Toney D is one of the pioneer of today's Dance music scene. 1980, Toney D opened the first DJ shop called Fantasy. His debut dance production, Jules - I Want To.. released in 1984 on Blanco Y Negro, topped the charts in Spain.
Another iconic track produced by Toney D was Shy Rose - I Cry For You, which became a dance sensation worldwide. It reached number 1 in countries like the USA, UK, Mexico, Germany and Japan to mention a few. In Japan, it even outperformed hits by Michael Jackson, Madonna, and the Pet Shop Boys.
He organized Switzerland's first rave in 1989, known as The Warehouse-Party, with an impressive lineup featuring artists like Adeva, Joice Simms, Arnold Jarvis, Raze (Keith Thompson) and many more.
1991 Toney D produced the us singer Arnold Jarvis - I Want To Have Your Love. The song is on the cult compilation The Garage Sound Vol. 3 by Joey Negro on Republic/Rumour Records. Later Arnold Jarvis was produced by other world famous DJ-Producers like David Morales, Frankie Knuckles and Masters At Work to mention a few. Before Toney D became a DJ, he started 1975 his musical career as keyboard player in a Funky Jazz Band, touring successfully for 5 years around the world.
During this time Toney D made connection with one of the most important musician of the decade, Bill Conti, who would later win an Oscar for Best Soundtrack for the movie Rocky 1 (Gonna Fly Now). The band's drummer Steve Ferrone now plays for Quincy Jones (producer of Ella Fitzgerald, composed the theme tune for Starsky and Hutch and produced the albums Off The Wall & Thriller by Michael Jackson, the best selling album of all times. Toney D left the band to set up his own group called Toast. Kelvin Bullen the guitar player of the band later joined Zucchero (Baila Morena) and played guitar on the album of Richie Havens (Going Back To My Roots).
1996 Toney D signed a label deal with Sony Music releasing tracks of the new Rave generation. In the meantime the productions of Toney D, like Shy Rose or Jules have reached cult status, are scheduled rarities and are sold on Platforms like ebay.com between 20$ and 500$.
Toney D's influence extended beyond dance music. He collaborated with Dieter Meier from the group YELLO to establish the label Solid Pleasure Continental.
His daughter, Carol Fernandez, archieved success with tracks like Morenita and You Will Never Know produced by Toney D.
Interestingly, Louis Vuitton even licensed one of Toney D's masterpieces Toney D & The Love Trip Orchestra - You Are My Desire, for their stores.
Toney D's journey from opening a DJ shop to producing global hits is truly remarkable!
Toney D continues to be an influential figure in the music industry. His legacy lives on through his groundbreaking contributions to dance music. His tracks remain timeless classics, and his impact on the scene remains significant.