Toronto was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band formed in the late 1970s in

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, and perhaps best known for the top-ten

hit " Your Daddy Don't Know" (which also cracked the U.S. pop charts), and for writing and performing the original version of "

What About Love "What About Love" is a song originally recorded by Canadian rock band Toronto in 1982. It was later recorded by American rock band Heart in 1985 and was released as the first single from the band's self-titled album, ''Heart''. The band's "come ...

," a song that would later become a top-ten comeback single for the band

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

Biography

The band started when singer Annie "Holly" Woods met guitarist Brian Allen. The line-up was initially rounded out by guitarist/backing vocalist Sheron Alton, keyboardist Scott Kreyer, bassist Nick Costello, and drummer Jimmy Fox, but shifted constantly through the band's life. Toronto's first album, '' Lookin' for Trouble'', was released in 1980. Its lead single "Even The Score" was a minor hit, just missing the Canadian Top 40. '' Head On'' (1981) followed, after which Costello and Fox left the band, and were replaced by Gary LaLonde (later of

Honeymoon Suite Honeymoon Suite is a Canadians, Canadian rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band's name was a nod to the fact that Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world. History 1981–1985 The band was origina ...

) and Barry Connors (later of Coney Hatch). The band was nominated for a Juno in 1981 for "Most Promising Group of the Year" along with

Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Calgary, Alberta in 1979. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly "Turn Me Loose (Loverboy song), Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still hear ...

, Martha & the Muffins, Red Rider and

Powder Blues Band The Powder Blues Band is a Canadian musical band formed in 1978 in Vancouver. Its first album ''Uncut'' went double platinum in Canada. The second album ''Thirsty Ears'' was similarly popular. Their best known songs include: "Boppin' with the Blu ...

(winner). This sextet recorded '' Get It on Credit'' in 1982. Its lead single "Your Daddy Don't Know" reached top 5 in Canada, and No. 77 in the US. It remains their best-known hit. "Your Daddy Don't Know" was nominated for a Juno Award in 1983 for Composer of the Year (the song was written by Geoff Iwamoto and Michael Roth). Lalonde was then replaced by Mike Gingrich for 1983's '' Girls' Night Out'' in 1983. This album also received attention, as did the band's ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' album of 1984. In 1984, Holly Woods was nominated for a Juno for "Female Vocalist of the Year" along with

Dalbello Lisa Concetta Dal Bello (born 22 May 1959), also known as Dalbello, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She released three albums in the pop and pop/rock genre in her late teens, from 1977 through 1981 under her full name. In 1984, she re-e ...

, Shari Ulrich and

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

(winner). There were subsequently several exits and entrances in 1984 and 1985, with founding members Allen and Alton leaving, along with drummer Connors. They were replaced by Marty Walsh (guitars), Daryl Alvaro (guitars) and Paul Hanna (drums), and the band rechristened themselves Holly Woods and Toronto. In 1985, the re-vamped sextet released their final album, '' Assault and Flattery''. It featured the single "New Romance", written by

Holly Knight Holly Knight (born 1956) is an American songwriter, musician, and singer. She was a member of the 1980s pop rock groups Spider and Device, and wrote or co-wrote several hit singles for other artists, such as " Rag Doll", " Obsession", " Love Is ...

and

Anton Fig Anton Fig (born 8 August 1952) is a South African session drummer perhaps best known as the drummer and second-in-command for Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band. David Letterman, for whom the band served as house band on his lat ...

. In 1985, the band was forced to break up when Solid Gold Records filed for bankruptcy protection. Woods and Kreyer ended up relocating to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, where they went into Lowery Studios to record a solo album by Woods. However, the album was shelved for over 20 years, until Cyclone Records acquired the rights to the "lost" masters and released the album in 2007.

Overview

The band scored a handful of hit singles in Canada during the early 1980s, including "Your Daddy Don't Know", "Start Tellin' the Truth", and "Girls' Night Out". "Your Daddy Don't Know" was covered by

The New Pornographers The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective and supergroup of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band currently consists of Carl Newman (vocals, ...

for the 2003 film soundtrack '' FUBAR: The Album''. The song "

" was recorded by Toronto during the ''Get It on Credit'' sessions. It was written by band members Alton and Allen along with outside collaborator

Jim Vallance James Douglas Vallance (born May 31, 1952) is a Canadian songwriter, arranger and producer. He is best known as the songwriting partner of Canadian musician Bryan Adams. Vallance began his professional career as the original drummer and main song ...

. However, the rest of the band elected not to release the song. In 1985, the song was offered to

, who turned "What About Love" into an international top-10 hit. Toronto's original version was released in 2002 as a bonus track on the CD reissues of several of their albums.

Discography

Albums

# '' Lookin' for Trouble'' (1980) as Toronto S No. 185 # '' Head On'' (1981) as Toronto # '' Get It on Credit'' (1982) as Toronto S No. 162ref> # '' Girls' Night Out'' (1983) as Toronto # ''

'' (1984) as Toronto # '' Assault & Flattery'' (1984) as Holly Woods & Toronto # '' Live It Up!'' (2007) as Holly Woods

Singles

References

External links

Official websiteNick Costello's website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toronto) 1979 establishments in Ontario 1984 disestablishments in Ontario Canadian hard rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Musical groups from Toronto Female-fronted musical groups