Toni Harper was a child singer in the 1940s-50s with a remarkably mature voice. She is your Phantom Dancer feature this week.

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TONI

Toni Harper aka Toni Dunlap, was an American child singer with a remarkably mature voice. She retired from performing at the age of 29

Learning dance under Maceo Anderson, Harper was cast by the choreographer Nick Castle in Christmas Follies, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles, at age 8, in 1945.

She went on to perform on stage with Herb Jeffries and Cab Calloway.

In 1946, age 9, she recorded “Candy Store Blues”. It became a platinum record

She appeared twice on Toast of the Town (later The Ed Sullivan Show) in 1949, and made her third and final appearance on the show in 1950.

She sung on the Jubilee radio show in 1947 with Count Basie and made another Jubilee aircheck 24 December 1948.

Harper performed at the third annual Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles on September 7, 1947 at age 9.

She sung at the eighth Cavalcade of Jazz concert on June 1, 1952.

After success as a child singer, Harper recorded her first album, Toni, for Verve Records in 1955, with the Oscar Peterson trio, at age 18.

She made two further albums, arranged by Marty Paich, Lady Lonely (1959) and Night Mood (1960), for RCA Victor.

Harper toured Japan with Cannonball Adderley in 1963, and appeared in the film How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965.

She retired from performing in 1966 and died in 2023.