Arthur William Todd (1914-2007)

One of the biggest hits of 1958 was “Chanson D’Amour” by Art and Dotty Todd. The couple had already been married for 17 years when they hit the charts. While they only had that one hit, it enabled them to appear on both the Ed Sullivan show and American Bandstand. Arthur William Todd died October 10^th, at the age of 93 of congestive heart failure in Honolulu.

Mr Todd was born the fourth child of a family of six in Baltimore Maryland. His mother played piano, his father violin and young Arthur wanted to be a banjo player. So, when he was 10, he built one, out of a cigar box, a broom handle, and four pieces of wire. His father was so impressed, he bought him the best banjo he could find and Mr. Todd played that banjo his entire life.

He met his future wife, Doris “Dotty” Dabb, a piano player, while both were performing in Providence, R.I. They married in 1941 and Mr. Todd served in the Army in an entertainment unit during World War II. After the war, the couple worked the lounge circuit in California in the 1940s and 1950s as Art and Dotty Todd and later was signed by CBS for their own radio show.

Art & Dotty enjoyed a bit hit in England with ‘Broken Wings’ in 1953, but had no recording success in America until 1958. Composer “Wayne Shanklin stopped them one day and said, ‘I’ve got a great song for you.’ He had already written big the big hits, ‘Jezebel’ and ‘The Old Man and the Sea.’ Art knew that a lot of the success of their song came from the many old-time DJ’s who resisted the emerging rock sound. The song peaked at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top 40 list on April 21, 1958. It remained on the list for 11 weeks.

The Todds retired in Hawaii in 1980. They ran a supper club and were active members of the Oahu Country Club and Outrigger Canoe Club. Mrs. Todd died in 2000. Mr. Todd’s survivors include a sister, and eight nieces and nephews.

You’ll find ‘Chanson D’Amour’ on our play list, ‘the Honor Roll of Hits’. Listen for it on Tunedex Memories.

Teresa Brewer (1931-2007)

Sassy 50’s recording artist Teresa Brewer, passed away October 17th, at the age of 76. Ms. Brewer succumbed to progressive supranuclear palsy, a brain disorder. She is survived by her four daughters, Kathleen Monahan-Granzen of Rye Brook, N.Y., Susan M. Dorot of White Plains, N.Y., Megan Ahearn of Port Chester, N.Y., and Michelle McCann of New Rochelle. Other survivors include stepson Bob Thiele Jr. of California, a brother, four grandsons and five great-grandchildren.

Theresa Veronica Breuer was born May 7, 1931, in Toledo, Ohio. Her mother took her to her first audition at age 2 – for a radio show called “Uncle August’s Kiddie Show.” Brewer sang “Take Me Out to The Ball Game” and performed for pay consisting of cupcakes and cookies from the show’s sponsor. She continued singing at talent competitions and from 1938 to 1943 made regular appearances on the “Major Bowes Amateur Hour” radio program.

She quit high school at seventeen and moved to New York. There, she started performing in a string of talent shows, which eventually led to a recording career. Ms. Brewer topped the charts over 40 times, with great songs like “Music, Music, Music”, “Till I Waltz Again With You”, and “A Sweet Old-Fashioned Girl”. In 1956, she co-wrote “I Love Mickey”, written for and sung with Yankee slugger, Mickey Mantle.

A multi-talented performer, Teresa found herself on many TV shows during the 50’s and even Hollywood came calling, when she co-starred in “Those Redheads from Seattle.” Due to rave reviews, Paramount offered her a seven-year contract, but she declined, choosing instead to stay home in New Rochelle and raise her children.

After her marriage to William Monahan ended, she revived her singing career by recording a series of jazz albums. She worked with many jazz greats, including Count Basie, Earl Hines and Duke Ellington. It was during this time, she met her second husband, jazz producer, Bob Thiele. Mr. Thiele died in 1996.

Teresa Brewer was one of my favorite pop singers. You’ll hear many of her Charted hits,  and be sure to listen for “I Love Mickey” with Yankee great Mickey Mantle.  Catch them in rotation at TUNEDEX MEMORIES.

Peggy March – Singing with World Wide Appeal

We’ve added Peggy’s website to our Blogroll, so be sure to visit her site. She has recorded a new album of standards called “Get Happy” and is performing at the Dick Clark Theatre in Branson and in Vegas. Peggy has recorded albums in German and Japanese as well as English for her fans all over the world.

Peggy’s one of our favorites – so you’ll her a LOT at TUNEDEX MEMORIES!