Toto

Toto

Toto (IPA pronunciation: /ˈtoʊtoʊ/) is a Grammy Award winning American rock band founded in 1976 by some of the most popular and experienced session musicians of the era. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the 1980s, beginning with the band's self-titled debut, released in 1978, which immediately brought the band into the mainstream rock spectrum of the time. Continuing with 1982's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Toto IV, Toto became one of the biggest selling music groups of their era. Although their popularity in the United States diminished in 1990's and 2000's, they continue to tour to sold out arenas, clubs and theaters internationally. The band is known for their technical prowess in the studio, as well as a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard rock, R&B, and jazz, making them appeal to a variety of musicians and non-musician listeners. The band has released 17 albums and has sold over 30 million records to date.

Biography
Formation

Toto formed as a group of six of the most sought-after studio musicians of the 1970s. Prior to the band's formation in 1977, the members of Toto were regulars on albums by the likes of Steely Dan, Seals and Crofts[4], Boz Scaggs[5], Sonny and Cher[6], and many others, contributing to many of the most popular records of the 1970s. Keyboardist David Paich rose to fame after having co-written and produced Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees album. Having played on many sessions with drummer Jeff Porcaro, the two began to seriously discuss the possibility of forming their own band. They brought in bassist David Hungate, having played with him on the road with Boz Scaggs. In addition, the duo asked guitarist Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro's brother Steve Porcaro (keyboards), and vocalist Bobby Kimball to join the team. And in 1977, production began on the band's first album.

Band Name and the Debut Album

Once all of the songs were written, the band came together in the studio to record the album. According to popular myth, in order to distinguish their own demo tapes from other bands' in the studio, Jeff Porcaro wrote the word "Toto" on them. Although one popular rumor is that the name came from Bobby Kimball's "true" last name, 'Toteaux,' this rumor was in fact only a joke popularized by former bassist David Hungate. After the completion of the first album, the band and record were still as of yet un-named. David Hungate, after viewing the name on the demo tapes, explained to the group that the word "Toto" in Latin translated to "all-encompassing". Because the band members had played on so many different records and many different musical generes, they adopted the name Toto as their own. The band's name may have elicited a few laughs when they first toured Japan in 1979 and 1980. TOTO is the name of Japan's largest toilet manufacturer. Also, despite their popularity in Africa (largely due to their song of the same name), in Nigeria and Sierra Leone, the band's name in many languages is the same as a slang term for the vagina. The name "Toto" is also well-known as the name of Dorothy's dog in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz books and the famous 1939 film. After its release,Toto hit the charts quickly, earning popularity with the hit single "Hold the Line", as well as "Georgy Porgy", and "I'll Supply The Love". The band garnered international acclaim and was nominated for a Grammy for "Best New Artist." Shortly thereafter, in early 1979, Toto embarked on their first American tour in support of the debut album.

Hydra and Turn Back

At the close of the Toto tour, the band began work on their next album, entitled Hydra, which was released later that year. The album featured the single "99", inspired by George Lucas' cult film THX 1138,[11] which became one of the band's most popular songs. Despite its popularity, however, in 2007, Steve Lukather admitted that he hates "99" and that it's his least favorite Toto song which is why it's no longer performed live. Other singles from Hydra include St George and the Dragon and All Us Boys. The band also released a promotional video for the album's title track, though the song was never released as a single, while "St. George and the Dragon, despite being a single, never had a video. Although Hydra failed to achieve the commercial success of Toto's first release, it still went Gold. Following the album's release, the band began the "Hydra" tour which featured both American and International dates. The tour lasted from February until June of 1980.

In early 1981, Toto released their third album Turn Back. The album was experimental[14] and featured a lot more guitar and less keyboards than their previous two records. Ultimately, Turn Back failed to earn the radio play or critical acclaim of either of the previous two records. The song "Goodbye Elenore" was the only official single released worldwide. Because the release was a commercial disappointment, the band did not tour to promote the record.

Toto IV

1982 marked the beginning of Toto's most successful era. After the poor sales of Turn Back, the band were under a lot of pressure from their record company to produce a new smash record. With Toto IV, the band delivered one of the most commercially successful records of the 80s. The album featured the hit singles "Africa" and "Rosanna". The album also made several worldwide charts, bringing the band to new audiences. "Africa" topped the charts in February of 1983 and was a constant presence on radios across the globe, but it was Rosanna that earned the band multiple Grammy nominations. Toto IV was awarded 6 Grammy Awards, including "Record of the Year" for "Rosanna", "Album of the Year" for Toto IV, and "Producer of the Year". In the video for "Rosanna", a young Patrick Swayze can be seen as one of the dancers, and a young Cynthia Rhodes can be seen as the lead dancer. The song was named after Steve Porcaro's ex-girlfriend, actress Rosanna Arquette, but the song itself was not about her, according to writer David Paich. In addition to Africa and Rosanna, Toto IV gained even more success with the release of 3 other singles: "Make Believe", "I Won't Hold You Back", and "Waiting For Your Love". Toto toured throughout 1982 in support of Toto IV, and near the end of the tour, Bobby Kimball broke his leg and was forced to perform seated behind a piano for the remaining shows.

