Where are they now? Toni Basil

Antonia Christina Basilotta, born on 22 September 1943 and better know as Toni Basil, is such a big part of the 1980’s pop music story, even though she really only had one major hit song.

Okay, to be fair, that hit song was a multi-million-selling worldwide hit which reached number 1 in several countries!

The chorus of ‘Oh Mickey, you’re so fine, you’re so fine, you blow my mind’ is as popular now as it was the first time it made airplay on radio in 1981.

Music was very much part of her family life growing up in Philadelphia as her father, Louis Basilotta, was an orchestra leader who conducted orchestras at the Chicago Theatre and in Las Vegas for many years.

Toni certainly has her share of talent, working as a singer, actress, choreographer, dancer, and eventually filmmaker over the years.

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The song, ‘Mickey’, shot to number 1 on the Billboard charts in December 1982, largely credited to the major exposure it garnered on the then very new channel, MTV.

It went on to be her only real music hit and sadly she would never top the charts again, even with the release of her second self-titled album.

She acted in several movies like ‘Easy Rider’ and ‘Five Easy Pieces’, and she also did all the choreography for the 1973 movie, ‘American Graffiti’, and appeared on the TV show, ‘Laverne and Shirley’.

Thanks, Toni, for giving us ‘Mickey’ - we think you are pretty fine yourself!

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Listen to East Coast Gold here.

Image Credit: Toni Basil/Mickey/Album Cover