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Toto ( winning American Rock Band that was 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 . The band's Self-titled Debut , released in 1978 , immediately brought the band into the Mainstream Rock spectrum of the time, and 1982 's critically acclaimed and commercially successful '' Toto IV '' album made Toto one of the biggest selling music groups of their era. While sales have declined throughout the 1990's and 2000's , they continue to tour to sold out arenas, clubs and theaters. The band is known for their musical style that combines elements of Pop , Rock , Soul , Funk , Progressive Rock , Hard Rock , R&B , and Jazz , making them appeal to a huge variety of musicians and and non-musician listeners. The band has released 17 albums and has sold over 30 million records to date. / Toto99 Band History HISTORY Formation with Bobby Kimball ]] Toto formed as a group of six of the most sought-after Studio Musician s 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 , Boz Scaggs , Sonny And Cher , and many others, contributing to many of the most popular and critically acclaimed 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. ''Toto'' album and name 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. Another rumor about the origin of Toto's name came about because of a false rumor that Bobby Kimball's real last name was Toteaux. This rumor was in fact only a joke made by former bassist 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, the band's name in many languages is the same as a slang term for the vagina. '' 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 was nominated for a Grammy for "Best New Artist," and the band began work on their next record. ''Hydra'' and ''Turn Back'' Despite the fact that members of the band continued to act as session musicians, between sessions, the band were able to record their next album. Titled '' tour and in between their studio work, Toto released their third album '' Turn Back '' in 1981 . However, ''Turn Back'' failed to earn the radio play or critical acclaim of either of the previous two records and ended up a commercial disappointment since no hit singles were produced from it. The song "Goodbye Elenore" was the only official single to be released worldwide from ''Turn Back''. / Turn Back album page Due to the failure of the album, there was no tour either. ''Toto IV'' 1982 marked the beginning of Toto's most successful era. After the frustration of ''Turn Back'', the band needed to come up with a strategy to make it back into the spotlight. With ''", and "Waiting For Your Love". Band departures, Fergie Frederiksen, and ''Isolation'' Subsequent to the ''Toto IV'' release, bassist '' 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 left the band due to being very nervous in the studio and having a hard time singing. / Steve Lukather interview 1998 Fergie was replaced by Joseph Williams , son of famous film composer John Williams . Williams wrote and recorded '' Fahrenheit '', released in October 1986. ''Fahrenheit'' was a much softer release for Toto. It featured the hit " I'll Be Over You ". It also featured an instrumental piece performed with Miles Davis , and a then-unknown Paula Abdul appeared as a dancer in the "Till the End" music video. In addition, one of the singers heard in the song "I'll Be Over You" is Michael McDonald . The album had poor sales and failed to go gold. / Fahrenheit on Allmusic.com 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 and to make his own music. Steve Porcaro was never replaced and Toto now consisted of five members, with David Paich doing all of the keyboard work. In 1988, they released their next album '' The Seventh One ''. It featured two main singles; "Pamela", and "Stop Loving You", and arguably became the band's most popular release since Toto IV. "Stop Loving You" featured Jon Anderson of Yes as one of the singers. According to David Paich in an interview in August 2006, the record had strong sales and was supposed to be their comeback record, but their record label got a new president and all promotion was cut very suddenly. / David Paich interview, August 2006 Even still, the tour for ''The Seventh One'' was successful and included many international concerts. ''Past To Present'', another lead singer After the ''Seventh One'' tour, lead singer Joseph Williams was fired due to drug and vocal problems. In 1989, the band wanted to get back together with Bobby Kimball to record some new songs for a greatest hits album, but their 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". Shortly into the tour, it became clear that Byron was a disaster and he was subsequently fired. Despite the fact that Toto recorded their first live video release, "Live In Paris" during this tour, there is very little footage of Byron on the video. Almost all of Byron's songs that he sang on the tour were cut from the video and the only songs he appears on are "Rosanna" and "Hold The Line". / Live In Paris 1990 Also, in the credits for the video, Byron