Fergie Frederiksen and Isolation

Subsequent to the Toto IV release, bassist David Hungate left the band to spend more time with his family. Mike Porcaro replaced him on bass and appeared in all the music videos for Toto IV. After the Toto IV tour, lead singer Bobby Kimball was fired due to personal problems between him and the band. Fergie Frederiksen was brought in as the new lead singer after Fergie was introduced to Jeff Porcaro, and the band recorded Isolation, released in November 1984. Although Bobby Kimball sang some portion of the record before leaving, the exact amount is unknown. David Paich says it was a third of the record[19], Steve Lukather also says it was only 3 or 4 songs], but Bobby Kimball says it was most of the album. The truth is unknown. However, some of Bobby Kimball's background vocals were left on the record, most noticeably on the album's lead single "Stranger In Town". Although still a commercial success, Isolation did not achieve the acclaim of Toto IV and only went Gold. The Isolation tour started and concluded in 1985

Fahrenheit and The Seventh One

At the close of the Isolation tour, Fergie Frederiksen was replaced by Joseph Williams. Lukather claimed that the band was not meshing well with Fergie because he had a difficult time recording with them in the studio. The band had an audition for a new lead singer and Joseph Williams, son of famous film composer John Williams was chosen from the individuals that auditioned.

With Joseph Williams now on board officially, Toto wrote and recorded Fahrenheit, released in October 1986, which had already been started with Frederiksen handling lead vocals. The track "Could This Be Love" features Fergie on background vocals.

Fahrenheit was a much softer release for Toto. It featured the hit "I'll Be Over You" and an instrumental piece performed with Miles Davis. Furthermore, a then-unknown Paula Abdul appeared as a dancer in the "Till the End" music video. In addition, one of the studio-singers heard in the song "I'll Be Over You" is Michael McDonald. Despite its accolades, however, the album was not received well and suffered from poor sales and failed to go gold. However, after its release, the band embarked on another world tour. After the tour ended in 1987, Steve Porcaro left the band to pursue a career in film and television scoring.

Steve Porcaro was never replaced, and Toto decided to continue with only five members and David Paich doing all of the keyboard work. In 1988, Toto released their next album The Seventh One, featuring Jon Anderson of Yes on its single, "Stop Loving You." The record's other single, "Pamela" also became very popular. The Seventh One, became the band's most successful release since Toto IV, and according to David Paich, the record was supposed to be their comeback record, but personnel changes at the record company saw the album's promotion and advertising money pulled. The band toured from February until July of 1988.

Past To Present and Jean-Michel Byron

Although the Seventh One tour was very successful, at the close of the tour, the band decided to replace lead singer Joseph Williams. During the tour, Joseph lost his voice before many of the performances due to excessive partying and drug-use, and Toto decided that a change needed to be made. Originally, the band wanted to reunite with original vocalist Bobby Kimball to record new songs for a greatest hits record, but the record company instead made them hire Jean-Michel Byron. Byron and Toto recorded 4 new songs which were included on their greatest hits album, Past To Present, released in 1990. Toto then went on a tour titled the "Planet Earth Tour" that lasted from September until December of 1990. Shortly into the tour, it became clear that Byron's bizarre on-stage antics would not mesh with Toto's vision for their live shows, and he was subsequently fired. Because many of the fans were so outraged at Byron's stage persona, most of his performance was removed from the subsequent live video release, "Toto Live" and Byron was listed only as a "background singer" in the album credits. All of the live performances of the new songs from Past to Present were removed from the recorded setlist, and the only songs on which Byron appears are "Rosanna" and "Hold The Line" and a few wide shots. The rest of the tracks were sung by Steve Lukather and David Paich.

The Death of Jeff Porcaro

Once again without a lead vocalist, guitarist Steve Lukather stepped up to the microphone and became the new lead singer, and the band recorded Kingdom of Desire. Tragedy then struck, however, just prior to the record's release when drummer Jeff Porcaro died. On August 5, 1992, Jeff suffered an allergic reaction due to a pesticide he was using in his garden. Facing the prospect of a tour without Jeff, Toto almost broke up. However, Jeff Porcaro's family asked the band to continue. Simon Phillips was the only drummer ever contacted to replace Jeff Porcaro, since the band knew that Porcaro liked Phillips, and because Lukather had worked with Simon on a previous tour with Santana and Jeff Beck in Japan, 1986. Phillips joined the band, and they went on a tour which they dedicated to Jeff's memory. In 1993, they released a live album called Absolutely Live. For the tour, Steve Lukather would handle a majority of the vocals but some older songs originally sung by Bobby Kimball, Fergie Frederiksen and Joseph Williams were put in the setlist and sung by new backup singers hired for the tour: John James, Donna McDaniels, and Jenny Douglas McRae. John sang "Stop Loving You" and Bobby's part on "Rosanna". Donna sang "Home Of The Brave" and "Angel Don't Cry", and Jenny sang "Hold The Line".

