Toni Childs

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Toni Childs
Born	October 29, 1957 (1957-10-29) (age 50) Orange, California
Genre(s)	Alternative Rock Singer-Songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar
Label(s)	A&M Records DGC Records 429 Records

Toni Childs (born October 29, 1957) is an American singer-songwriter from Orange, California. She has released three full albums and is best known for her songs "Don't Walk Away" (a Hot 100 hit in the United States in 1988) and "I've Got To Go Now", a Top 5 hit in Australia in 1991. In New Zealand she achieved six Top 40 hit singles and three platinum albums.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Union 4 House Of Hope 5 The Woman's Boat 6 Because You're Beautiful & Keep The Faith 7 Discography 7.1 Albums 7.2 Filmography 7.3 Singles 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Early life

Toni Childs was born in Orange, California, but was moved to several small towns in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nevada during her childhood. Raised in house-hold dominated by her parents religious values, Toni Childs stated in a 1988 article for Time Magazine, that she and her three brothers "were not allowed to listen to pop music or rock or even go to the movies. There was a lot I missed out on."^[1] At the age of 15, Childs ran away from home and became a blues musician. In 1972, Childs saw Pink Floyd in concert and afterwards decided to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter.

[edit] Career

Childs joined the band Berlin in 1979, but left to form her own group before the recording of Berlin's first album. Her first band Toni Childs and the Movers included Jack Sherman (later to become a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Micki Steele (later a member of the Bangles). The Los Angeles-based band performed and toured for two years but did not release an album. In the summer of 1981, after the Movers had disbanded, Childs performed various improvised sets of music at Madame Wong's West and the Cathay de Grande clubs in Los Angeles under the name "Nadia Kapiche" with musicians including Steve Schiff (guitar), Micki Steele (bass), Mark Buchholtz (keyboards/sax), Richard Larsen (keyboards/sax), and any drummer that was available at the time. Demo (recording) sessions were also done in Hollywood with most of this band, with Ed Warnecke on drums. Still Childs was searching for her niche. " Childs says now she "didn't know who I was", and that she was "trying to grab the brass ring like everybody else, then. I got out of town and went completely in another direction".^[2]

In 1981 Toni signed a song publishing deal with Island Music which financed her move to London. There she lived in an empty office of a local recording studio, sweeping floors and dusting consoles in exchange for rent and recording experience. While in London Toni Childs put a new band together under the name Nadia Kapiche which included Dave Rhodes (Peter Gabriel), Mike Cotzi (Shreikback), Martin Swaine (The Waterboys, World Party),Steve Creese (World Party) and Duncan Kilburn (The Psychedelic Furs)^[3]. During this time they performed in various clubs, and even supported U2 during one of their earlier gigs^[4]. It was also during her stay in the vitally global music scene of early-80s London that the seeds of World music were planted^[5], (later to eventually be heard on Child's first album). In 1983 Childs also provided backing vocals on the Scottish band The Europeans track A.E.I.O.U. (Band member Steve Hogarth would later return the favour by doing the same on Childs' debut album Union)^[6].

In 1985, after returning to L.A., Childs was signed to A&M Records and soon began to work with songwriter/producer/musician David Ricketts (David+David) on the soundtrack for the film Echo Park, and provided backing vocals for David & David's album Boomtown, on a track titled Ain't So Easy.

[edit] Union

In 1988 her debut album Union was released. Recorded in London, Paris and Swaziland, this was critically praised upon release in its embodiment of the musical influences of the exotic. The album was infused with a world-music sensibility—a strong African feel was present in the percussion and literally in the epic "Zimbabwae." Although Union, which had been made available at a lower price than was usual for CDs, managed only to make a lowly #63, it was certified gold in the USA by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) for having shifted 500,000 units, with 180,000 of these recorded since Soundscan began tracking sales in 1991^[7]. It also enjoyed two weeks at #1 in New Zealand and was certified 5-x platinum. Later that year, she was nominated for two Grammy Awards—Best New Artist and Best Rock Vocal Performance (female). Her first national tour was opening for Bob Dylan. In Australia and New Zealand, the album's most-recognised tracks (from radio play that has sustained up to the present day) are "Stop Your Fussin" and "Don't Walk Away" (which features well-known Australian jazz-soul singer Renée Geyer on backing vocals). However, the tracks "Walk And Talk Like Angels" and "Zimbabwe" also received some radio play in both Australia and New Zealand.

It should be noted that Childs was either sole writer or co-writer of all recorded tracks on her albums. Childs' collaborator in the creation of Union was David Ricketts, one member of the musical duo David + David. Ricketts and Childs lived together and worked together, and Union has much to do with their relationship. In a 1988 article that praised Childs' originality and the craftsmanship of Union, Time Magazine said, "if she can get an album like Union from a single relationship, the music she makes from the rest of her life should really be extraordinary".

In 1989, Childs' recorded a cover version of Jimmy Cliffs' Many Rivers To Cross as part of the soundtrack for the film "Lost Angels".

