Composed entirely of seasoned studio musicians, Toto seemed to come out of nowhere. They did not get known first on the club circuit as nearly all bands do prior to being signed by a label. Their reputations in the studio were enough. For example, Paich, Hungate and Jeff Porcaro wrote songs for and performed on Boz Scaggs' album Silk Degrees.
Toto released their debut album Toto in October 1978, selling two million copies based on their top ten hit Hold the Line. The next two albums Hydra and Turn Back had little success, but Toto IV (released in 1982) featured the number one hit Africa as well as the top ten single Rosanna. Toto IV went multi-platinum and earned several Grammy Awards including 1983 Album of the Year and Record of the Year (for "Rosanna").
Their only film work to date was for the 1984 David Lynch science fiction film Dune. In addition to their own score, they also recorded the Prophecy Theme, composed by Brian Eno.
After the release of Toto IV, Mike Porcaro (brother to Jeff and Steve), joined the group on bass, replacing Hungate. In 1984, Bobby Kimball left the group after being arrested for selling cocaine and was replaced by Dennis Frederiksen aka Fergie Frederiksen, who was replaced not long after by Joseph Williams.
Steve Porcaro left the band in 1988, however, he still contributes as a sideman.
In 1990, Jean-Michel Byron replaced Williams for the new recordings on Past to Present 1977-1990, then left with Lukather becoming the group's lead singer.
On August 5, 1992, Jeff Porcaro died of a heart attack, days after completing work on Kingdom of Desire. The group considered disbanding, before adding British drummer Simon Phillips for the subsequent tour. In the years since Porcaro's death, Lukather has seemingly succeeded Paich as the band's de facto leader.
In 1999, Bobby Kimball returned to the lineup after a 15-year absence.
Greg Phillinganes joined the lineup in 2004 to fill in for David Paich during a tour, then officially joined Toto in 2005.
After a period of rumours and some allusions, on June 5th, 2008 Steve Lukather made an official announcement on his website stevelukather.net, stating: "The fact is yes I have left Toto. There is no more Toto." Lukather further stated that after 31 years of recording, producing and playing with Toto without even missing one single gig, he couldn't do it anymore: "I just can't do it anymore and at 50 years old I wanted to start over and give it one last try on my own." With Lukather being the only original member left in the band (Bobby Kimball was also an original member, but was out of the band from 1984-1998) there was no other option than to call it quits. As the main motivation for his decision, Lukather said: "When Dave retired that was REAL hard for me 'cause we started the band together. Hell, it's 35 years if you count High School where the core all met. When Mike fell ill and had to leave that was it for me. If there isn't Paich or at least one Porcaro how can we even call it Toto?" Luke also stated: "Honestly, I have just had enough. This is NOT a break. It is over. I really can't go out and play Hold The Line with a straight face anymore." The break-up of Toto after 31 years received mixed reactions from the fans, but in general the decision was understood and many agreed with Lukather's reasons to quit the band.
On April 5th, 2008, Toto played what would be their last show ever, in Seoul, Korea, as a part of their Falling In Between Live tour. This left lots of fans without a real farewell tour.
On February 26th, 2010, Steve Lukather announced on his Twitter-account that Toto are reforming for a brief tour in Europe in the summer of 2010 to honor bass player Mike Porcaro, who's suffering from ALS syndrome. Line-up will include David Paich, Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro, Simon Phillips, Joseph Williams and Nathan East.
Toto released their fourteenth studio album and their first in nine years titled Toto XIV on March 20 (Europe), March 23 (UK and Oceania), and March 24, 2015 (North America). To promote the newly finished project, the band started a world tour running with an extensive European headline arena tour including appearances at key festivals, along with a North American tour to follow in the summer of 2015 and Asia later that year.[43][44]
On March 15, 2015, former bassist Mike Porcaro died, due to complications from his battle with ALS, in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles.[45]
On 6 April 2015, Toto announced that they would embark on 7 August 2015 in Mashantucket, Connecticut with veteran progressive band Yes on a joint summer tour of North America due to end on 12 September 2015 in Coquitlam, British Columbia.[46][47][48] Shannon Forrest has continued to perform as the band's drummer.
On 29 September 2015, Toto announced the first leg of their 2016 Tour in support of Toto XIV consisting of European and Japanese dates. Leland Sklar, who joined them on their 2007 and 2008 tours, replaced founding member Hungate.[49] Sklar left Toto in early 2017 and was replaced by Shem von Schroeck.
