Guitarist Toney Springer has hung with the best of them from David Bowie, Jeff Healey, Bon Jovi, and Jay Leno to David Letterman and Arsenio Hall. These are a few of the personalities that have been blown away by Toney’s music.
Toney aka Wild T took his name from his hometown of Tunapuna Trinidad and one may find similarities in his talent to Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz & Eric Gales. Ironically, it was Toney’s exposure to Steve Howe (Yes) that inspired him to pick up the guitar.
Moving to Toronto in his early teens, Toney quickly gained a reputation in the mid-80s. After playing in Toronto for a few years, Toney was voted best guitarist at the Canadian Black Music Awards and has not looked back since.
Jeff Healey saw a man with endless imagination, a man who could combine that imagination with an emotion that you couldn’t help but feel. “I followed him around like he was a Messiah, I probably learned more from Toney than anybody else, Toney’s been my idol for years,” he said.
Jeff Healey wasn’t the only one who noticed Toney’s rapid ascension through the ranks. David Bowie chose Toney to be his guitarist on his Black Tie White Noise album after seeing Toney’s video for ‘Midnight Blues’ on a TV show while in Montreal with Tin Machine (Bowie’s Supergroup). Subsequently, Toney appeared with Bowie on Jay Leno, David Letterman & Arsenio Hall as well as on Bowie’s making of Black Tie White Noise DVD prominently showcasing Toney, “an absolute delight to work with,” said Bowie.
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