It’s always fun to find records that mention other songs or artists from the same era, like this Teener tribute to Ricky Nelson. I know almost nothing about Vicki Tasso. As far as I can tell she made only two records, this one on the Jeffrey label, and another on Colpix. She’s almost certainly from the New York City area and I suspect her last name was really Tassone.

 

Here’s Dear Ricky by Vicki Tasso on Jeffrey 401 from 1961:

 

The flip side is called My Boy (My Girl):

 

Vicki followed this one up with a song of her own that managed to squeak into the Billboard Bubbling Under The Hot 100 chart at #118 in June 1962. The song did a bit better than that in certain regions of the country, such as Omaha, Nebraska, where it climbed to #36 on the Fabulous Fifty Hit Parade on KOIL-AM 1290.

 

Here’s The Sound Of The Hammer by Vicki Tasso on Colpix 638 from 1962:

 

And on the flip side, here’s Foolish Me:

 

Orchestra leader David Rhodes was involved in making both of Vicki’s records as both arranger and co-composer. David had worked in the early 1950’s with a group called The Mariners. David worked with Bob Saffer to write Dear Ricky and Foolish Me. Bob had worked on projects for Nat King Cole and Dean Martin. While these two guys were working on Vicki’s last record on Colpix, they were also involved with the making of another cool Teener by a guy named Tommy Manno. This one was first issued on Flippin’ 311, but was picked up for national distribution on Atlantic 2149. The song didn’t chart nationally, but it did go to #26 in Chicago on the WLS-AM 890 Silver Dollar Survey.

 

Here’s That’s For Me To Know by Tommy Manno on Flippin’ 311 from 1962:

 

And on the flip side, here’s Too Good To Be True:

 

So, have you had your fill of Teeners today? Someone please stop me before I play Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini! There are literally tons of Teeners sprinkled in all over the place on MusicMaster Oldies. Odds are you only have to listen for fifteen minutes to hear one!