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Here
is a beautiful song performed by the great jazz singer
Toni Harper. "Toni Harper's childhood was made of the
magic any aspiring adult artist would kill for: a
platinum record, a performance at Carnegie Hall,
evenings spent sharing a stage with such performers as
Cab Calloway, and invitations to appear on television
with Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Milton Berle, and Ed
Sullivan.
And all of the magic unfolded before she'd
turned 12 years old. The jazz vocalist, who now goes by
the name Toni Dunlap, got her big break in 1945 when she
went up against a couple hundred other kids at an
audition held by choreographer Nick Castle. Harper, who
had been a dance student of Maceo Anderson, passed
muster as far as her dancing, but when she sang "Waitin'
for the Train to Come In", she had the audition sewn up
on the spot. Castle cast her in his production of
Christmas Follies, which was staged at Los Angeles'
Wilshire Ebell Theatre. Harper drew enthusiastic reviews
and went on to earn a
platinum record when she was eight
years old with "Candy Store Blues". Harper paired with
Herb Jeffries for "You're Too Tall 'n' I'm Too Small",
the number for which she later paired
live with Calloway
at Los Angeles' Million Dollar Theatre.
Television
beckoned the young singer and she was a guest on
numerous programs, among them Sullivan's weekly variety
show. When she wasn't appearing on television, she was
singing at numerous New York hot spots that included the
Apollo, the Strand, and the Paramount. At the age of 11,
Harper topped it all off by singing at Carnegie Hall.
(...) The vocalist later signed with RCA Victor,
recording for the label for about four years and ending
in 1963. Harper quit the business in 1966 after devoting
more than 20 years to her singing career." (All Music
Guide) Enjoy Toni's great style! |