At the age of two, Teresa was brought 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 lessons to tap dance. From age five to twelve, she toured with the "Major Bowes Amateur Hour," then a popular radio show, both singing and dancing. She travelled with her aunt Mary until she married in 1949 and was devoted to the aunt, who lived with her until 1993, when Teresa's aunt Mary died.
At the age of 12, Teresa was brought back to Toledo, ceasing touring to have a normal school life. She did, however, continue to perform on local radio.
In January 1948 the sixteen-year-old Teresa 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 about that time that she changed the spelling of her name, as 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. It turned out that this side was the one that took off, selling over a million copies, and became 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 with a daughter. Since she never learned to read music, she had a demo sent to her to learn the tunes of her songs. Even so, she had a number of hits for Coral, though 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. Also that year she recorded "You'll Never Get Away" in a duet with Don Cornell, and in 1953 came 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 the big 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!," (better known by Joan Weber).
In 1956 she had a two-sided hit with "A Tear Fell" and "Bo Weevil," 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 Teresa. Another big hit for Teresa in 1956 was "Mutual Admiration Society."
Though she is often dismissed as another pop singer, most of her songs have a decidedly pre-rock beat to them, especially "Ricochet", "Jilted" and "A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl".
In 1957 she made more covers: of country song "Teardrops in My Heart" and R&B songs "You Send Me" and "Empty Arms.". 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, and subsequently made a few recordings for other companies, but no more big chart hits.
In the 1970s, she recorded for Flying Dutchman Records' Amsterdam label owned by her husband Bob Thiele.
All together, she recorded nearly 600 song titles. For her contribution to the recording industry, Teresa Brewer has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Brewer died on October 17, 2007 in New Rochelle, New York.
Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now
Teresa Brewer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gonna get along without ya now.
Gonna find somebody twice as cute
‘Cause ya didn't love me anyhow.
You ran around with every girl in town
And ya never cared if it got me down.
You had me worried always on my guard.
But ya laughed at me ‘cause I tried so hard.
Gonna get along without ya now.
Boom, boom. Boom, boom.
Gonna get along without ya now.
Got along without ya before I met ya
Gonna get along without ya now.
Gonna find somebody twice as cute
‘Cause ya didn't love me anyhow.
I lost my money and I lost my pride
Didn't have much money, but I really tried.
It made you happy when you made me cry.
And ya broke my heart so I said goodbye.
Boom, boom. Boom, boom.
Gonna get along without ya now.
Boom, boom. Boom, boom.
Gonna get along without ya now.
In Teresa Brewer's song "Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now," the singer expresses her decision to move on from a past lover who has caused her emotional pain. The lyrics describe how the singer was able to live her life happily before meeting this lover, so she is confident she will be able to move on without them. She decides she will find someone who is twice as cute as her ex-lover since he never loved her anyways.
The singer then goes on to describe how her ex-lover cheated on her with other women, leaving her feeling insecure and always on her guard. Despite her efforts to make the relationship work, he never cared about her feelings and would laugh at her for trying so hard. The relationship ultimately ended when he broke her heart and she said goodbye. The chorus, "Boom boom, gonna get along without ya now," serves as a declaration of the singer's independence and resilience in moving on from a toxic relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Got along without ya before I met ya
I was managing fine on my own before I met you
Gonna get along without ya now.
I will continue to manage just fine without you now that you're gone
Gonna find somebody twice as cute
I will find someone who is better than you in every way
‘Cause ya didn't love me anyhow.
Your feelings towards me were never sincere
You ran around with every girl in town
You were unfaithful and disloyal
And ya never cared if it got me down.
You never cared how your actions affected me
You had me worried always on my guard.
I was always anxious and on edge because of your behavior
But ya laughed at me ‘cause I tried so hard.
You mocked me for trying to make our relationship work
Boom, boom. Boom, boom.
Sound effects to emphasize that I am moving on from you
I lost my money and I lost my pride
I suffered both financially and emotionally because of you
Didn't have much money, but I really tried.
I may not have had much, but I put in effort to make things work
It made you happy when you made me cry.
You found joy in my pain and suffering
And ya broke my heart so I said goodbye.
You shattered my heart and that's why I had to leave you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MILTON KELLEM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kevin Vickers
WOW!! What a difference between this version and Viola Wills' version. I liked the "Boom Boom" inputs though. Love her voice. Never knew about her when I was a 'Young 'Un'. 63 now and I'm still learning. 🥰🥳
Charlotte Hendershot
Love her music
Daniel Langlois
Thanks love it, just great
shatinterry
A big band sound recording , cute voice....
TheLimePopsicle
Thanks for listening!
MrAmericanbeauty
Turns out nothings really new, i like!!
Meat city. 5119
Was this considered a novelty record. ?
ASHLEY N. FOSTER
Bbnlll
Serafine
Can’t stand this version 🤮