Toni Harper (born June 8, 1937, Los Angeles, California) (aka Toni Dunlap) is a former child singer, who retired from performing at the age of 29.
Toni Harper's childhood was made of the magic any aspiring adult artist would kill for: a platinum record, a performance at Carnegie Hall, evenings spent sharing a stage with such performers as Cab Calloway, and invitations to appear on television with Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Milton Berle, and Ed Sullivan. And all of the magic unfolded before she'd turned 12 years old.The jazz vocalist, who now goes by the name Toni Dunlap, got her big break in 1945 when she went up against a couple hundred other kids at an audition held by choreographer Nick Castle. Harper, who
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had been a dance student of Maceo Anderson, passed muster as far as her dancing, but when she sang "Waitin' for the Train to Come In," she had the audition sewn up on the spot. Castle cast her in his production of Christmas Follies, which was staged at Los Angeles' Wilshire Ebell Theatre. Harper drew enthusiastic reviews and went on to earn a platinum record when she was eight years old with "Candy Store Blues" in 1946, which became a platinum record.
Harper performed at the third annual Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on September 7, 1947. Woody Herman, The Valdez Orchestra, The Blenders, T-Bone Walker, Slim Gaillard, The Honeydrippers, Sarah Vaughn and the Three Blazers also performed that same day.
Harper paired with Herb Jeffries for "You're Too Tall 'n' I'm Too Small," the number for which she later paired live with Calloway at Los Angeles' Million Dollar Theatre. Television beckoned the young singer and she was a guest on numerous programs, among them Sullivan's weekly variety show. When she wasn't appearing on television, she was singing at numerous New York hot spots that included the Apollo, the Strand, and the Paramount. At the age of 11, Harper topped it all off by singing at Carnegie Hall.
She came back to perform for the eighth Cavalcade of Jazz concert on June 1, 1952. Also featured that day were Roy Brown and His Mighty Men, Anna Mae Winburn and Her Sweethearts, Jerry Wallace, Louis Jordan, Jimmy Witherspoon and Josephine Baker.From the start, her parents, the Henry Harpers of Los Angeles, had laid down the dictum: School comes first and there will be no spoiled show biz brats in this family. It did and there wasn't. Toni went to Foshay Junior and Dorsey Senior High Schools in Los Angeles (where she sang in the glee clubs, choirs and school plays) and, with thanks to her parents, turned out very well indeed. Toni did sing professionally in the summers while otherwise recording and performing locally.
The vocalist got her chance to sing the more adult songs when she recorded for Verve. In addition to "Love for Sale," Harper recorded such songs as "I Could Write a Book" and "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered." Backing Harper on her self-titled first recording for
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Verve were pianist Oscar Peterson, drummer Alvin Stoller, guitarist Herb Ellis, and bassist Ray Brown. The vocalist later signed with RCA Victor, recording for the label for about four years and ending in 1963.
Verve were pianist Oscar Peterson, drummer Alvin Stoller, guitarist Herb Ellis, and bassist Ray Brown. The vocalist later signed with RCA Victor, recording for the label for about four years and ending in 1963.Harper toured Japan with Cannonball Adderley in 1963, and appeared in the film How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965), before retiring from performing in 1966 after devoting more than 20 years to her singing career.
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Toni has had an even more wonderful and fulfilled life to the present time. (Edited from Wikipedia and mainly AllMusic)
Toni has had an even more wonderful and fulfilled life to the present time. (Edited from Wikipedia and mainly AllMusic)