Editing Tonio K (section)

== Songwriter ==
Tonio K. continued as a performing singer/songwriter into the 1990s but gradually withdrew from live concerts and focused more on crafting songs with and for other artists. His biggest commercial success, "Love Is," was co-written with long-time collaborator John Keller, composer [[Michael Caruso (musician)|Michael Caruso ]] and recorded by [[Vanessa L. Williams|Vanessa Williams]] and [[Brian McKnight]]. It was a #1 Pop and AC (Adult Contemporary) radio single and one of the most-played songs of 1993. K. has publicly questioned the validity of Caruso's credit on the recording-- though without using his name-- and appears validated only by virtue of his refusing to name Caruso specifically and by not having given up any of his financial stake in the song, for which Keller apparently offered a percentage of his own to Caruso. (K. has been quoted as saying that his first choice for vocalist on the song was the famously gruff-voiced [[Tom Waits]]). He also co-wrote, with [[Bob Thiele|Bob Thiele, Jr.]] and [[John Shanks]], the [[Bonnie Raitt]] AC hit, "You.”

Tonio and close friend [[Charlie Sexton]] have written many (mostly unreleased) songs since Sexton first recorded K.'s "Impressed" and "You Don't Belong Here" on his debut album, ''Pictures for Pleasure,'' in 1985. "Graceland (Never Been To)," opening track to the Quentin Tarantino-written and Tony Scott-directed movie ''True Romance,'' is one of their more notable, albeit obscure, cuts. K. was involved in writing six songs on Sexton's Arc Angels debut on Geffen Records. He also co-wrote with Sexton for his ''Under the Wishing Tree'' release on MCA.

Tonio K. has written lyrics for both [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]] of the [[Sex Pistols]] and [[Burt Bacharach]]. In addition to several years of collaborating with Bacharach, Tonio co-wrote eight of the nine vocal tracks on the aforementioned Grammy-winning CD, ''At This Time.''

Tonio K. film credits include "[[Nobody Lives Without Love]]," co-written with musician/writer/producer [[Larry Klein]] ([[Joni Mitchell]], [[Herbie Hancock]]) and featured on the multi-platinum-selling soundtrack to ''[[Batman Forever]]''; the quasi-Disco semi-hit, "I'm Supposed To Have Sex With You," from the [[Carl Reiner]] film ''[[Summer School (film)|Summer School]];'' "Stop The Clock," co-written with [[T Bone Burnett]] for the early [[Vince Vaughn]]/[[Joaquin Phoenix]]/[[Janeane Garofalo]] vehicle, ''[[Clay Pigeons]]''; the above-mentioned "Graceland" from ''[[True Romance]]''; and his song "The Tuff Do What?" from 1985's movie ''[[Real Genius]]''. 2002's [[Van Wilder]] featuring [[Ryan Reynolds]]... song called Okay written with the band [[Swirl 360]].

Tonio K.'s first known "cover" was a song called "Hey John," recorded by [[Johnny Rivers]] in 1972, but never released. In addition to the cuts mentioned above, he has written with and for [[Brian Wilson]], J.I. Allison, The Crickets, [[Al Green]], [[Bette Midler]], [[The Pointer Sisters]], [[Tanya Tucker]], [[Diane Schuur]], [[Percy Sledge]], [[Phoebe Snow (musician)|Phoebe Snow]], Jules Shear, [[The Runaways]], [[Patty Smyth]], [[Kenny Wayne Shepherd]], and Italian superstar [[Riccardo Cocciante|Richard Cocciante]]. Recent covers include songs by [[Irma Thomas]] ("What Can I Do?" co-written with Burt Bacharach) on her Rounder Records CD ''Simply Grand'' and several songs co-written with pedal steel prodigy [[Robert Randolph (guitarist)|Robert Randolph]] for his CD ''We Walk This Road'', produced by [[T Bone Burnett]].

Musician [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] called Tonio K. one of his "favorite artists".<ref name=TNY>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/how-weird-al-spoofed-himself|title=How Weird Al Spoofed Himself|author=Larson, Sarah|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|date=November 6, 2022}}</ref>