Toto
The experienced Los Angeles session team of Bobby Kimball (b. Robert Toteaux, 1947; vocals), Steve Lukather (b. 1957; guitar), David Paitch (b. 1954; keyboards/vocals), Steve Pocaro (b. 1957, d. September 1992; keyboards/vocals), David Hungate (bass) and Jeff Porcaro (b. 1954; drums) decided in 1978 to begin functioning in their own right after years of blithe dedication to the music of others on tour and disc. A couple of Toto albums found over a million buyers each but, overall, this rather faceless group met moderate success with moderate records—penned mainly by Paitch—on which polished, close-miked vocal harmonies floated effortlessly over layers of treated sound. 1979's TOTO was attended by a smash hit in Hold The Line but the band's most commercial period was 1982-3 when the grammy award winning TOTO IV spawned two international hits with the stunningly atmospheric Africa and Rosanna, as well as the US Top 10 single, I Won't Hold You Back. The following year, Kimball and Hungate were replaced by, respectively, Dave Frederikson (b. 1951) and Mike, another Porcaro sibling (b. 1955). Sales of ISOLATION and the outfit's soundtrack to the science-fiction film Dune were poor, but some lost ground was regained when it became known that Toto were responsible for the backing track of USA For Africa's single We Are The World. With a new lead singer in Joseph Williams, the group made the big time again with I'll Be Over You, a composition by Lukather and Randy Goodrun from 1986's FAHRENHEIT. Two years later, Toto re-entered the US Top 40, with Pamela (from THE SEVENTH ONE), produced to the expected slick standard by Earth, Wind & Fire's George Massenburg and Little Feat's Bill Payne. By then, Steve Pocaro had returned to employment in the studios from which he and the rest had emerged. Jeff Porcaro died in 1992 after a heart attack caused by an allergic reaction to pesticide. His replacement on subsequent British dates was session drummer Simon Phillips.