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(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)
Keyboardist David Paich, son of a film-score composer, drummer Jeff Porcaro, son of the famous jazz musician, and bassist David Hungate had just played with Boz Scaggs, as well as contributing to recordings by Alice Cooper, Leo Sayer, Steely Dan, Hall & Oates, Aretha Franklin, Pink Floyd, and Earth, Wind & Fire. Toto was formed in 1978 in Los Angeles by these seasoned studio veterans to back singer Bobby Kimball Toteaux (the name Toto is simply Toteaux pronounced in English). Over their long career, Totos only real merit was offering keyboard-driven melodies (David Paich, also the author of their best compositions) rather than guitar-driven ones (Steve Lukather).
They debuted with the melodic hard rock of Hold The Line on the album Toto (Columbia, 1978), but after Hydra (1979) and Turn Back (1981), they found their true calling with the 1982 hits Rosanna (featuring Lukathers best solo) and Africa, from Toto IV (Columbia, 1982). However, they never managed to repeat that success, and changing singers did not restore public favor. Being essentially a studio-produced band, they rarely performed live. Their albums Isolation (1984), with Stranger in Town, Fahrenheit (1986), and The Seventh One (1988) are dreadful collections of clichs. Often the only redeeming feature is Jeff Porcaros drumming virtuosity. Past To Present (Columbia, 1990) contains their hits.
Jeff Porcaro died of a heart attack (caused by an overdose) in 1992.
Kingdom of Desire (1992) is the last album on which he played. The surviving members (with virtuoso Simon Phillips on drums) recorded Tambu (1996) and Mindfields (1999) and continued to tour the world relentlessly.
Through the Looking Glass (2002) is a terrifying collection of covers.
Despite so many years of experience, Falling in Between (2006), the first collection of original compositions in a seven years, sounded like a bunch of amateur trying to imitate the prog-rock of the 1970s.
I'll Supply the Love (2007)
Mike Porcaro died in 2015 at the age of 59
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