Toni Basil
Toni Basil ( born September 22, 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, real name Antonia Christina Basilotta ) is an American pop singer and choreographer.
Biography
Basil's father was a conductor and his mother a vaudeville artist. They even developed a taste for dancing and was at the Las Vegas High School cheerleader. After school, she started a career as a dancer.
To the film she came in 1964, in the concert film The TAMI where they Show participated. Other small roles followed. 1966 posed and danced for the artistic short film Breakaway, for which she also einsang an eponymous song.
The most famous film in which she was involved, 1969 was Easy Rider, but even there it was only a small appearance. Rather, it was from the book filming Village of the Giants in 1966, where she took the next roll of film, the choreography, the beginning of a successful career behind the scenes. In American Graffiti and the Bette Midler - movie The Rose, she was responsible for the choreography.
However, a large part of their activity took place in the music industry. Artists such as David Bowie, Bette Midler, Tina Turner and the Pointer Sisters, they supported their tours and performances and also in the upcoming music video, she played an important role. In the well-known video to Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads early 80s she choreographed the puppet-like dance moves by David Byrne. It then developed his own music career.
In 1978, the British band Racey had recorded a song by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman about a girl named Kitty. Toni Basil took it as an opportunity to turn from a video clip with cheerleaders at the new title Mickey, but only after the inception of MTV in 1981 was successful. The associated video album Toni Basil: Word of Mouth was also successful and earned her a Grammy nomination. The eponymous LP reached gold status in the U.S..
However, the whole thing proved to be a unique recipe for success. More Releases landed only in the rear third of chart and after a short time the trip was over again in the singing career. In English-speaking Mickey is still a classic and a popular cheerleader song.
After 1985, Toni Basil had some success as a choreographer for film and television. So it was, for example, the films Peggy Sue Got Married, The wedding of my best friend, Muppets from Space and Legally Blonde! 1 and 2 partially responsible. In 1988 she received an Emmy nomination for a Fernsehchoreografie. In 1997 she was also awarded for a television episode, the American Choreography Award.
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)