Toni Basil
80s rock female vocalists new wave Retro
Although typically regarded as another one hit wonder of the 80s, American singer Toni Basil found additional chart success with the dance club favorite "Over My Head", released as a single from her 1983 self-titled album. The electropop song featured a more disco influenced flavor than her previous hit "Mickey". Sadly, the parent album itself became a commercial flop, leading Basil to seek more behind-the-scenes musical work. Read more on Last.fm.

Toni Basil was born Antonia Christina Basilotta on September 22nd, 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Before getting into music, she was a go-go dancer and she acted in some movies like "Easy Rider" and "Pajama Party." She later got her start in singing as the singer and dancer in the short film "Breakaway." She later was involved with a dance troup called "The Lockers" and got into more dancing and choreography. She was the first musical artist in the 80s to do a music video album, where the consumer could purchase a VHS video that included the videos to all but 3 of the songs of her album "Word Of Mouth." She has only gained success with one song, and that was "Mickey" which was a cover of the song "Kitty," penned by Chinn and Chapman and originally recorded by British band Racey. (In fact, 4 of her songs on "Word Of Mouth" were covers.) She came out with a 2nd album entitled "Toni Basil," but wasn't as successful as she was with "Word Of Mouth." Today, she does mostly choreography for musical acts and groups. "Mickey" enjoys enduring popularity. It was named Number 6 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80's. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.