Toni Fisher

Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny Best known for her 1959 Top Ten smash "The Big Hurt," teen pop singer Miss Toni Fisher was born in Los Angeles in 1931. She recorded "The Big Hurt" for the tiny Signet label, and not only did the single become a major hit, but its innovative use of electronic phasing effects anticipated the increased studio experimentation which increasingly characterized popular music in the decade to follow. Fisher subsequently enjoyed two more hits -- a rendition of the Irving Berlin song "How Deep Is the Ocean" and the 1962 Top 40 entry "West of the Wall," a one-of-a-kind ode to love and freedom inspired by the Berlin Wall -- before receding from the limelight. She suffered a fatal heart attack in February of 1999.