Toni Basil

Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her 1982 single, "Mickey" (a cover of "Kitty"), topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and entered the top ten of several other international charts.

Early life and education Basil was born Antonia Christina Basilotta on September 22, 1943, in Philadelphia. Her father led an orchestra, and her mother performed in vaudeville. Basil has Italian ancestry.

She grew up in Las Vegas, where her father moved the family for his work when she was a child. In 1961, Basil graduated from Las Vegas High School, where she was head cheerleader. The cheerleader uniform that she wore in the video was the one she wore in high school.

Career

Dance career Also in 1964, she assisted choreographer Winters for Steve Binder's concert film T.A.M.I. Show. T.A.M.I. Show would go on to be deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in 2006 in the National Film Registry.

In 1968, Princess Grace of Monaco's television special Monte Carlo: C'est La Rose premiered. In it, Basil accompanies lead dancer and choreographer Winters; he explained that he brought her and fellow dancer Anita Mann because they were his best students.

In addition, Basil is credited with bringing street dance to prominence, as a founding member and manager of The Lockers. A 2012 Dance Magazine article cited Basil as the pioneer in merging ballet with street dance for a piece she choreographed for Saturday Night Live, "Swan Lake" in 1978.

Basil choreographed the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at the age of 75, and appeared in an uncredited cameo, wearing her trademark fedora and dancing with Margot Robbie on the Pan Am flight. Basil was surprised by Tarantino's detailed knowledge of both 1960s dances and her previous work, and said she personally knew two of the real-life people who are portrayed in the film: Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring, who were both killed in the Tate-LaBianca murders.

Music career

Basil's recording career began in 1966 with a single for A&M Records, which was the title song of the short film Breakaway by artist Bruce Conner. The B-side was "I'm 28" written by Graham Gouldman, who later co-founded 10cc. Basil sang, solo, the swinging jazz number "Wham Rebop Boom Bam" in the first season of Saturday Night Live for the January 17, 1976, show with Buck Henry as host. Basil sold out solo shows at The Roxy in Los Angeles in June 1976, and sang the song on The Merv Griffin Show. She and The Lockers appeared on Saturday Night Live during the first season and also in later seasons of the show, as a singer and filmmaker, to perform in her urban style Swan Lake. She was signed to Warner Bros. Records at some point in 1976, but never released any material for the label.

In 1982, her single "Mickey" achieved international success. The song is a cover of "Kitty", a 1979 release by the UK band Racey, written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and produced by the latter. The original song did not include the "Oh Mickey, you're so fine" chant, which Basil added. The video was conceived, directed, and choreographed by Basil for the UK-based label Radialchoice, before the inception of MTV in July 1981. Issued on Chrysalis Records in September 1982 in the US, the song knocked Lionel Richie's "Truly" from No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December. It topped the chart in Canada where it was issued by Virgin Records. The 45 was quickly certified Gold and in early 1983 reached Platinum status for sales of over 2 million copies in the United States alone. The music video for "Mickey" was one of the most popular early MTV videos. In the video, Basil wore her head cheerleader uniform from Las Vegas High School from which she graduated. In 2017, she launched an unsuccessful lawsuit against the makers of South Park over their use of the song in parodying Barack Obama's 2008 election win.

For television, Basil has appeared as an actress and featured singer/dancer in many television shows and specials. She co-directed and choreographed two BBC specials with Alan Walsh and Ken Stephenson called "Toni Basil Tape 1" and "Toni Basil Tape 2".

Filmmaking and music videos

Basil's Word of Mouth video album was nominated for both a Grammy Award and an MTV Video Music Award. Her late 1960s 8 mm and 16 mm films toured the U.S. with the show "Semina Culture: Wallace Berman and His Circle" in 2007.

Awards and accolades Basil received Emmy Award recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1988, including a nomination and win listed by the Television Academy. Her other listed honors include Hip Hop International's Living Legend Award, two MTV Award nominations, four American Choreography Award nominations and two wins, including Lifetime Achievement Innovator, and the Los Angeles Theater Ovation Street Dance Award.

Basil's exhibitions include at the Museum of Modern Art (Videos), and at the Santa Monica Museum of Art (Short Films). She has received platinum and gold discs in the US, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Philippines, and France. Her single "Mickey" was installed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the groundbreaking singles of the 1980s.

She was given a tribute at The Carnival: Choreographer's Ball, Monsters of Hip-Hop Masters of Movement, and in Portraits of America's Great Choreographers. She was featured in the Museum of Modern Art Calendar of Artists, and on the cover of Dance Magazine.

On January 25, 2012, Basil presented The Electric Boogaloos with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th anniversary show of The Carnival: Choreographer's Ball for their role in popularizing dance styles such as popping and electric boogie.

In 2023, Basil was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Refs.1964 Viva Las Vegas Dancer in Red Dress (What'd I Say) Uncredited Robin and the 7 Hoods Flapper Uncredited Pajama Party Pajama Girl No. 15 T.A.M.I. Show Herself; Go-Go Dancer DocumentaryUncredited 1965 Village of the Giants Red 1966 Breakaway Dancer Short 1968 Head Daddy's Song Dancer Uncredited 1969 Sweet Charity Dancer Uncredited Easy Rider Mary 1970 Myra Breckinridge Cigarette Girl Uncredited Five Easy Pieces Terry Grouse 1971 The Last Movie Rose 1972 Greaser's Palace Indian Girl 1976 Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood Awards Ceremony Guest Uncredited Mother, Jugs & Speed Addict Citizen Soldier 1988 Slaughterhouse Rock Sammy Mitchell Angel III: The Final Chapter Hillary Glass Spider Choreographer 1990 Rockula Phoebe Pacific Palisades Désirée Catchfire Uncredited Eating Jackie 2001 Legally Blonde Choreographer "Bend and Snap" sequence

Discography

Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US AUS CAN NZ UK Word of MouthReleased: 1981 (UK), 1982 (US) Formats: LP, cassette Label: Chrysalis 22 43 45 27 15 RIAA: Gold MC: Gold Toni BasilReleased: 1983 Formats: LP, cassette Label: Chrysalis — — — — —

Compilation albums Title Album details The Best of Toni Basil: Mickey & Other Love Songs Released: 1994 Formats: CD Label: Razor & Tie The Best of Toni Basil Released: 1994 Formats: CD, cassette Label: Tring International PLC The Best of Toni Basil: Mickey... And Other Greatest Hits Released: 1994 Formats: CD Label: Form Records Mickey!: The Best of Toni Basil Released: 1994 Formats: CD, cassette Label: Hallmark Records The Very Best of Toni Basil Released: 1997 Formats: CD Label: Emporio Oh Mickey! Released: 2000 Formats: CD Label: Snapper Music

Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album US US Dance AUS BEL (FL) GER IRE NLD NZ BPI: Gold MC: 2× Platinum Word of Mouth "Nobody" — — — — — — — — — 52 "Time After Time" / "You Gotta Problem" — — — — — — — — — — "Shoppin' from A to Z" 1983 77 — — — — — — — — — "Street Beat" — 63 — — — — — — — — Toni Basil "Over My Head" 81 4 — — — — — — — — "Suspense" 1984 — 8 — — — — — — — — "Do You Wanna Dance" — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards and nominations Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result !! Refs. 1984 MTV Video Music Awards Over My Head Best Choreography 1984 Grammy Awards Word of Mouth Best Video Album