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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZTOTOUS AOR group formed in Los Angeles '78 by top session musicians whose credits included Aretha Franklin, Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Sonny and Cher, Earth Wind and Fire, countless others; they began in schoolboy band Rural Life. They were intially drummer Jeff Porcaro, his keyboardist brother Steve (sons of a jazz percussionist), keyboardist David Paich (son of Marty), David Hungate on bass, Steve Lukathar on guitar, and vocalist Bobby Kimball. Their name was from Kimball's real name (Toteaux) and/or the name of the dog in Wizard Of Oz. Their eponymous '78 debut was predictably slick, a top ten LP in USA; 'Hold The Line' a top five USA (14 UK), two others top 50; Hydra had top 30 '99' but slumped in the album chart, as did Turn Back '81; but Toto IV '82 was a no. 4 album with seven Grammy nominations, top 30 'Make Believe', no. 2 'Rosanna' (no. 12 UK), no. 1 'Africa' (3 UK), the last unusual in being keyboard-based rather than guitar-riff rock and showing a mellower outlook. A third Porcaro, Mike, replaced Hungate '82, but defection of the rasp-voiced Kimball was more serious, replaced by Dennis 'Fergie' Fredreikson (Kimball turned up in Frank Farian's studio-HM band for Corporation cover of 'Stairway To Heaven' '85); Isolation '84 found them slipping out of the top 40 albums; a contribution to the soundtrack of the widely panned SF film Dune that year made a worse flop. They continued session careers in tandem; Lukathar wrote top five 'Turn Your Love Around' for George Benson. Despite sellout status in Japan they rarely ventured outside the studio; this often showed in the clinical quality of their music. They kept going through Fahrenheit '86 (no. 40, with new singer Joseph Williams), The Seventh One '88 (no. 64), compilation Past To Present '90. Jeff Porcaro d 5 August 1992 aged 38 of a heart attack, following an allergic reaction to a pesticide he used in his garden; Mike Porcaro d 13 March 2015 aged 77 of Lou Gehrig's disease. |