The Toys were an American pop girl group from Jamaica, New York, which was formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1968.^[1]

Contents 1 Members 2 Career 3 Discography 3.1 Singles 3.2 Albums 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Members

The trio consisted of:

• Barbara Harris (who sang lead most of the time).
• Barbara Parritt (born October 1, 1944, Wilmington, North Carolina).
• June Montiero (born July 1, 1946, Queens, New York).

[edit] Career

The Toys were discovered at a talent show by manager Vince Marc, who introduced them to songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell.^[1] Linzer and Randell wrote most of the songs recorded by them, including their U.S. #2 hit single "A Lover's Concerto", and also produced the group's 1965-66 recordings on Bob Crewe's DynoVoice record label.^[1] Global sales of this disc exceeded two million copies, with a gold record awarded by the R.I.A.A. in 1965.^[2] Their first U.S. tour was with Gene Pitney.^[2] In 1967 the group changed labels and producers, but charted only one more minor single (a cover of Brian Hyland's "Sealed with a Kiss") before breaking up.^[1]

The Toys appeared on most of the major TV rock programs, including Shindig!, Hullabaloo, and American Bandstand.^[1] They also had a cameo role in the 1967 beach movie It's a Bikini World.^[2][3]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

(U.S. chart positions are Billboard Hot 100 except as noted.)

• 1965: "A Lover's Concerto" (U.S. #2, UK Singles Chart #5)
• 1966: "Attack!" (U.S. #18, UK #36)
• 1966: "Baby Toys" (U.S. #76)
• 1966: "Silver Spoon" (U.S. #111)
• 1966: "May My Heart Be Cast into Stone" (U.S. #85)
• 1968: "Sealed with a Kiss" (U.S. #112, U.S. R&B #48)

[edit] Albums

• 1966: The Toys Sing "A Lover's Concerto" and "Attack!" (U.S. Billboard 200 #92; Billboard Black Albums #9) - a CD version was released in 1994 with two bonus tracks.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Barbara Harris' official site
• Interview with The Toys
• The Toys biography at Allmusic.com