Anthony Jeffrey (born February 17, 1949), also known as Tonetta, is a Canadian musician and visual artist who, in the early 1980s, began living as a recluse and recording original music on cassettes after separating from his wife. In 2008, he started his first

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel, which led to his

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

debut. His YouTube account, as well as many subsequent accounts established under other usernames, have been banned repeatedly for violating the site's content rules.

Life and career

Anthony Jeffrey was born on February 17, 1949, in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.

Style and recognition

According to Jeffrey, "Tonetta" refers more specifically to his female

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

. He said that many of his songs are inspired by real life people or incidents and cited

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

as his primary influence. Of his music tastes, he said: "I like

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. I followed

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

artists. ... After ennondied, I didn't know who to follow anymore. It was around then I started writing anyway so it kinda worked out." Critics have variously described Tonetta as "the savior of

lo-fi music Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

", "a pure artist", and a combination of "repulsion and intrigue". In the description of music writer Johnny Dee, "For every YouTube comment that finds Tonetta hilarious or repellent there are dozens from people who have discovered that, beyond the shock value, is ica genuine outsider pop artist." Tonetta is best known for his song "Pressure Zone". Jeffrey was interviewed on Season 5, Episode 14 of the American television series ''

Tosh.0 ''Tosh.0'' ( ) is an American comedy television series that aired on Comedy Central from June 4, 2009, to November 24, 2020. The series was hosted and produced by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provided satirical commentary on online viral video clips ...

''. South California rock band

the Growlers The Growlers is an American band from southern California. They began their career in the Orange County city of Dana Point, California in 2006. They are currently based in Costa Mesa.Reynolds, Wyoming (2018)The Growlers Hope Beach Goth's LA Sh ...

covered Tonetta's song, "Drugs, Drugs, Drugs", during various live performances, notably their 2012

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

setlist.

Personal life

As of 2011, Jeffrey lived in

, as a part-time

upholsterer Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially chair, seats, with padding, Spring (device), springs, webbing, and textile, fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' com ...

. He was previously married to a woman until 1983, and has two sons. He has not talked to his wife or seen his children since 1983, when his sons were eight and 10 years old. One of his sons reconnected with him by email shortly after Jeffrey began posting music to YouTube in 2008, but stopped writing once Tonetta began "puttin’ on the dresses and stuff."

Discography

Studio albums

* ''777'' (2010) * ''777 Vol II'' (2010) * ''777 Vol III'' (2011) * ''Red Wine'' (2013)

Singles

* "Get It Going" b/w "Mmm Mama!" (2010)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonetta 1949 births Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian punk rock musicians Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian experimental musicians Cross-dressers Living people Lo-fi musicians Male-to-female cross-dressers Outsider musicians Singers from Toronto