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.
Satellite
Teresa Brewer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I can see the sun for the stars
Everyday is as gay as a Saturday night
Or a ride on a rocket to Mars
My love takes the path of a satellite
In an orbit around your heart
Your attraction is something I never could fight
I'm sailing above the clouds so high
Like a rocket on the 4th of July
The world looks as small as a polka dot
When compared to the love I've got
I'm spinning around like a satellite
But I'll slow myself down to explain
If you promise to kiss me once more I'll be glad
To get down to earth once again
I'm sailing above the clouds so high
Like a rocket on the 4th of July
The world looks as small as a polka dot
When compared to the love I've got
I'll always behave like a satellite
And the reason's not hard to explain
When I try to recover you kiss me and then
I start spinning all over, spinning all over, just spinning all over again
The song Satellite by Teresa Brewer speaks about the artist's love for someone else, comparing it to a type of satellite spinning around a planet. She sings about how her love takes the path of a satellite's orbit around the other person's heart, and how their attraction is starting to pull her apart. She talks about the feeling of sailing above the clouds so high, like a rocket on the 4th of July, and how the world becomes small when compared to the love she has.
The lyrics also show how the artist is willing to slow down and get back to earth, but only if the person she loves promises to kiss her once more. She expresses her devotion by saying that she will always behave like a satellite, and the reason is not hard to explain. She ends the song by stating that every time she tries to recover, the other person's kiss causes her to start spinning all over again.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm spinning around like a satellite
I am feeling dizzy and disoriented, much like an artificial object placed in orbit around a planet or star.
And I can see the sun for the stars
Despite my confusion, I can still distinguish the most powerful and radiant celestial body from the many others around me.
Everyday is as gay as a Saturday night
Each day feels as festive and enjoyable as the most lively evening of the week.
Or a ride on a rocket to Mars
The excitement and thrill of exploration and travel is akin to the feeling of being on a space mission to another planet.
My love takes the path of a satellite
My affection for you follows the circular and predictable movement of an artificial satellite orbiting a celestial body.
In an orbit around your heart
The object of my love is your heart, which is the center I revolve around in my emotional trajectory.
Your attraction is something I never could fight
I am irresistibly drawn to you, and my attraction to you is so strong that I cannot resist it.
And it's starting to pull me apart
This intense attraction is putting me under enormous emotional strain and stress.
I'm sailing above the clouds so high
I feel like I am soaring far above the earth, like a spacecraft that has left the atmosphere and the gravitational pull behind.
Like a rocket on the 4th of July
This sense of propulsion and excitement is like the feeling of a rocket launching on a holiday associated with fireworks and celebrations.
The world looks as small as a polka dot
From this high altitude and level of excitement, everything on earth seems minuscule and insignificant, like a tiny pattern seen repeatedly on a fabric.
When compared to the love I've got
The overwhelming love and passion I feel for you makes all other things pale in comparison.
But I'll slow myself down to explain
Despite my excitement, I will make an effort to bring myself down to earth and explain something important to you.
If you promise to kiss me once more I'll be glad
If you agree to give me another show of affection, I will be happy and satisfied and willing to do what you ask.
To get down to earth once again
My desire to engage with you and clarify things is so strong that I am ready to leave behind the fantasies and wild emotions of space travel.
I'll always behave like a satellite
My behavior towards you and my emotional trajectory will continue to follow the same circular pattern of a satellite orbiting a celestial body.
And the reason's not hard to explain
The reason for this consistency in my emotional behavior towards you is simple and easy to understand.
When I try to recover you kiss me and then
Whenever I am feeling lost or disoriented, your kiss is like a stabilizing force that puts me back on track.
I start spinning all over, spinning all over, just spinning all over again
Your affection has a powerful effect on me, causing me to feel dizzy and disoriented yet again, as if I were a small object spinning around you in orbit.
Contributed by Jasmine M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@themichigander4924
My grandfather REMEMBERS seeing her live in Toledo
@robertsondavis1093
Holy Toledo
@johnp2275
imagine hearing this sporadically start playing from an unknown radio... in the depths of an abandoned fallout shelter...
@saturationizer9493
I'd book it.
@natewodening
+John P (TheProdigal1247) Fun fact: I learned about this music because I downloaded a radio station mod for Fallout: New Vegas.
So, yeah, it's quite a feeling.
@asherael
A group of historians worked very hard gathering, curating, and contextualizing those songs, the mod just stole them and dumped them in a folder. It's as tragic as people thinking the Fallout series just started at 3. Enjoy them, get some historical context from them, but the publishers of The Atomic Platters deserve far more credit than they're getting, which appears to be none.
@wernhervonbraun7410
“”haha, she said g a y”
@LucyWest370
asherael I wasn’t one of those idiots that thought it started at 3!
I used to think it started at New Vegas.
@FIRSTNAMELASTNAME-zt4kf
She sounds so bloody adorable.
Edit: she was. Also rip.
@joshuah.9529
you good sir are right.