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
I Can
Toto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh I,
Can turn the gray sky blue, I
You see I can make it rain, when I want it to, oh I
I can build a castle from a single grain of sand, I
You see I can make a ship sail, on dry land tell 'em yeah
I'm unhappy with all the powers I possess, yeah
Girl you're the key to my happiness and I
(I can't get next to you)
I've trying a long time
(I can't get next to you, babe)
(I can't get next you)
I don't know what to do
I,
Oh I,
I, oh Lord
I can fly like a bird in the sky, oh I
And I can buy anything that money can buy, oh I
Can turn a river into a raging fire, oh I
And I can live forever if I so desire, yeah
I'm unhappy with all the power I possess, yeah girl
'Cause girl your the key cause
(I can't get next to you babe)
(I can't get next to you)
(I can't get next to you babe)
(I can't get next to you)
Let me tell that
I can turn back the hands of time,
You better believe I can, oh I
You see I can take the season's change just by waving my hand, let me say I
I can change anything from old to new girl, oh I
All the things I want to do the most, you see, I'm unable to do, yeah
Unimportant these things that I'm trying to do here today
'Cause girl, you see, I
(Can't get next to you babe)
I've been trying a long time
(I can't get next to you)
Oh somebody oughta help me
(I can't get next to you, babe)
Let me, let me go
(I can't get next to you)
Let me
I, Lord I've been working on it, baby
I've been thinking about it
Oh I
But you see, I've been trying to call you all day long
But you see I don't have your phone number, honey, I
I've been, I've been, thinking about you baby, something awful
You see, I, oh I, sometimes I feel like I want to moan about it
And I, I don't just know what to say about it
The lyrics of Toto's song "I Can" express a feeling of invincibility and confidence. The singer believes that he has the power to control the world around him, to turn the gray sky blue, to make it rain when he wants it to, to build a castle from a single grain of sand, and to make a ship sail on dry land. The singer also claims to have the power to live forever and turn back the hands of time. However, despite all of his accomplishments, the singer is unable to achieve the one thing he desires the most, the love of the woman referred to as "girl" throughout the song. He is unable to "get next to" her or get close to her, asking for someone to help him.
The song's lyrics can be interpreted as a commentary on the limitations of power and the importance of love and relationships. Although the singer may have incredible abilities, his inability to connect with the woman he loves renders all of his other powers useless. Additionally, the repetition of the phrase "I can't get next to you, babe" creates a sense of hopeless yearning, as if the singer feels trapped and unable to escape his desire for this woman.
Line by Line Meaning
I, my, my, my, my
Oh I,
Can turn the gray sky blue, I
You see I can make it rain, when I want it to, oh I
I can build a castle from a single grain of sand, I
You see I can make a ship sail, on dry land tell 'em yeah
I'm unhappy with all the powers I possess, yeah
Girl you're the key to my happiness and I
(I can't get next to you, babe )
(I can't get next to you)
I've trying a long time
(I can't get next to you, babe)
(I can't get next you)
I don't know what to do
The singer is expressing his ability to do incredible things and control the world around him, but ultimately he is unhappy without the person he loves by his side. He is struggling to express this and reach out to her.
I,
Oh I,
I, oh Lord
I can fly like a bird in the sky, oh I
And I can buy anything that money can buy, oh I
Can turn a river into a raging fire, oh I
And I can live forever if I so desire, yeah
I'm unhappy with all the power I possess, yeah girl
'Cause girl your the key cause
(I can't get next to you babe)
(I can't get next to you)
(I can't get next to you babe)
(I can't get next to you)
The singer continues to boast about his power and his abilities, but still he is unhappy without the love of his life. This is what truly matters to him, and he is still unable to reach her.
Let me tell that
I can turn back the hands of time,
You better believe I can, oh I
You see I can take the season's change just by waving my hand, let me say I
I can change anything from old to new girl, oh I
All the things I want to do the most, you see, I'm unable to do, yeah
The singer continues to express his incredible power and control over the world. He can turn back time and change anything as he desires, but even with all of this power, he is still unable to do the things he truly wants, which is to reach the woman he loves.
Unimportant these things that I'm trying to do here today
'Cause girl, you see, I
(Can't get next to you babe)
I've been trying a long time
(I can't get next to you)
Oh somebody oughta help me
(I can't get next to you, babe)
Let me, let me go
(I can't get next to you)
The singer acknowledges that all of his power and abilities mean nothing without the love of his life. He has been trying to reach her for a long time, but he is still unable to get close to her. He wishes that someone could help him or that he could let go of his feelings for her.
I, Lord I've been working on it, baby
I've been thinking about it
Oh I
But you see, I've been trying to call you all day long
But you see I don't have your phone number, honey, I
I've been, I've been, thinking about you baby, something awful
You see, I, oh I, sometimes I feel like I want to moan about it
And I, I don't just know what to say about it
The singer reveals that he has been actively trying to reach the woman he loves, even to the extent of thinking about her constantly and attempting to contact her. He is frustrated by his inability to connect with her, and he is struggling with expressing his feelings to her.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BARRETT STRONG, NORMAN WHITFIELD, NORMAN J. WHITFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jtdcjtdc
who's here Feb 2020! its a loss this song ain't available on Spotify. so much energy in this music! absolute smooth bass, drums, vocals, piano, synth, etc... generally they say Byron is not a fit, but i don't see anyone else driving this specific song 👍
The world is precious, a gift to you and me
I suggest we treat her right, with love and dignity
Everybody's looking for some peace of mind
If you seek the truth then you will surely find
Everybody wants to have global peace
While the press of a button can shake the world to its knees
Can you hear what I'm saying, can you hear what I'm saying
There are those who say might is right, I beg to disagree
I say we all unite and redirect our destiny
Everybody's looking for a quick solution
Our lungs are choking from breathing air pollution
I say put down your guns and stop the revolution
I say it's time we make a restitution, yes
Can you hear what I'm saying, can you hear what I'm saying
Can you hear what I'm saying, can you hear what I'm saying
Can you hear what I'm saying, can you hear what I'm saying
Can you hear me now, I am calling out to you
(Can you hear me calling out to you, can you hear me calling out to you)
There's so much starvation, so much say untruth
So much prejudice, there's so much deprivation - oh how long, how long
Can you hear what I'm saying
Africa, America, Eurasia, Latin Africa
@pepcaone
I know there was lots of turmoil in the band when Jean-Michel Byron was lead vocalist, but this song will always be one of my favorites from Toto.
@anjinghitam8141
Agree!
@anchorpoint3631
I don't get the hate towards him. This guy was indeed a good lead singer for the band.
@maximum.p
@@anchorpoint3631 He quickly started behaving like a diva, and thought he had become sorta Michael Jackson. So he got fired ...
@devilopment3291
@@maximum.p ah, star syndrome. that's definitely bad thing happened to some artist with sudden increase in their exposure and popularity.
@nickavenoso7851
I do love the songs he recorded with the band, but I don’t think he was the best fit live. Just my opinion.
@aridematos3555
One genius for every instrument. Jeff and Mike live on forever.
@auratolosa827
Love this singer
So beautiful and talented
@braddmartins
Reggae,blues,funk,soul,rock. Toto is dinamic,ecletic,the most complete band ever!
@myp0nytail
soo many bands members gone........................they will be MISSED!!!