At the close of the tour, the band performed the Tribute to Jeff Porcaro Concert in Los Angeles. It featured Toto as well as Don Henley, Eddie Van Halen, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Boz Scaggs, James Newton Howard, Michael McDonald and a special appearance by George Harrison. At the close of the tour, the band took a break to pursue individual projects as well as to keep up their session schedules.

In 1995, Toto regrouped and recorded Tambu, their first album with Simon Phillips. A departure from Toto's polished, almost over-produced sound of the late 1970's and 1980s, Tambu was a very organic release and featured the single "I Will Remember" which received moderate radio play. Other singles released were "Drag Him To The Roof" and "The Turning Point". Tambu also featured John James and Jenny Douglas McRae as session singers on some of the tracks. Jenny also sang lead on the album's bonus track "Blackeye" and also in a duet with Steve Lukather on "Baby He's Your Man". The album did not sell well in the United States and the planned second single "Baby He's Your Man" ended up being cancelled. [31] Unlike the domestic disappointment, however, Tambu sold 600,000 copies worldwide.

The Tambu tour proved to be another successful tour, although there were no North American dates. Simon Phillips suffered from a back problem so Gregg Bissonette had to fill in for him during the first leg of the tour in 1995. The tour concluded in 1996. The rest of the tour personnel remained the same, with the exception of Donna McDaniels who left in 1994 shortly after the "Night of the Proms" performances. The song "Hold The Line" was now sung as a duet between Jenny and John.

Bobby Kimball's Return

1997 marked the band's 20th Anniversary, and in order to commemorate it, David Paich and Steve Lukather started to go through several old tapes and demos for a special record of unreleased songs. In 1998, they released Toto XX with the single "Goin Home." Toto went on a small promotional tour with former members Bobby Kimball, Steve Porcaro, and Joseph Williams.

After the Toto XX tour, Bobby Kimball rejoined the band as lead singer after 15 years. The band released Mindfields in early 1999 and went on the Reunion Tour, touring worldwide and returning to the United States for the first time in 6 years. The new album featured 3 singles, "Melanie", "Cruel", and "Mad About You", a song co-written by David Paich and former Toto vocalist Joseph Williams. Later that year, a live album titled Livefields was released. The tour officially concluded in 2000 but the band played a few shows throughout 2001. David Paich briefly took a break from touring in 2000, so Jeff Babko filled in on keyboards. David Paich began to tour again with Toto in 2001.

Toto's 25th Anniversary

In 2002, in celebration of Toto's 25th Anniversary, the band released Through the Looking Glass, a covers album which paid tribute to the band's musical influences such as Bob Barley, Steely Dan, George Harrison and Elton John. Two singles were released, Could You Be Loved, a Bob Marley cover, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps, a Beatles cover. The album was not a commercial success, and many fans were upset about the release, and thought that the band should have written new material instead. However, the record gave the band material to promote their 25th Anniversary tour, which started in 2002 and concluded in 2003. After the tour, Toto released a live album and DVD of the show titled Live in Amsterdam. Both the live album and the DVD were released in late 2003. Steve Lukather himself was critical of his performance at this concert.

Greg Phillinganes & David Paich's Semi-Retirement

Beginning in June of 2003, near the end of their 25th Anniversary tour, David Paich took a leave of absence from touring to spend time with a sick family member. Steve Lukather, known also for his humor, released a fake story that keyboardist David Paich was actually undertaking a sex-change operation and would become "Davida". The story was posted on the band's website, and was picked up by media all over the world. Although the fans found it funny, many people were offended, and Lukather apologized for his post and all references to the joke were removed from the website. Veteran keyboardist Greg Phillinganes filled in for Paich for the rest of the tour.

In late 2003, Toto headlined Night of the Proms for 2 months straight. David returned but was only able to play for a few weeks before he had to leave again, so Greg once again filled in for the remainder of the shows. Toto then went on a small tour that went through 2004 and 2005 during which David Paich only occasionally appeared with Greg playing at a majority of the shows. In 2005, Greg was asked to permanently join the band, and David Paich then retired from touring. David Paich is still a member of Toto however as he records and produces on all of Toto's releases