Tessie O'Shea - "Two Ton Tessie"

This kinescope goes back to before even MY time!

[@janetteelwell9476]

Now that's what I call entertaining. Having fun.

[@satori03]

how wonderful she is

[@tessap3566]

I was watching MeTV today and there was an ad for Ed Sullivan tonight - yes, the Beatles, but also "Tessie O'Shea" who I'd never heard of. There was a small clip of her doing this song and I had a ridiculous PTSD attack! I go by "Tessa" now but my birth name was Teresa and I was called Tess or Tessie as a kid. I was a tall kid who always had a tummy, even during a growth spurt. I was teased/bullied by other kids who called me "Two-Ton Tessie" which I found mortifying! Now I wonder if the kid who started that rudeness had seen Ms O'Shea on Sullivan, or heard the song somewhere. I was raised to feel ugly by my parents for being chubby, and it took alot of therapy to gain self-esteem in adulthood. Oh, her wikipedia page says she was "affectionately" known as Two-Ton Tessie, and apparently it didn't bother her cuz she did a song about it!!! Yikes! I'm just flippin' freaked out by this!!!

[@madelinepearl7473]

I just finished watching the Ed Sullivan Show and had to come here to see if there was a clip of Tessie singing that song. What a talent. I didn't even bother to watch the Beatles clip. I saw that show when it first aired on CBS . OMG almost 60 years ago or close to it.Don't you just love MeTV?

[@crossleydd42]

I once worked with a male colleague whose first name was Shriley. And you many not know that John Wayne's first name was actually Marion!

[@lyndafox6065]

i loved her when i was a kid.x

[@thomasmaltby711]

gOD SHE IS SOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!! bEAUTIFUL OH MAN !!!!!

[@NigelJAiken]

What a gal

[@ThisMyUsernayme]

This was on the Ed Sullivan Show!! :)

[@dm95422]

The night the Beatles made their debut !

[@purerocketleaguegameplay4532]

wow music was better back then lol

[@cardiffbear]

yes it was

[@victorbrunswick]

@ThisMyUsernayme I wonder if this clip is from the same Ed Sullivan Show that the Beatles made their historic appearance. She was one of the other guests that night.

[@pocy2]

@ThisMyUsernayme So was I! It's a small world, eh?

[@71westy]

Right after her act - wasn't this the show that those 4 guys from Liverpool appeared? I wonder if George discovered Ukuleles right then and there,.

[@slaphead6000]

71westy You're RIGHT! Immediately after Dave Letterman did Beatles week (to celebrate the 50th anniversary of when Ed Sullivan premiered them in the studio Dave now uses) the hits on this piece PEAKED - as those who saw the poster shown on the show Googled who the hell Tessie O'Shea was!!

[@tombstoneharrystudios584]

71westy they were already fans as she was a well known music hall and recording artist, and all the Beatles has learnt their first few chords on ukulele

[@tessap3566]

And this isn't a ukelele, it's a banjolele.

[@AlexGreenwoodUkulele]

I wonder if she's ever dropped her uke doing that little throw at the end? :P

[@tessap3566]

I believe she's playing a banjolele - smaller sized banjo. She's ripping it on that thang!

[@AlexGreenwoodUkulele]

@@tessap3566 Yes, it's a banjo-ukulele. It's strung just like a ukulele and played in the same way, it just has a resonator from a banjo attached. It only has four strings like a ukulele. They're almost always just referred to as 'ukes' by those who play them as they tend to also play a traditional wooden ukulele as well.

[@AlexGreenwoodUkulele]

And yes, she's absolutely superb - whilst what she does with her right hand isn't strictly 'proper' and 'right', she still manages to make a good sound out of it. Whilst critically not a particularly strong player, she is definitely still a good player, and I respect her for that 100%, not many females tend to play banjo-ukulele, just an observation I've come to. She did have a certain flair with her playing that it was more for show as opposed to musicality from what I've seen, though I could be wrong, but after having played the banjolele for around 7 years on-and-off and listening to countless different players, that's just what I've gathered from it. Overall, one of my top five favourite players, brilliant to listen to.

[@trent3872]

I'll tell you what's sad, society has hammered home the skinny model body forever, big women are so freaking beautiful, and happier, and centered and smarter.

[@Cardboardman5150]

Holy sheet! My parents use to call me 2 ton tessie when I was a little kid. I was chubby and they were mean about it. I didn’t know it was a song. Ewwww...flashbacks.

[@gertiegert3910]

Awful

[@angelicinspirations]

Same here. I had no idea I didn't know it was a song either.

[@tessap3566]

Nor did I. Since I was called Tessie anyway, I thought the mean kids made up that name just for me. I hated it :(... Ms O'Shea seems to love it. She has wonderful confidence 🙂