Toni Harper (born June 8, 1937 in Los Angeles, California), also known as Toni Dunlap, is an American former child singer who retired from performing at the age of 29.
After learning dance under
Maceo Anderson
Maceo Anderson (September 3, 1910 – July 4, 2001 in Los Angeles, California) expressed an interest in dancing at the age of three. As a child, he used to sneak into the Lafayette Theatre to watch performances with his young friends. He and h ...
, Harper was cast by the choreographer Nick Castle in ''Christmas Follies'', at the
Wilshire Ebell Theatre
The Ebell of Los Angeles is a women-led and women-centered nonprofit housed in an historic campus in the Mid-Wilshire section of Los Angeles, California. It includes numerous performance spaces, meeting rooms, classrooms and the 1,238-seat Wilshir ...
in 1945. She later went on to perform on stage with
Herb Jeffries
Herb Jeffries (born Umberto Alexander Valentino; September 24, 1913 – May 25, 2014) was an American actor of film and television and popular music and jazz singer-songwriter, known for his baritone voice.
He starred in several low-budget "ra ...
and
Cab Calloway.
Harper performed at the third annual
Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
in Los Angeles produced by
Leon Hefflin Sr.
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
on September 7, 1947.
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...
, The
Valdez Orchestra, The Blenders,
T-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''R ...
,
Slim Gaillard,
The Honeydrippers
The Honeydrippers were an English rock and roll band of the 1980s, deriving their name from Roosevelt Sykes, an American blues singer also known as "Honeydripper". Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to sati ...
,
Sarah Vaughan and the
Three Blazers also performed that same day. 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
Anna Mae Winburn ''(née'' Darden; August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999) was an influential American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s. An African American, she is best known for having directed the Interna ...
and Her Sweethearts,
Jerry Wallace
Jerry Leon Wallace (December 15, 1928 – May 5, 2008) was an American country and pop singer. Between 1958 and 1964, Wallace charted nine hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including the No. 8 "Primrose Lane" that was later used as the theme ...
,
Louis Jordan,
Jimmy Witherspoon
James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer.
Early life, family and education
Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...
, and
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
.
Harper recorded "Candy Store Blues" in 1946, which became a
platinum record, appeared twice on ''Toast of the Town'' (later
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...
) in 1949, and made her third and final appearance on the show in 1950.
After success as a child singer, Harper recorded her first album, ''
Toni
Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name.
In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni.
In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwe ...
'', for
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...
in 1955, with the
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards ...
trio. She made two further albums, arranged by
Marty Paich
Martin Louis Paich (January 23, 1925 – August 12, 1995) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kento ...
, ''Lady Lonely'' (1959) and ''Night Mood'' (1960), for
RCA Victor.
Harper toured Japan with
Cannonball Adderley in 1963, and appeared in the film ''
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini
''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini'' is a 1965 Pathécolor beach party film from American International Pictures. The sixth entry in a seven-film series, the movie features Mickey Rooney, Annette Funicello, Dwayne Hickman, Brian Donlevy, and Beverl ...
'' (1965),
before retiring from performing in 1966.
Discography
* 1956 ''
Toni
Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name.
In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni.
In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwe ...
'' (with the
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards ...
trio)
* 1957 ''Here Come The Girls!'' (with The Buddy Bregman Orchestra)
* 1959 ''Lady Lonely'' (with
Marty Paich
Martin Louis Paich (January 23, 1925 – August 12, 1995) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kento ...
& Orchestra)
* 1960 ''Night Mood'' (with Marty Paich & Orchestra)
* 1988 ''Candy Store Blues'' (compilation)
With
Dizzy Gillespie
* ''
Jazz Recital
''Jazz Recital'' (also released as ''Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra'') is an album by the trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded in 1954 and 1955 and released on the Norgran label. It consists of quintet, sextet and jazz orchestra tracks. '' (
Norgran, 1955)
With
Harry James
Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...
*"Baby Blues" and "Peculiar Kind Of Feeling" on
Columbia 39390 (1951)
*"
Blacksmith Blues" and "Don't Send Me Home" on Columbia 39671 (1952)
*"Melancholy Trumpet" on Columbia 39846 (1952)
*"Fruit Cake" on Columbia 39877 (1952)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Toni
1937 births
Living people
African-American women singers
American jazz singers
American child singers
Columbia Records artists
American women jazz singers
Jubilee Records artists
RCA Records artists
Singers from Los Angeles
Torch singers
Traditional pop music singers
Verve Records artists
Jazz musicians from California