One-Hit Wondering – Toni Basil

Here’s how this works: Each week, I listen to the entire discography of a single one-hit wonder band – then I let you know if their other songs are worth listening to or not. This week: Toni Basil.

HEY MICKEY, YOU’RE SO FINE, YOU’RE SO FINE, YOU—are already singing the rest of it in your head, I’m sure. The ever-popular cheerleading anthem was a double platinum hit for artist Toni Basil (née Antonia Christina Basilotta), who topped the Billboard charts at #1 with this single in 1982. Whether you love the song or have a viscerally violent reaction against it, “Mickey” is inarguably a song that pretty much everybody knows. It’s kind of silly and overplayed, but it’s also freakin’ adorable in that sort of annoying, guilty pleasure way. And has there ever been an instance when this song has come on and you didn’t sing along? I’m looking at you too, boys.

Toni Basil has done everything from singing to acting to dancing and choreographing during her long career in the entertainment industry, but in her youth, she started off as a—yep, you guessed it—cheerleader. And not just any cheerleader, but head cheerleader. You can actually see her wearing her very own Las Vegas High uniform in the video for “Mickey,” which she choreographed herself:

It’s a bit funny when fully-grown adults are still really into high school culture. Basil was 39 years old when she released “Mickey,” which means she was reliving a youth that was more than two decades past. I think by the time I’m 39, I would either be too over it or my back would give out while doing one of those cheer moves. But she’s still got the moves (and spirit), so kudos to her.

Another weird thing is when covers are way more popular than the original version, which was the case with “Mickey,” a song that became an instant hit, while the original Racey version, “Kitty,” remained relatively unknown. Racey was probably missing that extra cheerleading spunk (after all, the “hey Mickey, you’re so fine” chant was Basil’s own touch) to take it to the multi-million-selling level of its girl-in-love cover version. I wonder if they are bitter about this.

“Mickey” originally appeared on Toni Basil’s 1982 album Word of Mouth and though none of the other tracks have the same sugary flavor of mainstream pop, I was surprisingly pleased by the album. It’s got that sort of off-beat female new wave sound, in vein of oddballs like Lene Lovich or Berlin. If you’re irritated by “Mickey” for the over-zealous and sickeningly flirty nature in which she chants about the boy she desires, check out tracks like “Nobody,” which has a very empowering chorus that has the right amount of girl power for just as good of a singalong: “Don’t want nobody! Don’t want nobody! Don’t want nobody! Don’t want nobody!” YEAH, GIRL, SING IT.

Aside from “Mickey,” there were a handful of other covers and re-recordings on Basil’s debut, which, to the unknowing ear, is hard to discern. A couple tracks were originally by Devo, like this reworking of “Pity You” into “You Gotta Problem.” But my favorite may be this Manfred Mann tune from 1965 that got a way cooler, synthier makeover:

Wait, what is this music video?

Toni returned with a sophomore album (self-titled) in 1983, but people had stopped giving a shit after “Mickey,” and she failed to make much of a musical comeback. I kind of get why she became a one-hit wonder, but her lack of commercial appeal as a musician thereafter seems more circumstantial than an actual reflection of her music. Despite what may be considered a “failure,” I enjoyedToni Basil just as much as I did Word of Mouth, whereas most musicians who make a hit with their debut suffer from serious sophomore slump. But honestly, songs like “Best Performance” could have easily been her next hit, don’t you think?:

And if the success of a girly, cheer-imitated tune like “Mickey” proved anything, “Go for the Burn” sounds like it could have been a successful single too. But, alas, lots of other could-have-been hits ran under the radar between those two albums.

If you were thinking 39 years of age is a little too old to start a pop career, Toni Basil actually put out her first single in 1966, when she was in her early 20s. It’s called “Breakaway” and it was featured in a short film of the same title.

Whoa, this woman knows how to adapt to the times. I have a whole new level of respect for Toni Basil after discovering these oldies. Just as impressive is that single’s B-side, “I’m 28”:

The video features scenes from the movie (1969) in which Basil plays the part of a hooker

Basil, though only 23 at the time, sings from the perspective of a 28-year-old about her fading girlish youth, crooning lines like, “my time is going, my fears are growing, my chances now are few”—which is funny because she ended up releasing her most popular and the most, like, high school song at almost 40 years of age. If anyone should think “age is just a number,” I would have thought Basil would know it best. Anyway, this is one of my favorite Toni Basil tracks; her vocal styling and the song in general is sort of reminiscent of Nico. I think another reason I’m so awe-stricken by this is because it’s so far removed from “Mickey” that I almost can’t believe it’s the same singer.

But I should know by now that I can’t be surprised by Basil and her myriad of talents. On top of acting, cheering, and singing, she also choreographed a roster of major stars, like David Bowie (on his 1974 tour) and Talking Heads (music videos), tons of films, and of course, her own stuff. More importantly, she was a founding member of the Lockers, a street dance group that formed in the 70s, with fellow dancer Don “Campbellock” Campbell. I totally saw someone do locking on So You Think You Can Dance once and it’s this crazy hybrid of hip-hop and jazz and a lot of rapid arm movements, which looks incredibly silly unless done by a pro. But yeah, Toni Basil not only won a ton of awards for dance and choreography, but she was also an influential factor in making street dance a big part of the American dance scene. That’s pretty fucking cool! So, psh—her one-hit wonder status ain’t no thang compared to all the other amazing stuff she’s done. By the time I was looking up her locking videos, I had completely forgotten that I was writing about the same person who sang that one “Mickey” song. Check this out:

Sing and dance on, Toni. You’re a true artist.

@kristenyoonsoo

Previously – The Vapors