Born To Late

 Born To late The Pony Tails

 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 record 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 the 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 U.S. R&B singles chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958.[2] Follow-ups "Seven Minutes In Heaven" (#85 Pop) and "I'll Be Seeing You" (#87 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 contains only one Poni-Tails song ("Born Too Late") and 11 tracks recorded by other groups.[1]

In 1991 LaVerne (Novak) Glivic was working for a real estate agent in Mentor, Ohio, and had five grandchildren. Toni (Cistone) Costabile was working at a high school in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Patti (McCabe) Barnes died of cancer in January, 1989. Tom Illius subsequently became a top executive with the William Morris Agency in Los Angeles, California.