The Toys were an American popgirl group from Jamaica, New York, which was formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1968.[1] Their most successful recording was "A Lover's Concerto" (1965), which sold more than two million copies and reached the number-two spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Barbara Harris started singing in her hometown churches at an early age and moved to Queens, New York, when she was 11 years old. In high school, she joined a group with four other young singers: Barbara Parritt (later Toomer), June Montiero, Betty Stokes and Betty Blocker.[3]
Stokes and Blocker eventually left the group, and Harris, Parritt and Montiero formed a trio. Bobby Uri, a manager and friend, named the group The Charlettes, and got them work doing background vocals for several recording artists. 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. The group became the Toys and landed their first recording contract on Crewe's DynoVoice Records.
Marc introduced them to songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell.[1] Linzer and Randell wrote most of the songs they recorded. 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. Billboard Hot 100. The band followed that up with another hit, "Attack!", also written by Linzer and Randell, which reached the Top 20.
Harris continued to perform on public television and at "Oldie Shows" as "The Toys featuring Barbara Harris". She has also sung with Joe Rivers, known for Johnnie & Joe's hit, "Over The Mountain". In 1998, she produced and released her first solo CD entitled Barbara Now, for which she wrote all but two of the songs. In 2016, she released the singles, "Forever Spring" and "(Rock 'n' Roll) Soothes The Soul".
