Biography
Born on August 18, 1945, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Barbara Ann Harris served as lead singer for the 1960s pop ensemble the Toys. Speaking exclusively on Boston’s AM 1670 during the December 6, 2000, edition of the Pop Explosion broadcast, she recounted her earliest musical experiences: “My aunt is…I guess you would say a pastor, she used to be an evangelist but she kind of graduated and I think she’s a pastor now. She owns a church out in Queens, NY, and she’s always asking me to come and do concerts for her….I’ve been singing since I was a little girl, I grew up in North Carolina, we’re from North Carolina, there was a church at the end of the block so I was down there all the time, anytime it was open. I was down there singing my little heart out. I think in those days when we were small that’s what we had to hold onto (gospel music), singing and playing the tambourine, it was something to just hold on to and get involved in and work the voices out.” Her authorized biography records that, already at age eight, she performed as a featured vocalist in churches throughout her hometown and surrounding communities. At eleven she relocated to New York, settling in St. Albans, Queens, where dancing became her second consuming interest; she routinely understated her age to gain entry to the Terrace Ballroom, watched touring vocal groups, and consistently won the venue’s dance competitions.
While attending high school she encountered Barbara Parritt Toomer (born October 1, 1944, in Wilmington, North Carolina) and June Montiero (born July 1, 1946, in Jamaica, New York) and was invited to join their vocal trio. In March 2002 she informed the All Media Guide that the act had previously been known as the Charletts until her arrival. The three singers harmonized on street corners after school; a mutual acquaintance, Bobby Uri, escorted them to 1650 Broadway, where they supplied background vocals for emerging recording artists. At a Brooklyn talent show they attracted the notice of Eddie Chase, who introduced them to manager Vince Marc (formerly Vinny Marcaise). Harris later recalled for AMG: “His name was Eddy Chase. He was a guy who used to go around to shows checking young artists out. I think he worked for Vinny long before we came along. But he saw us at a talent show…in fact…I was helping (the girls in) the Charletts out in the talent show and he heard it and he liked the sound. I think that’s how I stayed with the group. He brought us to Vinny.”
During the December 2000 radio conversation she described how she assumed the lead position: “I wasn’t the lead singer at the time, it was the other Barbara (Parritt), one of the original Toys (Charletts). So they (producers Linzer and Randell) asked all three of us to sing, I went last, I had just joined the group, actually. When I sang they thought my voice was the most ‘commercialized’ voice, I guess that’s what you would say. So they picked me to lead the song.” The official biography notes that Chase presented the singers to several figures crucial to their breakthrough, foremost among them Bob Crewe of DynaVoice Records. Manager Vince Marc rechristened the trio the Toys, secured their initial recording agreement, and paired them with songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell. The writers transformed Bach’s “Minuet in G” by adding a Motown bass line, thereby creating “A Lover’s Concerto.” The track’s distinctive classical-pop fusion appeared two years before Procol Harum drew upon Bach’s “Sleepers Awake,” and Harris’s vocal on the single reportedly prompted Motown staff to play it repeatedly while seeking to craft a comparable song, resulting in “I Hear a Symphony.”
Fred Bronson’s Billboard Book of #1 Hits places the Toys’ “A Lover’s Concerto” at number two, directly beneath the Rolling Stones’ “Get Off of My Cloud,” while the Supremes’ “I Hear a Symphony,” recorded September 22, 1965, and rush-released, occupies the top position on the following page. Within the Supremes box set the Toys’ hit is cited as the foremost “tribute” to the group, although Holland-Dozier-Holland clearly adapted riffs originated by Linzer and Randell, going so far as to include a version of Harris’s signature song on the I Hear a Symphony album. The Toys appeared in the 1967 American International Pictures beach film It’s a Bikini World and performed on Hullabaloo, Shindig, American Bandstand, and numerous additional television and radio programs. Harris also contributed session vocals for Crewe’s label, including at least one release by Diane Renay; her husband Kenneth Wiltshire has suggested she may be heard on “Navy Blue,” while engineer and disc jockey Little Walter DeVenne identifies her voice on “Kiss Me Sailor.”
