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.
Jilted
Teresa Brewer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Teresa Brewer
Written by Robert Colby and Dick Manning
Peaked at # 6 in 1954
Jilted, I've been jilted
Jilted, I've been jilted
But I'm as happy as can be
I've been thinkin' it over
Ever since your slippin' around begun
Now I'll become a rover
And two can play that game as well as one
And even though our hot romance has
Wilted, wilted
Thanks for the favor, baby, you're a real lifesaver
I'm happy that you jilted me
Jilted, jilted
You've found a new love, didn't even say "We're through, love"
Jilted, jilted
But I'm as happy as can be
I've been thinkin' it over
Ever since your slippin' around begun
Now I'll become a rover
And two can play that game as well as one
And even though our hot romance has
Wilted, wilted
Thanks for the favor, baby, you're a real lifesaver
I'm happy that you jilted me
The song "Jilted" by Teresa Brewer is a catchy tune about a woman who has been jilted by her lover for someone new. The lyrics of the song are quite straightforward; Brewer sings of her happiness despite the circumstances. She directly states that she has been jilted, but despite that, she is amused that someone else can take the reins.
The singer conveys a sense of resilience by stating that she has been thinking about the situation and is not going to become the sad, lonely girl that people expect her to be. She is going to become a rover, and she intends to play the game as well as her former lover. It is a simple yet powerful message, and the song's upbeat tempo makes it feel like a celebration.
The instrumental break gives way for a moment of reflection on the situation, but Brewer continues with the song's peppy tempo, highlighting her happiness about the jilting. The messages about her newfound happiness even in the toughest of circumstances have remained timeless.
Line by Line Meaning
Jilted, I've been jilted
I've been dumped by you
You've found a new love and didn't even say "We're through, love"
You've moved on to someone else without bothering to end things with me
But I'm as happy as can be
But surprisingly, I'm not devastated
I've been thinkin' it over
I've been reflecting on what went wrong between us
Ever since your slippin' around begun
Ever since you started cheating on me
Now I'll become a rover
Now I'll start seeing other people too
And two can play that game as well as one
And I'm just as capable of playing the field as you are
And even though our hot romance has
And even though our passionate relationship has
Wilted, wilted
Ended in a disappointing and unsatisfactory way
Thanks for the favor, baby, you're a real lifesaver
Thank you for freeing me from a relationship that wasn't right for me
Jilted, jilted
Dumped, rejected
You've found a new love, didn't even say "We're through, love"
You've moved on to a new partner without any closure with me
But I'm as happy as can be
But interestingly, I'm content without you in my life
Thanks for the favor, baby, you're a real lifesaver
Thank you for helping me realize that I don't need you to feel complete
I'm happy that you jilted me
I actually feel relieved and glad that you ended things between us
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KYF BREWER, STEVE CONTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
INME
Absolute Perfection.