Everything about Toni Basil totally explained
Antonia Christina Basilotta (born
September 22 1943 in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania,
USA) is an
American musician,
video artist,
actress and
choreographer, known by her professional name
Toni Basil.
Biograph
Early life
Basil was born in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Her mother was a
vaudevillian and her father was an
orchestra leader.
Music career
Toni Basil appeared in the 1964 concert film,
The T.A.M.I. Show and was quite prominent in the film as one of the go-go dancers. Basil's recording career began in
1966 with a rare one-off single for
A&M Records, the title song from the film
Breakaway. Although she appeared three times as musical guest during the first season of
Saturday Night Live in
1975–
76, it wasn't until
1982 that she released a follow-up, the international smash "
Mickey". This song is, in fact, a
cover of "Kitty", a
1979 release by
UK band
Racey, written by British hitmakers
Nicky Chinn and
Mike Chapman. (The original is sung by a man to a girl named Kitty, while Basil sings about a guy named Mickey. Nonetheless, Basil kept the original lyrics mostly intact, raising eyebrows over the line "Any way you wanna do it/I'll
take it like a man.") Furthermore, "Mickey" was actually recorded in 1979, and when her record label wanted to release the song in 1982, Basil was reluctant, believing the song already sounded "dated". But the label persevered, and pop-music history was made.
The
music video for "Mickey" was one of the most popular of the early
MTV videos. In the video, Basil wore her head
cheerleader uniform from
Las Vegas High School, the school from which she graduated (though the year on the uniform, 81, was two decades after her actual grad year). She has a special fondness for the song today and its enduring popularity. Basil has said on more than one occasion that she'd gladly put on the cheerleader uniform she wore in the video again if she was asked to. In 2003,
VH1 ranked "Mickey" Number 5 on its list of the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders.
Basil's '80s recording career consisted of only two albums: 1982's
Word of Mouth (which spawned a second Hot 100 single with "Shoppin' from A to Z") and 1983's
Toni Basil (which yielded Basil's third and final Hot 100 chart single "Over My Head"). Later in the 1980s, "Girls Night Out" made an appearance on the soundtrack to the 1986 film
Modern Girls. To date, there have been no fewer than five Toni Basil best-of collections released on CD. In 1999, DJ and Producer Jason Nevins' dance remix of "Mickey" was a big night club hit in Europe and Australia.
Choreographer
Basil is a prolific choreographer who began as assistant choreographer on
Shindig! an American music variety show which aired on the ABC network from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. In addition, she's frequently credited with bringing street dance to prominence with The Urban
Campbellocking group,
The Lockers. She choreographed
David Byrne's memorable,
marionette-style dance from the music video for the
Talking Heads song "
Once in a Lifetime". She worked with Talking Heads again to direct and choreograph the music video for the song "Crosseyed and Painless". She also choreographed
David Bowie's
Diamond Dogs Tour in 1974 and
Glass Spider Tour in 1987, and has worked with
Bette Midler for many years, most recently on her 2005 Australian
Kiss My Brass tour.
Her film choreography work includes
George Lucas's
American Graffiti (1973) and
The Monkees 1968 film,
Head, in which she makes an appearance as a dancer during
Daddy's Song with
Davy Jones.
Acting career
Basil has appeared in the movies
Easy Rider (as prostitute Mary, the brunette) and
Five Easy Pieces, on television (including episodes of
Laverne & Shirley and
Baywatch), and has worked as a
choreographer for movies such as
American Graffiti,
The Rose,
Legally Blonde, the
Beach Party series produced by
AIP, as well as the
The Monkees' cult film
Head (in which she appeared as the (unbilled) dancer in the "Daddy's Song" sequence). In addition to her appearance in
Head, she appeared in
Village of the Giants, the
cult film Rockula with
Thomas Dolby and the 1987
B-Movie Slaughterhouse Rock. She also appeared in an episode of
Baywatch Nights as a fortune teller. An appearance in cult director Robert Downey's
Greaser's Palace (1970) as a native american maiden was limited to an extended topless horseride across the desert plains.
Discography
- Word of Mouth (1982) #22 US
- Toni Basil (1983)
Singles
Further Information
Get more info on 'Toni Basil'.
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