Toni Childs

Toni Childs (born October 29, 1957) is an American-born, Australian singer-songwriter. 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.

Career 1979–1987: Early years 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." During her stay in the vitally global music scene of early-80s London, the seeds of world music were planted,

In 1985, after returning to Los Angeles, Childs was signed to A&M Records and soon began to work with songwriter/producer/musician David Ricketts (of David + David) on the soundtrack for the film Echo Park, also providing backing vocals for David + David's album Boomtown, including on the minor hit single, "Ain't So Easy".

1989–1990: Union In 1988, Childs's debut album Union was released. Recorded in London, Paris and Swaziland, the album was an infusion of rock/pop and world music with its strong African percussion. The album garnered considerable critical acclaim, and though it peaked at No. 63 in the U.S., it was certified gold in 1995 by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) for having shipped 500,000 units (the album had shipped 180,000 copies between 1991 and 2006, 1991 being when SoundScan began tracking sales). It also enjoyed two weeks at No. 1 in New Zealand and was certified platinum there. In Australia, the album was certified double platinum, for shipments exceeding 140,000 copies. Later that year, Childs was nominated for two Grammy Awards – Best New Artist and Best Rock Vocal Performance (female). Her first national tour was opening for Bob Dylan. The single "Stop Your Fussin'" was a major single hit in various countries, including South Africa where it was named the seventh-biggest-selling single of 1989.

As with all of her albums, Childs wrote or co-wrote all the tracks for Union. She embarked on a relationship with her Union collaborator David Ricketts, living and working together, and the songs on Union have much to do with their relationship. In a 1988 article that praised Childs's originality and the craftsmanship of Union, Time magazine said, "if she can get an album like Union from a single relationship, the music she makes from the rest of her life should really be extraordinary". Music videos were produced for the songs "Don't Walk Away", "Stop Your Fussin'", and "Walk And Talk Like Angels". These were made available on the VHS "Toni Childs: The Videos". The song "Dreamer" was included in the soundtrack to the film "Moonlight and Valentino" soundtrack.

In 1989, Childs recorded a cover version of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" as part of the soundtrack for the film Lost Angels. In 1990, Childs recorded vocals for the song "I've Not Forgotten You" for the Jonathan Elias album Requiem for the America: Songs from the Lost World.

1991–1993: House of Hope Childs’ second album House of Hope yielded huge success in Australia and New Zealand with "I've Got to Go Now". According to Soundscan, House of Hope had sold 203,000 units in the U.S. since its release in 1991 up to 2006. Like its predecessor, it achieved platinum status in New Zealand, and was certified double platinum in Australia.

She retired from touring in 1997 after developing Graves' disease and starting the "Dream a Dolphin" charity.

2003–present: "Because You're Beautiful" and Keep the Faith Eve Ensler, the founder of V-Day, met Childs in early 2003 when Childs was performing in a production of Ensler's The Vagina Monologues in Kauai, Hawaii. Ensler was already a fan of Childs's music, which she claims had a profound impact on her and had been a lifeline. Ensler asked Childs to write an anthem for her documentary V-Day: Until the Violence Stops. Childs wrote and released a song entitled "Because You're Beautiful", which was awarded the 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.

Childs resided in Hawaii where she made a recovery from Graves' disease and slowly re-entered into performing live and recording. At a surprise appearance in October 2006, Childs took the stage at Darcy's Pub in Victoria, British Columbia, at an "open mic" night.

She has recorded an album entitled Keep the Faith, which has seen her once again team with David Ricketts who collaborated with her on her debut album 20 years earlier. The album drew heavily from material Childs wrote in the mid–1990s and she has stated that Keep the Faith is "an apt title given personal and world events".

Childs became an Australian citizen in March 2022.

Discography

Albums TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertificationsAUS AUT NZ SWI UK Union Released: 1988 NZ: Platinum House of Hope Released: 1991 NZ: Gold The Woman's Boat Released: 1994 Label: DGC Records/ Geffen24———32————Keep the Faith Released: August 2008 Label: 429 Records / SLG150————————Citizens of the Planet Released: 2014 Label: Big Mother Records—————————It's All a Beautiful Noise Released: 2015 Label: Big Mother Records—————————"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertificationsAUS NZ: Gold Toni Childs: Ultimate Collection Released: 2000 Label: Hip-O Records——The Vault Released: 2018 Label: Big Mother Entertainment ——

Singles Year Title Chart positions Certifications Album AUS AUT GER NLD NZ UK US US Mod USDance 1988 "Stop Your Fussin'" 17 30 17 45 5 95 — — — Union "Don't Walk Away" 17 — 40 55 12 53 72 17 — "Walk and Talk Like Angels" 70 — — — — — — — — 1989 "Zimbabwae" 74 7 — — 31 — — — — "Many Rivers to Cross" 99 — — — 29 — — — — Lost Angels soundtrack 1991 "I've Got to Go Now" 5 — 78 — 19 — — — —AUS: Gold House of Hope "House of Hope" 39 — — — 27 — — — — 1992 "I Want to Walk with You" 110 — — — — — — — — "Heaven's Gate" — — — — — — — — — 1994 "Lay Down Your Pain" 193 — — — — 92 — — 13 The Woman's Boat 1995 "Fell from a Great Height" (Stephen Cummings + Toni Childs) 147 — — — — — — — — Falling Swinger (Stephen Cummings album) 1996 "Many Rivers to Cross" (re-issue) 12 — — — — — — — — The Very Best of Toni Childs 2004 "Because You're Beautiful" — — — — — — — — — non-album release 2008 "One Life" — — — — — — — — — Keep the Faith 2009 "Because You're Beautiful" (re-issue) — — — — — — — — —"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.