Ted Newman

b. May 6th 1939 in South Dakota He grew up listening to some of the great vocal artists like the Mills Brothers and Nat King Cole. He came from a musical family, and he has continued the tradition, to this day. Ted moved around as he was growing up, and as he was finishing High School, was located in Arizona. He got to know a few of the local people in the music business, and recorded a couple of home town commercials. Almost out of the blue, he got a call to record a brand new song. He waxed it with some of the finest musicians on the west coast, and a record was pressed for distribution. In September of 1957 you probably heard Ted Newman's "Plaything" on your local hit bound sound radio station. The record only peaked at #45, but it did fairly well in many regional markets, namely Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Rev records, part of the Revere record corporation, was based in Phoenix, Arizona. Slated as a pop and country western label, they had more than one rock and roll release to appeal to the younger record buyers. Ted Newman recorded four records, two of which appeared on Rev, the other two on RCA. Newman appeared in many shows on the strength of "Plaything." One of the tours was a six week gig in Texas, and he opened for Johnny Cash. He was also on a show in October of 1957 in Long Beach California produced by the legendary Los Angeles Disc Jockey, Art Laboe. Two appearances on Dick Clark's Bandstand were also in the cards for Ted. All of this while trying going to Arizona State on a football scholarship! Not only did Ted Newman have some great experiences with rock and roll, he finished school, taught school, and eventually started singing cowboy, humorous, and generally fun songs. He has written over 400 tunes, and continues to perform today at every opportunity.