Toni Basil was born Antonia Christina Basilotta, but her date of birth is a matter of some speculation – estimates seem to veer between 1943 and 1950.
She started her career as a dancer on the 1960s music show Shindig!and quickly made a name for herself as a choreographer, working on a slew of TV shows and films, including concert film The TAMI Show, Viva Las Vegasand The Monkees’ opus Head.
Amongst all this, she managed to sign a deal with A&M Records, who released Breakaway as her debut single in 1966.
Her hit record Mickey (1982) – written by pop overlords Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn – was originally called Kitty and recorded by British soft-poppers Racey.
Although Toni never enjoyed any more hits, she did direct the Once In A Lifetime video for Talking Heads.
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She started her career as a dancer on the 1960s music show Shindig! and quickly made a name for herself as a choreographer, working on a slew of TV shows and films, including concert film The TAMI Show, Viva Las Vegas and The Monkees’ opus Head. 
