this CD. Teresa is a very talented girl and I never get enough of her lovely singing. When I first received this CD I played it seven times without stopping and I'm still not tired of it, thats how much I like Teresa Brewer......SHE'S WONDERFUL

That one reviewer who calls Teresa "the queen of tasteless singing" clearly prefers the jazz divas like Ella and, if push came to shove and I had to admit it, so do I. But what he fails to grasp is that Tessie appealed to millions of people, and it's those who would be seeking out her music today, in the main. Nor did I dislike her music, as I thought she delivered the kind of tunes that a great many wanted to hear in the early to mid-1950s.

And her record in meeting that demand wasn't too shabby either, scoring no less than 38 hit singles from 1950 to 1961, the vast majority of them for the Coral subsidiary of Decca. Her first three came with London, however, led by the title tune Music! Music! Music! Accompanied by The Dixieland All Stars, including Max Kaminsky on trumpet and Cutty Cutshall on trombone, it soared to # 1 early in 1950 and stayed there for four solid weeks. Not a bad debut, especially in beating out rival cuts by Carmen Cavallaro, Freddy Martin, The Ames Brothers, and Hugo Winterhalter.

Her other two hits with London, Choo'n Gum (# 17 in May 1950) and Longing For You (# 23 in September 1951) are not included here, nor is her first with Coral, Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now (# 25 on June 1952). But her next is, a duet with Don Cornell on You'll Never Get Away which made it to a modest # 17 in October 1952 backed by the Jack Pleis orchestra, which would accompany her on the rest of her hits but one through to 1954.

That includes the monster hit, Till I Waltz Again With You, which rocketed to # 1 in late 1952/early 1953, and held that spot for seven solid weeks. That was followed by two minor hits excluded in this volume, Dancin' With Someone (Longin' For You) - # 17 in April 1953 - and Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall - # 23 in June 1953 with Les Brown & His Band Of Renown - before Ricochet (Rick O-Shay) took her to # 2 late in 1953. In the midst of its run up the charts, Coral also released Baby Baby Baby, from the film Those Redheads From Seattle, and it made it to # 12 around the same time.

Then came a two-sided hit with Bell Bottom Blues going to # 17 early in 1954 b/w Our Heartbreaking Waltz (# 23), but only the A-side is here. In May, Jilted climbed to # 6 and in July, Skinnie Minnie (Fish Tail) stalled at # 22 (and is omitted here). Late that year her rendition of Let Me Go, Lover, billed to Teresa Brewer with The Lancers, began its rise to # 6 on what became known in 1955 as the Billboard Pop Top 100, losing out only to the # 1 Joan Weber version, but beating out both Patti Page (# 8) and Sunny Gale (# 17).

In February I Gotta Go Get My Baby, a tune written by Marvin Rainwater, made it to # 19 on the new (and short-lived) ancillary Honor Roll Of Hits charts, followed shortly by Pledging My Love which topped out at # 17 Top 100 in March b/w How Important Can It Be? (regarded as a "follow-along" hit but not included here). In June, Silver Dollar made it to # 20 Top 100. This and each hit from Let Me Go, Lover were also backed by Jack Pleis.

For the # 15 The Banjo's Back In Town, which hit its stride in August, the backing orchestra was that of Dick Jacobs, who would then accompany her the rest of the way. After a minor entry, Shoot It Again (# 66 in late 1955, and introduced in the TV program U.S. Steel Hour), she came back with A Tear Fell, a cover of the # 15 R&B hit by Ivory Joe Hunter, which reached # 6 b/w Bo Weevil (# 17) in early 1956. Then came the rocking A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl, a # 7 in summer 1956, right in the midst of the Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard onslaught.

Another minor entry, I Love Mickey with baseball legend Mickey Mantle, went to # 87 early that fall (not here), followed by Mutual Admiration Society from the musical Happy Hunting which got to # 21 in December. The flipside also charted, Crazy With Love reaching # 73, but it's excluded here). In the spring of 1957 she took the Ivory Joe Hunter-penned tune, Empty Arms, to # 13, then saw Teardrops In My Heart stall at # 64 in July (not here), before hitting # 8 with Sam Cooke's You Send Me in December.

Seven more hits then followed, none of which are included here, these being: Pickle Up A Doodle (# 99 in September 1958); The Hula Hoop Song (# 38 in October 1958); The One Rose (That's Left In My Heart) - # 75 in January 1959; Heavenly Lover (# 40 in March 1959); Peace Of Mind (# 66 in January 1960); Anymore (# 31 in September 1960); and Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue?) - # 84 in December 1960).

Her final hit is here, however, as her cover of the Edith Piaf classic Milord finished at # 74 in June 1961. With the insert you get 3 pages of background notes written by author Lawrence Zwisohn and a couple of nice photos of Teresa, and on the reverse a partial discography of the contents (no label details).

I've been searching a long time for a collection of songs by Teresa Brewer, but then I found Amazon and ordered this CD. Teresa is a very talented girl and I never get enough of her lovely singing. When I first received this CD I played it seven times without stopping and I'm still not tired of it, thats how much I like Teresa Brewer......SHE'S WONDERFUL

I think the only original recording is "Sweet Old-Fashioned Girl." She does a good job on the others, but for those who won't accept anything less than the originals, this isn't for you.

This is middle of the road pop music from the 50's at it's worst. Compare anything Teresa Brewer did to any talented singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day, or even Rosemary Clooney, or Doris Day. Teresa Brewer belongs in the category of talentlass hacks like Patti Page and Andy Williams. Stay away from this dated muzak.

I for one am a music fan of class and taste, sophistocation, and looseness Teresa Brewer was a bad singer(really square) and she falls into the category of elevator muzak. Even worst then Patti Page, Brewer's annoying Betty Boopish squeely voice is annoying, and highly un-appealing, sounding dated today. I think some of the greatest music came from the 50's and earlier. However Teresa Brewer was in the same category as other square sinsers like Andy Williams, or even worst Johnny Mathis who sound as though they sing as though they have never heard of Louis Armstrong or Bessie Smith, or jazz or swing. These Mitch Miller produced singers all sound dated. Listen to the good stuff from the 50's like Carmen McRae, Ella Fitzgerald, Chris Connor, and even Doris Day, now they know how to swing, and their music sounds fres htimeless today. Also note that their is not one single standard on this CD, they were all campy million seller stinkeroos. When you compare Ella Fitzgerald's Gershwin Songbook against one of Brewers' cheezy million serrer stinkeroo's or Patti Page's awful "Tennessee Waltz," or Andy Williams' muzaky "Can't Get Used To Losing You," you have to admit 100% how Ella's music sounds even better today, and how Brewer's had dated badly. This CD is only so much MUZAK.