In 1948, Teresa Brewer was making her mark in New York, but still lacked a good agent who could help her turn her ample talent into stardom.  The break Teresa Brewer was hoping for occurred one night while she was singing at the Sawdust Trail, a small night club just off of Times Square. To drum up business, the club manager would often place a portable speaker next to the open door and, during the floor show, turn up the volume as much as the law would allow.  On one such night, agent Ritchie Lisella heard the sounds of Teresa Brewer on the sidewalk speaker and continued inside for a closer look and listen.  By the time Lisella left the club that night, he and Teresa had signed a contract - Teresa had an agent, and Lisella had signed the woman who was to become one of the hottest new voices in recording.

And the next stage of success was recordings.  Teresa was soon signed with London Records, a fledgling label from England attempting to enter the American music market.  After the release of three singles that went virtually unnoticed, Teresa recorded Copenhagen in late 1949 with the Dixieland All Stars. London considered the flip side a throw-away song - a song titled Music Music Music, by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum. Music eventually went gold, selling over a million copies - and, of course, became Teresa's signature title.

Following the success of Music Music Music, London Records released another catchy, novelty-type song called Choo'n Gum (1950) which also made the Top 20 list.  With the release of Molasses, Molasses, Teresa was cast into a brassy, bouncy, up-beat image, even though at the time she preferred Dixieland jazz, blues, and ballads.

Teresa turned twenty and joined the Coral Records roster of artists in 1951.  By this time she had also married Bill Monahan and given birth to her first daughter, Kathleen.  Teresa still didn't read music - when it came time to record, a demo of the cut was delivered to her so that she could listen to it and learn it. It was a system that would be proven by a successful string of hits under the Coral label during the 1950s.  It was also while recording for Coral -- a subsidiary of Decca Records - that Teresa met and worked with a young artists and repertoire (A&R) man by the name of Bob Thiele, a man who would remain an important influence in her life.

Teresa's third release for Coral was her first hit for the label, Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now (1952). Gonna Get Along would later become a hit for Patience and Prudence in 1956 and for Skeeter Davis in 1964 as well.  Another Top 20 hit, You'll Never Get Away with Don Cornell, followed.   Then, in 1952, Teresa Brewer's biggest selling record of all time, Till I Waltz Again With You, was produced by Bob Thiele and released on Coral.

Teresa Brewer's popularity soared, and she continued to ride a wave of success in 1953. Till I Waltz Again With You went gold and became the year's biggest-selling record.  Teresa's looks, singing talent, and popularity made her an easy winner when Paramount Pictures conducted a poll to select the country's most popular female singer to cast in their 3D Technicolor movie, Those Redheads from Seattle.  Brewer screen tested and landed one of the title roles. Variety's review said, "Teresa Brewer comes over the screen like a million bucks," and Paramount eventually offered her a seven-year contract.  However, in consideration of the demands of her family life, she declined the offer.  She chose instead to stay on the east coast living in New Rochelle, about a half hour drive from New York City, where she continued to record and make television appearances while attending to needs of her growing family.

In the summer of 1953, Teresa Brewer and Mel Torme co-starred on network television in the well-received series "Summertime USA".  It aired Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7:45 pm.  Critics, fans and fellow celebrities praised the pairing of Brewer and Torme.  Bing Crosby, observing her that Teresa's big voice was disproportionate to her diminutive size, dubbed her the "Sophie Tucker of the Girl Scouts."

The record hits kept coming in 1953 too, including Dancin' with Someone, Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall, and another gold record, Ricochet.

Teresa was consistently on the charts during the following years with Baby, Baby, Baby (from Those Redheads from Seattle), Bell Bottom Blues, Our Heartbreaking Waltz -- written by Till I Waltz Again With You composer Sidney Prosen, Skinnie Minnie, and more.  Her crisp and powerful voice prompted one critic to call her a "stick of vocal dynamite."  Teresa was rated as the favorite female vocalist for two consecutive years in 1955 and 1956.  During these years, Teresa was also headlining in prestigious supper clubs throughout the country -- the Versailles in Manhattan, Ciro's in Hollywood, The Coconut Grove, Chicago's Palmer House, Blinstrub's in Boston, and many others. Teresa's performances broke house records at the Latin Quarter in New York and at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas.

In the mid-1950s, Teresa began to branch out by recording different types of material.  Some releases were introduced by rhythm and blues artists - songs like Pledging My Love, Tweedlee Dee and Rock Love. She also covered country songs with success - songs like Jilted and I Gotta Go Get My Baby.  Some years after the release of the original country version, Teresa recorded Let Me Go Lover, which was to become another of her biggest hits.