- The Poni-Tails
The Poni-Tails were an American
girl group fromLyndhurst, Ohio .Formed in a suburb of
Cleveland , the Poni-Tails (Toni Cistone, Karen Topinka and LaVerne Novak) started singing atBrush High School , which they all attended.Tom Ilius , a music publisher, had them signed to local labelPoint Records , who released their first single, "Your Wild Heart" b/w "Que la Bozena" (the latter of which was written by the group). "Heart" was covered by then-15-year-oldJoy Layne , and became a nationwide hit. [http://wc05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:h9fexqrgldhe~T1 The Poni-Tails] atAllmusic ] The next release was "Can I Be Sure" onMarc Records , which was not a success; following this release Topinka left the group and was replaced by Patti McCabe.Soon after this, the group signed to ABC/Paramount and released "Just My Luck to Be Fifteen", a flop. Following this was "Come on Joey, Dance With Me" b/w "Born Too Late". The B-side caught on at radio and became the group's biggest hit, reaching #11 on the R&B Singles chart and #7 on the
Billboard Hot 100 in 1958. [ [http://wc05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:h9fexqrgldhe~T5 Billboard Singles] , Allmusic.com] Follow-ups "Seven Minutes to Heaven" (#85 Pop) and "I'll Be Seeing You" (#89 Pop) fared less well, and their last single, 1960's "Who, When and Why", did not chart.ABC-Paramount attempted to sign the group to a further five-year contract, but the group turned it down. The members left the music industry and pursued careers in other fields in Ohio. They reunited to play a Cleveland festival, Moon Dog Coronation ball, in 1997.
A CD released by Poni Records with 12 tracks credited to the Poni-Tails actually contains only one Poni-Tails song ("Born Too Late") and 11 tracks recorded by other groups.
Members
*Toni Cistone
*Karen Topinka (to 1958)
*LaVerne Novak
*Patti McCabe (1958-1960) d. 1989.References
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