Biography
Born May 26, 1939, in Selma, AL, and raised in Columbus, GA, Oscar Toney, Jr., sang gospel during his church and high-school years alongside the Sensational Melodies of Joy. After graduation he moved into secular music, joining the Searchers for the 1958 Class Records single “Wow Wow Baby” b/w “Ooo-Wee.” The group continued playing local and regional dates until 1961, when they issued their last release, “Yvonne” b/w “Little Wanda,” on Max Records; neither side attracted attention and the Searchers dissolved. Three years later Toney made his solo debut with “Can It All Be Love,” cut under the supervision of Bobby Smith in Macon, GA, yet issued on Cincinnati’s King Records, where it likewise failed to register.
Toney soon formed a friendship with Pensacola, FL-based DJ and producer Papa Don Schroeder, who had already worked with Mighty Sam McClain and James & Bobby Purify. Schroeder kept Toney on hand as an occasional substitute for James or Bobby and, impressed by his voice, secured a production agreement with Bell Records in 1967. Schroeder immediately escorted him to Memphis, TN, and Chips Moman, resulting in an impassioned reading of Jerry Butler & the Impressions’ “For Your Precious Love.” The track reached number four R&B and number 23 pop, prompting King Records to rush out the previously unissued “I Found True Love.”
Subsequent Bell singles proved far less successful. A late-1967 revival of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Turn on Your Love Light” climbed only to number 37 R&B and number 65 pop. Four further Bell releases appeared in 1968; all but a Clyde McPhatter cover, “Without Love (There Is Nothing),” which barely charted, disappeared without impact. One additional Toney single, “Down in Texas” b/w “Ain’t That True Love,” surfaced on Bell in 1969 before the label relationship ended with Schroeder’s departure from the music business.
In 1970 Toney moved to Phil Walden’s Capricorn Records and issued “Down on My Knees,” a regional Southern favorite that never expanded beyond that territory. Three additional Capricorn singles met similar indifference, and the association concluded in 1973. Throughout his pursuit of recording success Toney supported himself chiefly through live work, frequently traveling to England where Northern soul audiences embraced his deep ballads more consistently than American listeners. Contempo Records chief John Abbey signed him, also attempting to revive the careers of J.J. Barnes and other U.S. soul artists; the resulting six Contempo 45s and one LP produced no commercial return. Before the 1980s began, Toney abandoned secular music after twenty-three years that yielded only a single major hit, returning instead to gospel, his original musical home.
Toney soon formed a friendship with Pensacola, FL-based DJ and producer Papa Don Schroeder, who had already worked with Mighty Sam McClain and James & Bobby Purify. Schroeder kept Toney on hand as an occasional substitute for James or Bobby and, impressed by his voice, secured a production agreement with Bell Records in 1967. Schroeder immediately escorted him to Memphis, TN, and Chips Moman, resulting in an impassioned reading of Jerry Butler & the Impressions’ “For Your Precious Love.” The track reached number four R&B and number 23 pop, prompting King Records to rush out the previously unissued “I Found True Love.”
Subsequent Bell singles proved far less successful. A late-1967 revival of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Turn on Your Love Light” climbed only to number 37 R&B and number 65 pop. Four further Bell releases appeared in 1968; all but a Clyde McPhatter cover, “Without Love (There Is Nothing),” which barely charted, disappeared without impact. One additional Toney single, “Down in Texas” b/w “Ain’t That True Love,” surfaced on Bell in 1969 before the label relationship ended with Schroeder’s departure from the music business.
In 1970 Toney moved to Phil Walden’s Capricorn Records and issued “Down on My Knees,” a regional Southern favorite that never expanded beyond that territory. Three additional Capricorn singles met similar indifference, and the association concluded in 1973. Throughout his pursuit of recording success Toney supported himself chiefly through live work, frequently traveling to England where Northern soul audiences embraced his deep ballads more consistently than American listeners. Contempo Records chief John Abbey signed him, also attempting to revive the careers of J.J. Barnes and other U.S. soul artists; the resulting six Contempo 45s and one LP produced no commercial return. Before the 1980s began, Toney abandoned secular music after twenty-three years that yielded only a single major hit, returning instead to gospel, his original musical home.
Albums
