In high school, Harris joined a group with four other young singers: Barbara Parritt (later Toomer), June Montiero, Betty Stokes and Betty Blocker.[2]. They took a piano piece from a Bach exercise book ("Minuet in G major" by Christian Petzold), put a Motown bassline to it, and "A Lover's Concerto" was born; the song soon rose to number two on the U.S. charts. [3] In 1998, she produced and released her first solo CD entitled Barbara Now, for which she wrote all but two of the songs. She has also sung with Joe Rivers, known for Johnnie & Joe's hit, "Over The Mountain". Oh, see there beyond the hill, the bright colors of the rainbow; Some magic from above made this day for us, just to fall in love. Marc introduced them to songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell. The Toys - A Lover's Concerto. [1] Global sales of this disc exceeded two million copies, with a gold record awarded by the R.I.A.A. Harris continued to perform on public television and at 'Oldie Shows' as "The Toys featuring Barbara Harris". For the Thai musician, see, The group in 1965: June Montiero (left), Barbara Harris (center), and Barbara Parritt (right), Learn how and when to remove this template message, The Toys Sing "A Lover's Concerto" and "Attack! The Toys were an American pop girl group from Jamaica, New York, which was formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1968. The group became the Toys and landed their first recording contract on Crewe's DynoVoice Records. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1965 Vinyl release of A Lovers Concerto on Discogs. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1965 Vinyl release of A Lovers Concerto on Discogs. Stokes and Blocker eventually left the group, and Harris, Parritt and Montiero formed a trio. [1] Their most successful recording was "A Lover's Concerto" (1965), which sold over two million copies and reached the number two spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. At a talent show in Brooklyn, they met Eddy Chase, who in turn introduced them to manager Vince Marc and songwriter/recording executive Bob Crewe. How gentle is the rain, that falls softly on the meadow; Birds high upon the trees serenade the flow'rs with their melodies. [1], The Toys appeared on most of the major TV rock programs, like Hullabaloo and Shindig!. The Toys were an American pop girl group from Jamaica, New York, which was formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1968. in 1965. Bobby Uri, a manager and friend, named the group The Charlettes and got them work doing background vocals for several recording artists. Their most successful recording was "A Lover's Concerto" (1965), which sold over two million copies and reached the number two spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [1] They had a cameo role, performing their song "Attack!" also written by Linzer and Randell, which reached the Top 20. The band followed that up with another hit, "Attack!" They also produced the group's 1965-66 recordings on the DynoVoice record label. Label: Stateside - SP-4151 • Series: コンパクト 7 Stereo 33 R・P・M・ • Format: Vinyl 7 The Toys - A Lovers Concerto (1965, Vinyl) | Discogs In 1967, the group changed labels and producers, moving to Pitney's label, Musicor Records, but charted only one more minor single (a cover of Brian Hyland's "Sealed with a Kiss") before breaking up. Barbara Harris started singing in her hometown churches at an early age and moved to Queens, New York at the age of eleven. [1] Linzer and Randell wrote most of the songs they recorded. Their first U.S. tour was with Gene Pitney. Label: Stateside - SS 460 • Format: Vinyl 7 The Toys - A Lovers Concerto (1965, Vinyl) | Discogs This article is about the American girl group. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Toys&oldid=981929328, Articles needing additional references from November 2014, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 1966: "May My Heart Be Cast into Stone" (U.S. #85), This page was last edited on 5 October 2020, at 06:44.