Toni Childs
| Toni Childs | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 29, 1957 Orange, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1988 – present |
| Labels | A&M, DGC, 429 Records |
Toni Childs (born October 29, 1957) is an American-Australian singer-songwriter. She is best known for her songs "Don't Walk Away" (a Billboard Hot 100 hit in the United States in 1988), "I've Got to Go Now", a Top 5 hit in Australia in 1991, and the Emmy-winning "Because You're Beautiful" (released as a single in 2004, and featured on her 2008 album Keep the Faith). In New Zealand she has had six Top 40 hit singles and three platinum albums.
Childs was born in Orange, California, but lived in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nevada during her childhood. Raised in a household dominated by her parents' religious values, 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." At the age of 15, Childs ran away from home and became a blues musician. In 1972, she saw Pink Floyd in concert and decided to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter.
In 1979, Childs performed several live shows with the band Berlin whilst their singer, Terri Nunn, was unavailable. Her first band of note, Toni 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 Madam Wong's 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 drummer Stan Getts. Demo (recording) sessions were also done in Hollywood with most of this band, with Ed Warnecke on drums. Childs was still searching for her niche. She has said, "I didn't know who I was, and I realized I was trying to grab the brass ring like everybody else. I wanted to become a better songwriter and I knew I just didn't know enough to be signed. That's when I went to Island Music publishing, and asked them to sign me and send me to England."
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