Biography

Formed in 1959, members have included Hank Medress (d. 2007), Jay Siegel, Mitch Margo, Phil Margo, Neil Sedaka, Bill Reid, Kurt Yahjian, Jay Traynor (d. 2014), Jay Leslie, Mike Johnson, Noah Margo, Ari Margo, Damien Margo, Eddie Rabkan, Cynthia Zolotin, Eddie Rezzonico, Richie Grasso.

The Weavers had already made "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" a folk staple in the 1950s. In 1961 The Tokens' recording went to #1 on the pop charts (they had a hit the same year with "Tonight I Fell In Love"). Minor hits followed, with "He's In Town" in 1964, "I Hear the Trumpets Blow" in 1966, and "Portrait of My Love" in 1967. But they never had another big hit song.

They owned their own music publishing company (Bright Tunes Publishing) and their own record label (B.T. Puppy Records).

In the early 1990s member Hank Medress was president of EMI Music Publishing Canada. More recently he was a consultant for Sound Exchange, a nonprofit group which assists musicians in collecting royalties.

Hank Medress was producer on The Chiffons' hits "He's So Fine" (on which The Tokens also played all the instruments) and "One Fine Day". After leaving The Tokens, he worked with a record company executive named Tony Orlando. He persuaded Orlando to do the lead vocals on "Knock Three Times", a song that became a hit and made Orlando an overnight star (even though he had solo hit singles in the 1960s with "Bless You" and "Halfway to Paradise"). The backup singers on the song, Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson, didn't record their vocals until several months later and, in fact, didn't even meet Orlando until after the song became a hit and the three of them, now re-christened Tony Orlando & Dawn, were set to go on tour. Medress and Dave Appell also produced the group's hit "Candida".