The Toys
Encyclopedia
The Toys were an America
n pop
girl group
from Jamaica, New York
, which was formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1968.
consisted of:
by manager
Vince Marc, who introduced them to songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell
. Linzer and Randell wrote most of the song
s recorded
by them, including their U.S.
#2 hit
single
"A Lover's Concerto
", and also produced
the group's 1965-66 recordings on Bob Crewe
's DynoVoice
record label
. Global sales of this disc
exceeded two million copies, with a gold record
awarded by the R.I.A.A.
in 1965. Their first U.S. tour was with Gene Pitney
.
In 1967 the group changed labels and producers, but charted only one more minor single (a cover
of Brian Hyland
's "Sealed with a Kiss
") before breaking up.
The Toys appeared on most of the major TV
rock
programs
, including Shindig!
, Hullabaloo, and American Bandstand
. They also had a cameo role in the 1967 beach
movie
It's a Bikini World
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
from Jamaica, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, which was formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1968.
Members
The trioTrio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
consisted of:
- Barbara HarrisBarbara Harris (singer)Barbara Harris is an African American R&B singer, best known as a member of the 1960s girl group The Toys....
(August 18, 1945, Elizabeth City, North Carolina) sang lead most of the time. - Barbara Parritt (born October 1, 1944, WilmingtonWilmington, North CarolinaWilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
). - June Montiero (born July 1, 1946, QueensQueensQueens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
).
Career
The Toys were discovered at a talent showTalent show
A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...
by manager
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
Vince Marc, who introduced them to songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell
Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell
Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell are American songwriters who wrote numerous pop and rock songs in the 1960s and 1970s, generally working together and with Bob Crewe...
. Linzer and Randell wrote most of the song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by them, including their U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
#2 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"A Lover's Concerto
A Lover's Concerto
"A Lover's Concerto" is a pop song written by American songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell and recorded in 1965 by The Toys. Their version of the song was a major hit in both the United States and the UK during 1965. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #2.Critic Dave Thompson wrote,...
", and also produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
the group's 1965-66 recordings on Bob Crewe
Bob Crewe
Bob Crewe is an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, record producer and fine artist. He is known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for The Four Seasons...
's DynoVoice
DynoVoice Records
DynoVoice Records was an American record label, founded in 1965 by songwriter/producer Bob Crewe. DynoVoice, along with its NewVoice Records subsidiary, was originally distributed by Bell Records, and later by Dot Records. The label existed until 1969 when it was merged into the Crewe Group of...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. Global sales of this disc
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
exceeded two million copies, with a gold record
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
awarded by the R.I.A.A.
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
in 1965. Their first U.S. tour was with Gene Pitney
Gene Pitney
Eugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the...
.
In 1967 the group changed labels and producers, but charted only one more minor single (a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Brian Hyland
Brian Hyland
Brian Hyland is an American pop recording artist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He continued recording into the 1970s...
's "Sealed with a Kiss
Sealed with a Kiss
"Sealed with a Kiss" is the title of a song written by Peter Udell and Gary Geld. It was first recorded by The Four Voices in 1960 as a single, but their recording was not a hit....
") before breaking up.
The Toys appeared on most of the major TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
programs
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, including Shindig!
Shindig!
Shindig! was an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles at the time who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley and production executive Art Stolnitz....
, Hullabaloo, and American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
. They also had a cameo role in the 1967 beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
It's a Bikini World
It's a Bikini World
It's a Bikini World is an American musical comedy film released in 1967 starring Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley and Bobby "Boris" Pickett of "Monster Mash" fame. The film features cameos by the music groups The Gentrys, The Animals, Pat & Lolly Vegas, The Castaways and R&B girl group The Toys...
.
Singles
- (U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chartRecord chartA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
positions are Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
except as noted.)- 1965: "A Lover's ConcertoA Lover's Concerto"A Lover's Concerto" is a pop song written by American songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell and recorded in 1965 by The Toys. Their version of the song was a major hit in both the United States and the UK during 1965. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #2.Critic Dave Thompson wrote,...
" (U.S. #2, UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#5) - 1966: "Attack!" (U.S. #18, UK #36)
- 1966: "Baby Toys" (U.S. #76)
- 1966: "Silver Spoon" (U.S. #111)
- 1966: "May My Heart Be Cast into Stone" (U.S. #85)
- 1968: "Sealed with a Kiss" (U.S. #112, U.S. R&BHot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
#43)
- 1965: "A Lover's Concerto
Albums
- 1966: The Toys Sing "A Lover's Concerto" and "Attack!"The Toys Sing "A Lover's Concerto" and "Attack!"The Toys Sing “A Lover's Concerto” and “Attack!” was the sole album of the girl group The Toys. It was released in 1966 right after the success of the group's first two hits, both of which are mentioned in the album's title....
(U.S. Billboard 200Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
#92; Billboard Black AlbumsTop R&B/Hip-Hop AlbumsTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
#9) - a CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
version was released in 1994 with two bonus tracks.
External links
- Barbara Harris' official site
- Interview with The Toys
- [ The Toys biography at Allmusic.com]