The official biography states that the group next signed with Philips Records and producer Alan Lorber, then moved in 1968 to Art Talmadge’s Musicor Records, where they scored a national R&B Top 50 hit with their cover of Brian Hyland’s “Sealed With a Kiss,” a major success in New York City. After several years Harris stepped away to raise her family; Charlotte Dillon’s original AMG entry observes that she “married a musician and raised seven children. She never left her musical aspiration completely behind though, and performed in clubs off and on, offering new and old fans a taste of blues, R&B, rock & roll, jazz, and even gospel.”
The original Toys reunited in 1988 for two years of concerts, nightclub dates, and oldies revues; although they no longer perform together, the members have sustained their friendship. Harris now lives in Staten Island, fronts her current ensemble Rhythm & Babs, and has maintained a steady schedule of appearances throughout New Jersey since 1995. She continues to headline oldies presentations for Richard Nader, Dick Fox, and Herby Cox billed as “Barbara Harris of the Toys.” On April 18, 1998, she participated in the From the Heart benefit at Nassau Coliseum, and the revived group toured Florida for Nader in winter 2000. She told AMG that Denise Fitz-Johnson (“Cissy”) and Dee Dee Reeves joined her in 1998; Cissy was later succeeded by Robin Trawick, after which Dee Dee was replaced by Cissy. Both Cissy and Robin are from Plainfield, New Jersey, and together with Harris constituted the 2002 lineup of the Toys. Harris also performed with Joe Rivers of the 1950s duo Johnny & Joe, whose biggest single was “Over the Mountain.” Around 1999/2000 Barbara Parritt Toomer assumed the role, filling in during a scheduling conflict and remaining thereafter; Harris remarked to AMG in April 2002, “She filled in for me once when I had a conflict and did so well that Joe Rivers and I decided to let her keep the gig.”
In 1998 Harris issued her debut solo album, Barbara Now, on Baheeja Records, co-producing the project with Jerome Mitchell and her husband Ken Wiltshire. She composed all but one track; the remaining song, “I Can’t Wait to See You,” was written by Mitchell and her daughter Shahidah Wiltshire, who also contributed background vocals while employed at a bank and pursuing athletics. Harris described the album on her website www.barbarastoys.net as “very contemporary—a surprising and pleasing expansion of what audiences heard from the days of the Chiffons and the Shangri-Las,” adding that the intent had been “to show all the avenues I’ve taken in my life as far as music is concerned.” Kenneth Wiltshire constructed a home studio equipped with a 16-track digital recorder where she continues to develop new material; the follow-up album, begun in 2002, incorporates songs co-written with French composer Philippe Arcostanzo, with whom the couple collaborates via the internet. Collectible pricing guides such as Goldmine continue to list near-mint stereo copies of “A Lover’s Concerto”/“Attack” at forty dollars, confirming ongoing demand for Harris’s recorded legacy.
While attending high school she encountered Barbara Parritt Toomer (born October 1, 1944, in Wilmington, North Carolina) and June Montiero (born July 1, 1946, in Jamaica, New York) and was invited to join their vocal trio. In March 2002 she informed the All Media Guide that the act had previously been known as the Charletts until her arrival. The three singers harmonized on street corners after school; a mutual acquaintance, Bobby Uri, escorted them to 1650 Broadway, where they supplied background vocals for emerging recording artists. At a Brooklyn talent show they attracted the notice of Eddie Chase, who introduced them to manager Vince Marc (formerly Vinny Marcaise). Harris later recalled for AMG: “His name was Eddy Chase. He was a guy who used to go around to shows checking young artists out. I think he worked for Vinny long before we came along. But he saw us at a talent show…in fact…I was helping (the girls in) the Charletts out in the talent show and he heard it and he liked the sound. I think that’s how I stayed with the group. He brought us to Vinny.”
During the December 2000 radio conversation she described how she assumed the lead position: “I wasn’t the lead singer at the time, it was the other Barbara (Parritt), one of the original Toys (Charletts). So they (producers Linzer and Randell) asked all three of us to sing, I went last, I had just joined the group, actually. When I sang they thought my voice was the most ‘commercialized’ voice, I guess that’s what you would say. So they picked me to lead the song.” The official biography notes that Chase presented the singers to several figures crucial to their breakthrough, foremost among them Bob Crewe of DynaVoice Records. Manager Vince Marc rechristened the trio the Toys, secured their initial recording agreement, and paired them with songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell. The writers transformed Bach’s “Minuet in G” by adding a Motown bass line, thereby creating “A Lover’s Concerto.” The track’s distinctive classical-pop fusion appeared two years before Procol Harum drew upon Bach’s “Sleepers Awake,” and Harris’s vocal on the single reportedly prompted Motown staff to play it repeatedly while seeking to craft a comparable song, resulting in “I Hear a Symphony.”
