Toni Childs “Don’t Walk Away” charted

Don’t Walk Away Toni Childs

Writer(s): Toni Childs, Phil Ramacon (see lyrics here) First Charted: August 6, 1988 Peak: 72 BB, 80 CB, 10 CO, 17 MR, 53 UK, 17 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.3 video, 2.26 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Toni Childs was born in California in 1957. She grew up in a home where they weren’t allowed to go to the movies or listen to pop and rock music. She ran away from home at age 15 to pursue a music career. She had a few gigs subbing for Terri Nunn in some Berlin shows in 1979 and then toured with her band Tori & the Movers for a couple of years. She moved to London in 1981 after signing a publishing deal with Island Music. In 1985, she moved to Los Angeles and signed a deal with A&M Records. She also provided backing vocals on David + David’s 1986 album Boomtown. Both Davids – Baerwald and Ricketts – contributed to writing and production on Childs’ debut album, Union. She moved in with Ricketts the same day she signed to A&M. JC They split by the time she was recording her album, but she said, “I think of this as a David + Toni record.” JC Early entrants into the Lilith Fair genre like Suzanne Vega and Tracy Chapman were strongly rooted in folk-rock. However, debut albums in the summer of 1988 from Toni Childs and Melissa Etheridge served as welcome reminders that full-on rock was not an all-boys club. Never was that more apparent than on “Don’t Walk Away,” the lead track and second single from Union. AllMusic.com’s Tom Demalon says it “kicks things off in high gear” AM while Coffee-for-two.com’s Dan Seeger’s raves about how it puts “the powerhouse vocals of Childs on display.” DS Seeger adds that she is “no dainty singer-songwriter ingenue, but a true belter.” DS Demalon also praises her singing and its impact on the song, saying, “Her take-no-prisoners vocal drives the funky, horn-driven track, which is backed by the gospel swell of the background vocalists.” AM Childs co-wrote the song with Phil Ramacon, who has also collaborated with Jimmy Cliff, Neneh Cherry, and Keb’ Mo.’ The song garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Resources: AM AllMusic.com album review by Tom Demalon JC Jay Cocks (6/8/1988). Time magazine. “Music: Catching the Sweet, Scary Feelings” DS Dan Seeger (7/13/2018). Coffee-for-two.com “One for Friday – Toni Childs, ‘Don’t Walk Away’” Related Links: First posted 1/12/2025.