FLASHBACK: TONI BASIL, SHE WAS MORE THAN JUST "MICKEY"

Toni Basil, you may not know, was 37 years old and had been in show business almost 20 years by the time she hit #1 with Mickey in 1982. Did you know that? I didn't think so. Born in 1943, Toni had danced since she was a child growing up in Philadelphia and Las Vegas, but her first adult, professional gig was as assistant choreographer on the dance show Shindig! in 1964. Toni choreographed for countless shows and productions, like The Monkees' 1968 controversial film  Head, and also had pretty big acting roles in 1969's Easy Rider and 1970's Five Easy Pieces. Her choreography also appeared in American Graffiti, The Rose, My Best Friend's Wedding, Legally Blonde, The House Bunny and many, many more films. She's worked with Bette Midler since the 1970s, choreographing all of her stage shows and films and also choreographed Tina Turner Live: 50th Anniversary Concert Tour. She was a member of the dance group The Lockers, which popularized what would become breakdancing and are credited with changing the face of dance, merging street dance with ballet. (I included a live performance below that will blow away all the dance divas of today) Although Toni began recording in 1966 for A&M Records, she had only had cult success. She was a musical guest on the very first season of Saturday Night Live in 1975 due to her sold out show at the Roxy and an appearance on Merv Griffin. Finally in 1980 Toni covered an old song by the UK band Racey that was called Kitty. Toni changed the title character to a male and the song became Mickey. Using her experience as a high school cheerleader, Toni added the "Oh, Mickey, you're so fine" refrain, popped out an amazy video with the Las Vegas High cheerleaders and the rest is Hot 100

 history.The song went to #1 in 1982, almost two years after it was recorded, and is considered an 80s classic and one of, if not THE greatest music videos of the early MTV era. Toni was never able to notch another top 10 hit, but did manage two more Hot 100 hits, Shopping From A to Z (#77) and the amazing Over My Head (#81) and a second album. She is a dance legend and still shows up on So You Think You Can Dance every once in a while. She has an Emmy for choreography, Hip Hop International Living Legend Award, American Choreography Lifetime Achievement Award, and countless other nominations. Mickey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the most groundbreaking singles of the 1980s and was awarded a platinum certification. So you see, Toni is not just some random one-hit wonder from the 80s. This girl has been working her tail off for over 50 years. Here are three videos to show you what a real showgirl can do. Enjoy Toni Basil.