The Toys are a great example of one facet of the 60s music scene – the quick rise to fame and the equally rapid decline of fortune.
The three girls met at the Woodrow Wilson High School in New York, and on leaving decided to try and make a career in music for themselves.
They rehearsed frantically before auditioning for Genius Records, who were greatly impressed with their ability and signed them to a recording contract.
Their first hit was Sandy Linzer and Denny Rendell’s million-seller A Lover’s Concerto (1965) – based on a Bach melody. It made the Top 10 in both America and Britain and numerous television appearances followed for the trio, on both sides of the Atlantic – as did a US tour with Gene Pitney.
In 1966 they had their second hit with Attack! and recorded a top-selling album, with the cumbersome (albeit descriptive) title, The Toys Sing A Lover’s Concerto And Attack.
And that was it. The public had had enough of the gimmicky sound and the threesome called it a day in 1968, sinking forever into obscurity.
Barbara Harris
Vocals
Barbara Parritt
Vocals
June Montiero
Vocals