is credited as a background singer and not an actual member of Toto. The death of Jeff Porcaro, ''Kingdom of Desire'', and ''Tambu'' 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 for the band 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. He was able to join 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 do a majority of the singing since he was now the lead singer but some older songs originally sung by Bobby Kimball, Fergie Frederiksen and Joseph Williams were put in the setlist and sung by their 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 , 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 '' had to fill in for him during the first leg of the tour in 1995. The tour concluded in 1996. For the tour, backup singers John James and Jenny Douglas McRae returned. Donna McDaniels however did not and left in 1994. The song "Hold The Line" was now sung as a duet between Jenny and John. / Toto Guest Musicians Page Toto's 20th Anniversary, Bobby Kimball's return, and ''Mindfields'' In 1997, David Paich and Steve Lukather started to go through several old tapes and demos for an album release of unreleased songs to celebrate the band's 20th Anniversary. In 1998, they released '' Toto XX ''. The album featured unreleased songs from all eras and the single, "Goin Home" was released. Toto went on a small promotion tour and brought back Bobby Kimball , Steve Porcaro , and Joseph Williams to play with them on the shows. 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. This would be the first time Toto played in North America since 1993. Later that year, a live album titled '' Livefields '' was released. The tour concluded in 2000 but they played a few shows throughout 2001. David Paich was unable to tour in 2000 so Jeff Babko filled in on keyboards. David Paich began to tour again in 2001. Toto's 25th Anniversary In 2002, in celebration of Toto's 25th Anniversary, the band released ''''. David Paich's retirement Beginning in 2003, near the end of their Anniversary tour, David Paich took a leave of absence from touring in order to spend time with a sick family member. 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 shows before he had to leave again, Greg once again filled in for the remainder of the shows. Toto then went on a small tour throughout 2004 and 2005 and David only played a few shows throughout the tour with Greg playing at almost every show. In 2005, Greg was asked to permanently join the band and Paich then retired permanently from touring. David Paich is still a member of Toto as he records and produces on all of Toto's releases. / Band Member Page ''Falling In Between'' In early 2006, Toto released '', also made a few guest appearances with the band in June 2007. / Joseph Williams Official Site Toto's 30th Anniversary A 30th Anniversary tour for the band in 2008 has not yet been announced, but is expected by many to commemorate the 30 years passed since the release of '' Toto '' in 1978. / Toto Concert Reviews In February 2007, Steve Lukather revealed in an interview with "Musicast" that a 30th Anniversary tour is quite possible. The tour would be in late 2008, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their first album which was released in late 1978, and to bring back David Paich, Steve Porcaro, and Joseph Williams. / Steve Lukather interview 2007 In May 2007, Steve Lukather said on his website, that he would also like to bring "Fergie Frederiksen" back for the 30th Anniversary tour. / Steve Lukather official site TOTO IN POP CULTURE The band's most popular hit, "Africa", has been sampled and otherwise included in multiple recordings, television programs, games and advertising campaigns. Most recently, rapper when going to commercial breaks, along with showing up on J.D. 's IPod in the beginning of the '' Scrubs '' episode, " My Way Home ". Steve Lukather, known also for his humor, made a fake story that keyboardist David Paich was taking a break from touring to undertake a sex-change operation. The story was posted on the band's website, and was picked up by media all over the world. BAND MEMBERS Current
Former
Tour musicians
DISCOGRAPHY Studio albums # 1978 - '' Toto '' US #9, UK #37 (RIAA: Platinum) # 1979 - '' Hydra '' US #37 (RIAA: Gold) # 1981 - '' Turn Back '' US #41 # 1982 - '' Toto IV '' US #4, UK #4 (RIAA: 2x Platinum) # 1984 - '' Isolation '' (RIAA: Gold) # 1986 - '' Fahrenheit '' # 1988 - '' The Seventh One '' # 1992 - '' Kingdom Of Desire '' # 1995 - '' Tambu '' # 1998 - '' Toto XX '' (previously unreleased tracks) # 1999 - '' Mindfields '' # 2002 - '' Through The Looking Glass '' ( Tribute Album ) # 2006 - '' Falling In Between '' Compilations, live albums and soundtracks # 1984 '' Dune '' US #168 (original motion picture soundtrack, remastered and re-released in 1997 and 2001 ) # 1990 '' Past To Present 1977-1990 '' US #153 ('best of' compilation with 4 new tracks) (Platinum) # 1993 '' Absolutely Live '' # 1999 '' Livefields '' # 2003 '' Live In Amsterdam '' Singles SEE ALSO
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