Fred Bronson’s Billboard Book of #1 Hits places the Toys’ “A Lover’s Concerto” at number two, directly beneath the Rolling Stones’ “Get Off of My Cloud,” while the Supremes’ “I Hear a Symphony,” recorded September 22, 1965, and rush-released, occupies the top position on the following page. Within the Supremes box set the Toys’ hit is cited as the foremost “tribute” to the group, although Holland-Dozier-Holland clearly adapted riffs originated by Linzer and Randell, going so far as to include a version of Harris’s signature song on the I Hear a Symphony album. The Toys appeared in the 1967 American International Pictures beach film It’s a Bikini World and performed on Hullabaloo, Shindig, American Bandstand, and numerous additional television and radio programs. Harris also contributed session vocals for Crewe’s label, including at least one release by Diane Renay; her husband Kenneth Wiltshire has suggested she may be heard on “Navy Blue,” while engineer and disc jockey Little Walter DeVenne identifies her voice on “Kiss Me Sailor.”
The official biography states that the group next signed with Philips Records and producer Alan Lorber, then moved in 1968 to Art Talmadge’s Musicor Records, where they scored a national R&B Top 50 hit with their cover of Brian Hyland’s “Sealed With a Kiss,” a major success in New York City. After several years Harris stepped away to raise her family; Charlotte Dillon’s original AMG entry observes that she “married a musician and raised seven children. She never left her musical aspiration completely behind though, and performed in clubs off and on, offering new and old fans a taste of blues, R&B, rock & roll, jazz, and even gospel.”
The original Toys reunited in 1988 for two years of concerts, nightclub dates, and oldies revues; although they no longer perform together, the members have sustained their friendship. Harris now lives in Staten Island, fronts her current ensemble Rhythm & Babs, and has maintained a steady schedule of appearances throughout New Jersey since 1995. She continues to headline oldies presentations for Richard Nader, Dick Fox, and Herby Cox billed as “Barbara Harris of the Toys.” On April 18, 1998, she participated in the From the Heart benefit at Nassau Coliseum, and the revived group toured Florida for Nader in winter 2000. She told AMG that Denise Fitz-Johnson (“Cissy”) and Dee Dee Reeves joined her in 1998; Cissy was later succeeded by Robin Trawick, after which Dee Dee was replaced by Cissy. Both Cissy and Robin are from Plainfield, New Jersey, and together with Harris constituted the 2002 lineup of the Toys. Harris also performed with Joe Rivers of the 1950s duo Johnny & Joe, whose biggest single was “Over the Mountain.” Around 1999/2000 Barbara Parritt Toomer assumed the role, filling in during a scheduling conflict and remaining thereafter; Harris remarked to AMG in April 2002, “She filled in for me once when I had a conflict and did so well that Joe Rivers and I decided to let her keep the gig.”
In 1998 Harris issued her debut solo album, Barbara Now, on Baheeja Records, co-producing the project with Jerome Mitchell and her husband Ken Wiltshire. She composed all but one track; the remaining song, “I Can’t Wait to See You,” was written by Mitchell and her daughter Shahidah Wiltshire, who also contributed background vocals while employed at a bank and pursuing athletics. Harris described the album on her website www.barbarastoys.net as “very contemporary—a surprising and pleasing expansion of what audiences heard from the days of the Chiffons and the Shangri-Las,” adding that the intent had been “to show all the avenues I’ve taken in my life as far as music is concerned.” Kenneth Wiltshire constructed a home studio equipped with a 16-track digital recorder where she continues to develop new material; the follow-up album, begun in 2002, incorporates songs co-written with French composer Philippe Arcostanzo, with whom the couple collaborates via the internet. Collectible pricing guides such as Goldmine continue to list near-mint stereo copies of “A Lover’s Concerto”/“Attack” at forty dollars, confirming ongoing demand for Harris’s recorded legacy.
Albums
