Toby Lightman

Infobox musical artist
Name =


Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Origin = Cherry Hill, NJ, United States
Genre = Pop / Rock / Acoustic
Years_active = 1996 – Present
Label = Unsigned
URL = [http://www.tobylightman.com Official site]

Toby Lightman is a critically-acclaimed American singer/songwriter. Her first album, "Little Things", was released in 2004 on Lava/Atlantic, featuring the hit single "Devils and Angels", which enjoyed considerable airplay in the summer of 2004. 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, Train, Prince, and Carbon Leaf. Toby is represented by On Campus Booking, a college booking agency that also books Ari Hest.⁸

Biography

Toby Lightman was born in Cherry Hill Township, New Jersey in 1978. At age 6, inspired by violinist Itzhak Perlman, Toby began playing the violin . Lightman was a member of her high school orchestra, and she started singing when a friend urged her to join a vocal workshop class. She has referred to her high school graduation as her “coming out” as a singer Netwerk] .) In a solo performance Lightman sang a gospel version of Simon and Garfunkel’s "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Due to the audience’s emotional response to her performance, Lightman decided to pursue her talents as a singer.

Lightman taught herself to play the guitar and while in school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison she joined the band Footsteps, which she has described as acting “as the social gathering for everyone home on break from college."Netwerk] During this time, Lightman remained a member of her college orchestra, made guest appearances in Madison-based funk bands, began writing her own songs, and performed at “open mic” nights.

Upon graduating from college, she moved to New York City where she recorded her one-track demo tape in rapper Wyclef Jean’s Booga Basement and began searching for a recording contract. In 2004, Ari Martin of Netwerk Management became Lightman’s manager. After seeing Toby play a solo showcase for record executives and representatives, Andy Karp signed Lightman to Lava Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records.

Toby 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". The song was released as the album’s second single and a music video was filmed to promote the track.

Toby was then featured as a VH1 "You Oughta Know" artist and as an MTV "You Hear It First" artist.

"Bird On A Wire", Toby's second record was released on July 25, 2006 on Atlantic Records."My Sweet Song" from "Bird On A Wire" was featured near the end of the Boston Legal episode, "Desperately Seeking Shirley".

Lightman performs the opening theme to Fox Sports' coverage of the 2008 NASCAR racing season with a song titled "NASCAR Love (Let's Go Racing)"

Toby 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. The song "Come On In" from "Let Go" will be featured in a series of commercials to air on HSN. [http://www.antimusic.com/news/08/july/08Toby_Lightman_Shopping_Network.shtml]

Discography

* "Little Things" (Lava Records)
* "Bird On A Wire" (Atlantic Records)
* "Let Go" (T Killa Records)

References

External links

* [http://www.tobylightman.com/ Official Site]
* [http://hardrock.com/live2/hello/TobyLightman.asp Toby Lightman feature on hardrock.com]
* [http://www.tobylightman.net/ Fan Site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/tobylightman MySpace]
* [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/lightman_toby/artist.jhtml Toby Lightman on VH1.com]
* [http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/lightman_toby/artist.jhtml#/music/artist/lightman_toby/artist.jhtml Toby Lightman on MTV.com]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/TobyLightman Toby Lightman collection] at the Internet Archive's live music archive
* [http://www.oncampusbooking.com/ Toby Lightman at OnCampusBooking.com]