Toto will release their anniversary album "40 Trips Around The Sun" on February 9, 2018. Then, they'll embark on their world tour promoting their album and celebrating 40 years of music.
The original lineup (1978)
* David Paich - vocals and keyboards
* Steve Lukather - guitar and vocals
* Bobby Kimball - vocals
* Steve Porcaro - keyboards
* David Hungate - bass
* Jeff Porcaro - drums
The last lineup (2017)
* David Paich - vocals and keyboards
* Steve Lukather - guitar and vocals
* Joseph Williams - vocals
* Steve Porcaro - vocals and keyboards
Holy War
Toto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hide... we're very near the end
Fear... the promise of a nation
It′s getting harder to defend
Come in, come in
Relax, relax
There's no sweets
Please give more than I have
I know, I know
You are, you are
Trying to scare me
I got nothing to spare
Save all the shit about love and freedom
Sounds like shit to me
Holy war...
Show me what you've been concealing
All in the name of peace and love
What are we fighting for
I thought the point was healing
Clearly I was did wrong
Truth... beyond your comprehension
Lies... above and far beyond
I think that every execution
Will be televised onto your phone
Come in, come in
Relax, relax
There′s no crime scene
′Cause I am what I am
I know, I know
You are, you are
Trying to shock me
I don't easily scare
There are, the shit about love and freedom
It′s a shameless lie to me
Holy war...
Show me what you've been concealing
All in the name of peace and love
What are we fighting for
I thought the point was healing
Clearly I was did wrong
Holy war...
Show me what you′ve been concealing
All in the name of peace and love
What are we fighting for
I thought the point was healing
Clearly I was did wrong
The lyrics of Toto's song "Holy War" depict a bleak portrayal of the current state of the world, highlighting the chaos and destruction caused by wars and conflicts. The opening verses suggest that the end of the world is near, and people are struggling to protect themselves from the impending destruction. The promise of the nation provides nothing but fear and unease. The song further emphasizes the point that wars are being waged in the name of love and peace, but in reality, it's just concealing the ulterior motives of those in power. The lyrics also suggest that the truth and lies are beyond the common people's comprehension, and every execution is being displayed on phones, which represents the level of access the audience has to information.
The chorus of the song talks about holy wars and how they are fought in the name of peace and love, but the point of fighting is lost in the chaos of destruction. The point is not to conquer but to heal and make the world a better place. The final line, "Clearly I was did wrong," suggests that the singer has now realized that the world is in turmoil, and he was mistaken in his beliefs about the reality of the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Run... they say it′s Armageddon
People are talking about a big war that's coming
Hide... we're very near the end
Get out of the way, we're getting close to the danger
Fear... the promise of a nation
The government is scaring people into obedience
It's getting harder to defend
It's becoming more difficult to justify the actions of the nation
Come in, come in
Come closer
Relax, relax
Calm down
There's no sweets
There's nothing to lure you in
Please give more than I have
I need help, I can't do this alone
I know, I know
I understand
You are, you are
You're trying to do something to me
Trying to scare me
You're attempting to intimidate me
I got nothing to spare
I have nothing left to give
Save all the shit about love and freedom
Stop talking about love and freedom, it's meaningless to me
Sounds like shit to me
It sounds bad, useless, and untrue
Holy war...
This war is being fought in the name of religion
Show me what you've been concealing
Reveal what's being hidden
All in the name of peace and love
Claiming that the war is being fought for positive reasons
What are we fighting for
What is the actual goal of the war?
I thought the point was healing
I believed the purpose was to fix and repair relationships
Clearly I was did wrong
Apparently my beliefs were incorrect
Truth... beyond your comprehension
You can't understand the whole story
Lies... above and far beyond
People are being deceived on a massive scale
I think that every execution
I believe every killing is being documented
Will be televised onto your phone
The public will have access to this information
There’s no crime scene
There's nothing left to investigate
′Cause I am what I am
I can only be who I am
Trying to shock me
You're trying to surprise or startle me
I don't easily scare
It's not easy to intimidate me
There are, the shit about love and freedom
Love and freedom are not real, people are lying about them
It's a shameless lie to me
I don't believe what's being said
Holy war...
This is still a religious conflict
Writer(s): Steven Lee Lukather, Jeffrey Lynn Vanston, Joseph Stanley Williams
Contributed by Aaliyah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Denis S. Pratt
on Take My Hand
Beautiful rendition of a reconciling moment that my mother and I will lay to rest.