Toto

Toto are a rare example of top session musicians successfully giving up their day jobs to form their own band. They were all well-known studio musicians, playing on albums by the likes of Steely Dan, Seals and Crofts, Boz Scaggs and Sonny and Cher - keyboard player David Paich having co-written Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees album. Toto released their self-titled debut album in 1977 and it was an instant success on the back of hit single Hold The Line, impressing with their outstanding musicianship and their mastery of a variety of styles, from jazz to progressive rock. Subsequent, more experimental albums proved less popular, but they enjoyed their greatest successes through the 1980s after their Toto IV album produced the international hit singles Rosanna, Africa and I Won't Hold You Back. Internal disputes led to the departure of singer Bobby Kimball in 1984, with Fergie Frederiksen replacing him, but when he left the following year Joseph Williams was inducted in his place, resulting in a more poppier sound. Drummer Jeff Porcaro's died after an allergic reaction to garden pesticide in 1992 but the band continued until announcing their split in 2008. They reformed for a European tour in 2010.

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