The Poni-Tails

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The Poni-Tails were an American girl group from Lyndhurst, Ohio.

Formed in a suburb of Cleveland, the Poni-Tails (Toni Cistone, Karen Topinka and Patti McCabe) started singing at Brush High School, which they all attended. Tom Ilius, a music publisher, had them signed to local label Point Records, who released their first single, "Your Wild Heart" b/w "Que la Bozena" (the latter of which was written by the group). "Heart" was covered by then-15-year-old Joy Layne, and became a nationwide hit.^[1] The next release was "Can I Be Sure" on Marc Records, which was not a success; following this release Topinka left the group and was replaced by LaVerne Novak.

Soon after this, the group signed to ABC/Paramount and released "Just My Luck to Be Fifteen", a flop. Following this was "Come on Joey, Dance With Me" b/w "Born Too Late". The B-side caught on at radio and became the group's biggest hit, reaching #11 on the R&B Singles chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958.^[2] Follow-ups "Seven Minutes to Heaven" (#85 Pop) and "I'll Be Seeing You" (#89 Pop) fared less well, and their last single, 1960's "Who, When and Why", did not chart.^[1]

ABC-Paramount attempted to sign the group to a further five-year contract, but the group turned it down. The members left the music industry and pursued careers in other fields in Ohio. They reunited to play a Cleveland festival, Moon Dog Coronation ball, in 1997.^[1]

A CD released by Poni Records with 12 tracks credited to the Poni-Tails actually contains only one Poni-Tails song ("Born Too Late") and 11 tracks recorded by other groups.^[1]