Toney was raised in
Columbus,
Georgia, United States, and sang
gospel in churches while young. In his
teens, he joined a gospel group called The Sensational Melodies of Joy, and after this joined secular group called The Searchers (no relation to
The Searchers), who released a few singles between 1958 and 1961. Toney's career was tenuous in America, but the British love for
Northern soul resulted in a second wind. Later in the 1970s, he was signed to the British
record label Contempo Records for six singles and an
album, yet none of these sold well, and in the 1980s Toney left the secular industry to focus on gospel again. ==Discography==