Artist:Miss Toni Fisher
Song:The Big Hurt
Album:The Big Hurt
The Big Hurt was a top five hit in 1959. It was the only big hit for Miss Toni Fisher. A couple of her other songs charted so she is not technically a one hit wonder. But The Big Hurt is her only memorable song. She was born Marion Nolan Dec. 4, 1924 in Los Angeles. Not much is known about Toni's early life except she performed in an act called The Marco Juvenile Revue put on by the stage school Fanchon & Marco. After a brief appearance in the 1949 film Make Believe Ballroom, Toni performed in Los Angeles clubs. She recorded a demo of the Julie London hit Cry Me a River that got the attention of Wayne Shanklin. Shanklin had success when his song Jezebel was a top five hit in 1951 for Frankie Laine. By the late 50s Shanklin was trying to start his own label Signet Records. And he thought Miss Toni Fisher, as he billed her, was exactly what he was looking for. He wrote The Big Hurt and took Toni to the recording studio. The record reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The most notable thing about this recording is the first use of the audio effect known as "flanging". It sounds like a cross between a jet plane and an echo chamber. It is unclear if this was an accident but I can tell you that Phil Spector used "flanging" when he recorded at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles with the same engineers. After Toni was unable to follow this success on Signet, Shanklin closed the label and signed with Bigtop Records. The 1962 single West of the Wall was a top 40 hit. Shanklin wrote and produced. Toni also recorded for Columbia, Smash and Capitol with no success. You can get all of Toni's recordings on this budget CD from the British label Harkit. The Big Hurt also appears on many various artist CDs. Wayne Shanklin died of a heart attack in 1970. Toni retired from music in the 70s to raise her family and she died on Jan. 1, 1999 at age 74. Here's a video for The Big Hurt by Miss Toni Fisher.
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