Teri DeSario (born Teri Lynn DeSario on November 27, 1951 in Miami, Florida) is a former pop singer from the late '70s/early '80s.
Out of high school, Teri worked within various music genres. From 1970 to 1977, she sang & played recorder and harp with a medieval and Renaissance music group called the Early Music Consort. Teri began her career as a folk music singer-songwriter. She later expanded her love of folk music with her passion for jazz.
After Teri married horn player/arranger/composer Bill Purse, they formed a pop-folk-jazz collaborative called Abacus. One night, a long-haired man named Albhy Galuten walked into the club where Teri was performing. He claimed to be the producer of the Bee Gees and as it turned out, he actually was.
The Bee Gees' Barry Gibb heard Teri's demo of original music and was so inspired by her vocals, he wrote a song for Teri called "Ain't Nothing Gonna Keep Me From You" & helped her get a recording contract.
In July of 1978, "Ain't Nothing Gonna Keep Me From You" was released and managed to peak at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also managed to peak at #52 on the U.K. Singles chart. Barry Gibb provided background vocals on the song while Teri's husband Bill played horns.
In October of 1978, Teri released her debut album "Pleasure Train" on Casablanca Records. It's unknown how or if the album ever made the charts.
The follow-up single from Teri's debut album "The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of" managed to peak at #41 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
Despite the moderate success of her first single, Teri didn't enjoy the recording experience and wanted to move in a new direction. She later bumped into an old schoolmate of hers from her teenage years, K.C. and the Sunshine Band's Harry Wayne Casey (also known as K.C.)
In 1979, Teri released her sophomore album "Moonlight Madness" which peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200 and #57 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.
The first single from the album was a cover version of Barbara Mason's 1965 hit song "Yes I'm Ready" K.C. liked the original version of "Yes I'm Ready" and wanted to record a cover version of it. At the time, he was producing Teri's second album and the president of Casablanca Records, Neil Bogart had an idea to record the song as a duet.
The song became Teri's only biggest hit to date, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #20 on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 13 weeks and topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.
The follow-up single, a cover version of "Dancin' in The Streets" managed to peak at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100. The title song was released as a single, but didn't make the charts.
In 1980, Teri released her third album "Caught." The album didn't appear to make the Billboard 200 chart. The album reflected Teri's situation with her record company.
The title song and "All I Wanna Do" were released a singles, but failed to make any impact on the Billboard charts at all. Teri recorded another album "Relationships," but after Casablanca Records changed directions, the album was shelved.
In 1982, Teri performed a duet with K.C. & The Sunshine Band on the single "Don't Run (Come Back To Me)." The song managed to chart at #103 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
In 1983, Teri released her fourth album (and first Contemporary Christian album) "A Call To Us All" on DaySpring Records. The album peaked at #32 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian albums chart.
In 1984, Teri released her fifth album "Overnight Success" (featuring Joey Carbone and Richie Zito which was released only in Japan. It's unknown how successful the album was in Japan.
In 1985, Teri released her sixth album "Voices in the Wind" which peaked at #34 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian chart. In 1986, she received a Grammy nomination in the gospel music category for "Best Female Performance." During that same year, Teri requested to be released from her record label.
In 1989, Teri performed & recorded a version of "Lifeline" with The Maranatha! Singers on a a compliation album for Maranatha! Music. In 1993, she did production work on volume one of the "Laughing Medusa Theme Series." Teri also produced vocals on the 1996 album "Truth & Light: Music From The X-Files."
In 1999, Teri released a self-titled CD sampler that was released & exclusively recorded in the Philippines as a tie-up to promote Gloria Jeans Coffee.
These days, Teri resides in Miami & Germany where she sings with The Marschfellows. She also performs in various Christian music groups.
To see a fan-made video for "Ain't Nothing Gonna Keep Me From You," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZKXGfNfqbcTo see a video of Teri & K.C. performing "Yes I'm Ready," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbVA6vcas1oTo see a video of Teri performing "All I Wanna Do" on "Solid Gold," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=713VUL0dZ0YTo see a fan-made video for "Don't Run (Come Back to Me)," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o07bqAo_br8To see a fan-made video for "The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GYmIqGaTAITo see the music video for "Overnight Success," go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2faeeJxdCUg
