Toby Lightman is an American singer-songwriter. Her first album, ''
Little Things'', was released in 2004 on
Lava/Atlantic. Her second album, ''
Bird on a Wire'' was released in 2006. During her career, she has toured and performed with bands such as
OAR,
Rob Thomas,
Jewel,
Gavin DeGraw
Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song " I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album ''Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB drama series ''One Tree ...
,
Train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often k ...
,
Prince
A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...
,
Marc Broussard, and
Carbon Leaf
Carbon Leaf is a quintet from Richmond, Virginia, known for their alt-country, Celtic, and folk-infused indie rock. Though some of the band members have changed through the years, Carbon Leaf has been consistently creating and performing mus ...
. Lightman released record "
Every Kind of People" October 2014. It is distributed by RED. Toby is managed by All Parts Move.
Biography
Raised in
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census. ...
, Lightman began playing the violin as a child. She was a member of the orchestra at
Cherry Hill High School East
Cherry Hill High School East (also known as Cherry Hill East or CHE) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Cherry Hill, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, operating as pa ...
and started singing when a friend urged her to join a vocal workshop class. The audience response to a solo performance in which Lightman sang a gospel version of
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of "T ...
's ''
Bridge Over Troubled Water'' led her to pursue her talents as a singer after she graduated from high school in 1996.
[Strauss, Robert]
"In Person; More Than Getting By With Help of Friends"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', December 26, 2004. Accessed October 27, 2018. "The 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Cherry Hill is home for a visit... And her big coup was singing a gospel chorus of ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'' at Cherry Hill High School East, where she graduated from in 1996."
Lightman taught herself to play the guitar and while in school at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
.
[
In 2004, Ari Martin of Nettwerk Management became Lightman's ]manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
. After seeing Lightman play a solo showcase for record executives and representatives, Jason Flom signed Lightman to Lava Records
Lava Records (Lava Music, LLC) is an American record label owned by Jason Flom in partnership with Universal Music Group.
Company history
In 1995, Flom launched Lava Records in partnership with Atlantic Records. For the next decade, he continu ...
, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...
.
Lightman released her debut ''Little Things'' through Lava on March 30, 2004. The Album was produced by Peter Zizzo. A second version of ''Little Things'' was released on July 20, 2004, that included a bonus cover track of Mary J. Blige's 1992 hit single ''Real Love Real Love may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Real Love'' (film), a film by Claire Burger
Music
Albums
* ''Real Love'' (Derek Johnson album)
* ''Real Love'' (Dolly Parton album), or the title song (see below)
* ''Real Love'' (Lisa Stansf ...
''. The song was released as the album's second single and a music video was filmed to promote the track.
In late 2005, Lightman appeared on Lava Records
Lava Records (Lava Music, LLC) is an American record label owned by Jason Flom in partnership with Universal Music Group.
Company history
In 1995, Flom launched Lava Records in partnership with Atlantic Records. For the next decade, he continu ...
label mates O.A.R.'s ''Stories of a Stranger
''Stories of a Stranger'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band O.A.R. (Of a Revolution). The album was released on October 4, 2005 by Everfine Records and Lava Records, and debuted and peaked at #40 on the ''Billboard'' 200.
Thre ...
''. On that album, which peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artist ...
, Lightman sang alongside O.A.R. frontman Marc Roberge on the track "The Stranger". Lightman was then featured as a VH1 ''You Oughta Know'' artist and as an MTV ''You Hear It First'' artist. She also appeared on such shows as Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, CBS's Morning show Second Cup, ESPN's Cold Pizza, A&E's Breakfast with the Arts and various others.
''Bird on a Wire'', Lightman's second record was released on July 25, 2006, on Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...
. "My Sweet Song" from ''Bird on a Wire'' was featured near the end of the ''Boston Legal
''Boston Legal'' is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004 ...
'' episode, "Desperately Seeking Shirley" while also featuring in the closing scene of the '' Bones'' episode, "The Maggots In The Meathead". It was also featured in the soundtrack to the movie P.S. I Love You. The song "Slippin'" appeared on ABC's '' Brothers & Sisters''. Lightman performed the opening theme to Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
' coverage of the NASCAR racing season with a song titled "NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...
Love (Let's Go Racing)".
Lightman released her third album, ''Let Go'' on her own T Killa Records label on July 15, 2008. The album is being sold through digital retailers like iTunes and amazon.com. The album will also be available for sale through the Home Shopping Network
HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Fl ...
. The song "Let Go" & "One Day" from ''Let Go'' will be featured in a series of commercials to air on HSN. The song "Let Go" has also appeared on ABC's Brothers & Sisters and Dirty, Sexy, Money. A new song "Color" is on a new benefit compilation that was released by the Hard Rock Cafe and the folks from World Hunger Year.
On June 5, 2010, Lightman released her fourth album, ''Know Where I'm From'' also on her T Killa Records label. This album contains 11 acoustic versions of her previously released songs.
In 2011, Lightman's new song "Holding a Heart" was featured in the film '' What's Your Number?'', credited to "Girl Named Toby". Also, another new song "Addicted" by Lightman was never released as an official single, but was featured as a promo of the twelfth episode from the eighth season of ''Desperate Housewives
''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a to ...
'' and in the television film '' Mean Girls 2''. Lightman subsequently released the song under her own name on her five-song EP ''Holding a Heart'' in 2013.
On October 27, 2014, she released the album "Every Kind of People," using the PledgeMusic
PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...
platform to reach out to her fans to support the making of the record and interacting with them through frequent updates, special offers and private performances.
Toby is currently writing, producing and mixing new songs for a new album due later this year. "Spaces" released on February 1, 2018, was the first song of this series. "Breathe In" is to be released April 24, 2018. These songs mark the journey she took to motherhood.
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lightman, Toby
1978 births
Living people
American women singer-songwriters
Atlantic Records artists
Lava Records artists
Singer-songwriters from New Jersey
Cherry Hill High School East alumni
People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
21st-century American women singers
21st-century American singers