Toni Childs, an Emmy Winner and three-time Grammy-nominated recording artist, has captivated audiences in over 50 countries with her powerful voice, independent spirit, and crafted storytelling. She is a celebrated artist known for her captivating performances and profound musical expression.
Born in Orange, California, Childs spent her childhood in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nevada. Raised in a household dominated by her parents' religious values, Childs stated in a 1988 article for Time magazine that she and her three brothers "were not allowed to listen to pop music or rock or even go to the movies. There was a lot I missed out on."
Early Musical Explorations
At the age of 15, Childs ran away from home and became a blues musician. 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.
Toni Childs - I've Got To Go Now
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London and the Seeds of World Music
In 1981, she signed a song publishing deal with Island Music which financed her move to London. There she lived in an empty office of a local recording studio, sweeping floors and dusting consoles in exchange for rent and recording experience. While in London, Childs played with various musicians in various band configurations: David Rhodes (who had worked with Peter Gabriel), Mike Cotzi (Shriekback), Martin Swaine (The Waterboys, World Party), Steve Creese (World Party), and Duncan Kilburn (The Psychedelic Furs).
During her stay in the vitally global music scene of early-80s London, the seeds of world music were planted, later to be heard on Childs's first album. In 1983, Childs provided backing vocals on Scottish band the Europeans' track "A.E.I.O.U".
Breakthrough with "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. 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.
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".
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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". 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.
Chart Performance and Certifications for "Union"
The album achieved significant success in various regions:
| Region | Peak Position | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 1 | Platinum |
| Australia | - | 2x Platinum |
"House of Hope" and Darker Themes
Childs’ second album House of Hope yielded huge success in Australia and New Zealand with "I've Got to Go Now". since its release in 1991 up to 2006. The title track was featured on the "Thelma & Louise" soundtrack, and instrumental excerpts from "Heaven's Gate" have been used in American television shows.
The album covered some rather dark ground-such as domestic abuse in "I've Got to Go Now", world troubles in "House of Hope", incest and sexual abuse in the harrowing "Daddy's Song", addiction in "Where's the Light" and "Put This Fire Out", and death in "Heaven's Gate", "Dead Are Dancing", and "Three Days". Of the album, Childs stated she believed that "when we have the courage to share our darkest parts and our purest nature with each other we are evolution in action.
"The Woman's Boat" and Geffen Records
Following her departure from A&M, Childs was signed by Geffen Records. She then released her third album, The Woman's Boat, in 1994. The album's emphasis on femininity and womanhood was framed by the opening track "Womb" and the closing track "Death". Cameos on the album from Peter Gabriel, Robert Fripp, and Zap Mama echoed the world beat of her earlier albums.
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The Woman's Boat featured more programming and computer-based textures than the previous two albums, notably "Welcome to the World" and the single "Lay Down Your Pain", and it contains some darker tracks such as "Predator" and "I Just Want Affection", mixed with mellow highlights "Long Time Coming" and "I Met a Man" (featuring Peter Gabriel). While the album did not elicit a lot of reviewer response, Q magazine described it as "epic" in its scope. Although she was nominated for another Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance, the album sold poorly because Gary Gersh her original A&R man left Geffen to become head of Capitol Records and hire her then manager Perry Watts-Russell to head Capitol's A&R, and Childs was again left without a record label.
"The Very Best of Toni Childs"
In 1996, The Very Best of Toni Childs was released, becoming the fifth-biggest-selling album of 1996 in Australia on the back of the re-release of her cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross", which she recorded in 1989.
Collaboration with Eve Ensler and Recovery
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 resided in Hawaii where she made a recovery from Graves' disease and slowly re-entered into performing live and recording. 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".
It consists of eleven new songs and the track "Because You're Beautiful". Originally available direct from the artist, Keep the Faith is distributed on general release in the United States by 429 Records (part of the Savoy group of record companies) as of January 2009. The album was released in Australia in August 2008, featuring first single "One Life".
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