[edit] House Of Hope

Her follow-up album House of Hope yielded a large hit in Australia with "I've Got To Go Now", but it did not sell well in the US and she was dropped from the A&M label. According to Soundscan, House of Hope has sold 203,000 units since its release in 1991^[8]. Its title track was featured on the Thelma and Louise soundtrack, and instrumental excerpts from "Heaven's Gate" have been used in American television shows. The album covered some rather dark ground — such as domestic abuse in "I've Got To Go Now", world troubles in "House of Hope", incest and sexual abuse in the harrowing "Daddy's Song", addiction in "Where's The Light" and "Put This Fire Out", and death in "Heaven's Gate", "Dead Are Dancing", and "Three Days" — but perhaps the strength and passion of Childs' unique voice restore the hope in the title "House of Hope." Of the album, Toni Childs stated she believed that "when we have the courage to share our darkest parts and our purest nature with each other we are evolution in action. We are creating our own House of Hope".^[9]." Like its predecessor, it achieved platinum status in New Zealand.

[edit] The Woman's Boat

DGC Records, a subsidiary of Geffen Records, signed her and released her third album, The Woman's Boat. The album's emphasis on femininity and womanhood was framed by the opening track "Womb" and the closing track "Death". Cameos on the album from Peter Gabriel, Robert Fripp, and Zap Mama echoed the world beat of her earlier albums. The Woman's Boat features more programming and computer-based textures than the previous two albums, notably "Welcome To The World" and the single "Lay Down Your Pain", and it contains some rather dark moments, such as "Predator" and "I Just Want Affection", mixed with mellow highlights "Long Time Coming" and "I Met A Man" (featuring Peter Gabriel). While the album did not elicit a lot of reviewer response, Q Magazine in a brief review described it as "epic" in its scope. Although she was nominated for another Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance, the album sold poorly, and Childs was again left without a recording label. Accordingly to Soundscan, The Woman's Boat has sold only 66,000 units in the US since its release in 1994^[10].

She recorded another album, tentatively titled Bare in 1996, but could not find a label to release it. Also in 1996, "The Very Best Of Toni Childs" was released, becoming the fifth biggest-selling album of 1996 in Australia on the back of a belated release of her cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross". Toni's version was originally recorded in 1989 and included on the long-since out of print soundtrack to [[Lost Angels]]. For a song that was seven years old it was a phenomenal chart success in Australia and New Zealand. The greatest hits collection also became her third platinum-selling top-10 album in New Zealand. She retired from touring in 1997 after contracting a serious illness and starting the "Dream a Dolphin" charity.

[edit] Because You're Beautiful & Keep The Faith

Founder of V-Day, Eve Ensler, met Toni Childs in early 2003, while Childs was performing in a production of Ensler's The Vagina Monologues in Kauai, Hawaii. Ensler was already a big fan of Toni Childs' music, stating that the impact of Childs’ music on her life has been profound and a lifeline^[11]. Ensler eventually asked Childs to write an anthem for her documentary Until The Violence Stops. Childs wrote and released a song entitled "Because You're Beautiful", which was awarded with the 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music & Lyrics.

Childs now resides in Hawaii where she has made a recovery from Graves Disease, and has slowly re-entered into performing live and the process of recording. In a surprise appearance in October of 2006, Childs took the stage at Darcy's Pub in Victoria, British Columbia at an "open mike" night. Most of the young crowd were not familiar with her, but they soon cheered to hear more. She performed a number of songs, including a song that she actually made up as she jammed with the house band.

She has recorded a new album titled Keep the Faith, which has seen her re-team with David Ricketts who collaborated with her on her critically acclaimed debut album 20 years earlier. This album has drawn heavily from material Childs wrote in the mid 90s. Toni Childs has stated that Keep The Faith "is an apt title given personal and world events"^[12]. It consists of 11 new songs and the track Because You're Beautiful. Originally available direct from the artist, Keep The Faith will be distributed on general released in the U.S. by 429 Records (part of the Savoy group of record companies), in January 2009. It will be available within Australia and New Zealand, distributed by MGM Distribution Pty Ltd.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• Union (1988) – A&M Records. #63 US (Gold), #19 Germany.
• House of Hope (1991) – A&M Records. #115 US.
• The Woman's Boat (1994) – DGC Records.
• The Very Best Of Toni Childs (1996) – Polydor, A&M Records.
• Toni Childs: Ultimate Collection (2000) - Hip-O Records
• Keep The Faith (to be released in 2009) - 429 Records, MGM Distribution Pty Ltd.

[edit] Filmography

• Toni Childs - The Videos (VHS) (1989)

[edit] Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions							Album
		Billboard Hot 100	US Modern Rock Tracks	US Dance Music/Club Play	UK	Australia ARIA	New Zealand	Germany
1988	"Stop Your Fussin'"	-	-	-	#95	#35	#5	#17	Union
1988	"Don't Walk Away"	#72	#17	-	#53	#21	#12	#40	Union
1989	"Zimbabwe"	-	-	-	-	-	#31	-	Union
1991	"I've Got To Go Now"	-	-	-	-	#5	#19	#78	House of Hope
1991	"House Of Hope"	-	-	-	-	#39	#27	-	House of Hope
1995	"Lay Down Your Pain"	-	-	#13	-	-	-	-	The Woman's Boat
1996	"Many Rivers To Cross"	-	-	-	-	#12	#29	-	The Very Best Of Toni Childs

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• [1]
• [2]
• [3]