Toni Basil

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Toni Basil (2016)
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Word of Mouth
  UK 15th 02/06/1982 (16 weeks)
  US 22nd 
gold
gold
10/23/1982 (30 weeks)
Singles
Mickey
  UK 2 
gold
gold
02/06/1982 (12 weeks)
  US 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 
platinum
platinum
09/04/1982 (27 weeks)
  DE 69 03/14/1983 (2 weeks)
Nobody
  UK 52 05/01/1982 (4 weeks)
Shoppin 'from A to Z
  US 77 02/26/1983 (4 weeks)
Over my head
  US 81 01/21/1984 (6 weeks)

Toni Basil , real name Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is an American pop singer , choreographer and actress .

Life

Basil's father was a conductor and his mother a variety artist. She developed a taste for dancing herself and was a cheerleader at Las Vegas High School. After finishing school she started a career as a dancer.

She came to film in 1964, where she starred in the concert film The TAMI Show . Other minor roles followed. In 1966 she posed and danced for the artistic short film Breakaway , for which she also recorded a piece of music of the same name.

The most famous film she was in was Easy Rider in 1969 , but even there it was only a minor appearance as a prostitute. Rather, the 1966 film adaptation of Village of the Giants , where she also took on the choreography in addition to the film role, marked the beginning of a successful career behind the scenes. She was responsible for the choreography in American Graffiti and the Bette Midler film The Rose .

A large part of her work took place in the music sector. Artists such as David Bowie, Bette Midler, Tina Turner and the Pointer Sisters supported her with their tours and performances and she also played an important role in the emerging music videos. In the popular video for Once in a Lifetime by the Talking Heads in the early 80s, she choreographed the puppet-like dance moves of David Byrne. This then developed into his own music career.

In 1978 the British band Racey recorded a song by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman about a girl named Kitty . Toni Basil took it as an opportunity to shoot a video clip with cheerleaders with the new title Mickey , which only became successful after the establishment of MTV in 1981. The accompanying video album Toni Basil: Word of Mouth was also successful and earned her a Grammy nomination. The LP of the same name achieved gold status in the USA .

However, the whole thing turned out to be a unique recipe for success. Further publications only landed in the lower third of the chart and after a short time the excursion into the singing career was over again. In the English-speaking world, Mickey is still a classic and a popular cheerleader song to this day.

After 1985 Toni Basil had some successes as a choreographer for film and television. For example, she was responsible for the films Peggy Sue Married , My Best Friend's Wedding , Muppets from Space , Naturally Blonde, and Naturally Blonde 2 . In 1988 she received an Emmy nomination for a television choreography . In 1997 she received the American Choreography Award , also for a television episode.

Discography

Albums

  • Word of Mouth (1982)
  • Toni Basil (1983)

Singles

  • Breakaway (1966)
  • Mickey (1982)
  • Nobody (1982)
  • Shoppin 'from A to Z (1982)
  • Street Beat (1982)
  • Over My Head (1983)
  • Suspense (1984)
  • Mickey ( Jason Nevins Remix, 1999)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Charts US
  2. ↑ Charts UK
  3. ↑ Charts DE
  4. ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK US
  5. ↑ Hit Lexicon of Rock and Pop / Frank Laufenberg; Ullstein 2004, p. 101
  6. ^ Profile at StreetSwing.com
personal data
SURNAME Basil, Toni
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Basilotta, Antonia Christina
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American pop singer, choreographer and actress
DATE OF BIRTH September 22, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania