Ed Sullivan introduced her as “the little girl with the big voice” when she was a regular on his television show, and the petite 100-pounder sang her way through the 1950s with a string of successful recordings that included another No. 1 hit, the sentimental ballad “Till I Waltz Again With You,” which reportedly sold more than 1 million copies. With rock ‘n’ roll changing the pop landscape — and four daughters to raise — Brewer pulled back from performing in the 1960s to focus on her family.

“One time she said her children were her biggest hits,” Munroe told The Times on Thursday. “She was very down-to-earth, not pretentious at all, very charming and quick-witted.” After marrying her second husband — jazz producer Bob Thiele — she segued into jazz in the 1970s and became known for recording with such legends as Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie.

At her best, Brewer could “swing with a loose and easy fervor, aided greatly by the distinguished company” she kept, Richard S. Ginell wrote of her jazz performances in the All Music Internet database. She was born Theresa Breuer on May 7, 1931, in Toledo, Ohio, the eldest of five children of a glass inspector for the Libby Owens Co. and his homemaker wife. At 2, Brewer made her public debut singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on a children’s radio program in Toledo.

She was paid in cupcakes and cookies from the show’s sponsor. Three years later, she won a competition that led to appearances on the popular radio talent show “Major Bowes Amateur Hour.” She spent the next seven years touring with a Bowes’ troupe. When she was 12, her parents insisted that she return to Toledo to concentrate on school, but as a high school junior, Brewer dropped out. She headed to New York City and performed in several talent shows that led to her first recording contract.