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
Last Love
Toto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If I asked you to stay with me forever
But forever's in too soon
The touch of your hand
And the look in your eyes are the only things I know
I know that are true
We only have this life
But the only thing that matters
Is we have no regrets
There's nothing I wouldn't do for you
There's nothing I wouldn't give to you
You know it's true
Oh can't you see
You're the last love for me
Time passes fast
And the hours go quickly
But the fire inside our hearts
It never dies
The sound of your voice
And the way that it moves me in a special way
Oh I can't describe
Please take my hand
And we'll walk the endless road
No one has to lead us
'Cause we know which way to go
There's nothing I wouldn't do for you
There's nothing I wouldn't give to you
You know it's true
Oh can't you see
You're the last love for me
And if I ever really hurt you
How sorry I would be
There's something I've been trying to tell you
Darlin' it's time you know
You'll always be a part of me
The Toto song Last Love is a poignant and emotional love song that explores themes of love, commitment, and regret. The song begins with the singer asking his lover what she would do if he asked her to stay with him forever, acknowledging that forever is, in fact, too soon. The touch of her hand and the look in her eyes are the only things that he knows to be true, and he recognizes the importance of forgiveness and living life with no regrets.
Throughout the song, the singer expresses his unwavering love and commitment to his partner, acknowledging that there is nothing he wouldn't do or give for her. The fire inside their hearts may continue to burn, but time passes quickly, and they must make the most of the time they have together. As they walk the endless road of life hand in hand, they need no one to lead them as they know the way to go.
The song's final verses are particularly touching, as the singer apologizes to his lover for any pain he may have caused and tells her that she will always be a part of him. The message of the song is one of profound love and gratitude, emphasizing the preciousness of the time we have with those we love and the importance of cherishing those moments.
Line by Line Meaning
What would you say
If I were to ask you to stay with me forever, what would your response be?
If I asked you to stay with me forever
Let's stay together for eternity
But forever's in too soon
However, forever is too short compared to how long I want us to be together
The touch of your hand
Your touch signifies companionship and trust in this relationship
And the look in your eyes are the only things I know
The only things that prove that you love me are your touch and gaze
I know that are true
These are the only things that I count as genuinely authentic
We only have this life
We only have this one life to live together
To forgive and forget
The most important thing to do is to simply forgive and let go of our past mistakes
But the only thing that matters
But the only thing we really need is to be able to say we have no regrets
There's nothing I wouldn't do for you
I am willing to go to great lengths to show my love and commitment to you
There's nothing I wouldn't give to you
I am willing to give you everything because you mean that much to me
Oh can't you see
Can't you see how much I love you?
You're the last love for me
You are the last person that I will ever love because you complete me
Time passes fast
Time goes by too quickly for us, but no matter how fast it passes we'll still have each other
And the hours go quickly
Will always go by quicker than we want it to, so we must cherish every moment that we have together
But the fire inside our hearts
The passion and love we share for one another will never dwindle or fade away
It never dies
This love will last a lifetime, and will never come to an end
The sound of your voice
The sound of your voice brings so much joy and happiness to my life
And the way that it moves me in a special way
It's not just the sound, but also the way that your voice touches my heart that makes me cherish you
Oh I can't describe
I can never properly put into words how much I love you
Please take my hand
Let's embark on this journey of life together, and never let go of each other's hands
And we'll walk the endless road
There may be many challenges and obstacles ahead of us, but we'll tackle them together as a team
No one has to lead us
We know where we're headed in life, and we don't need anyone else to pave the way for us
'Cause we know which way to go
We have a clear vision of our future together, and we'll work to achieve our goals hand in hand
And if I ever really hurt you
If I ever unintentionally caused you pain
How sorry I would be
I will apologize from the depths of my heart and ensure that I'll never repeat the same mistake
There's something I've been trying to tell you
There's something on my mind that I need to express to you but haven't found the right time to do so
Darlin' it's time you know
Honey, it's time for you to hear what I've been wanting to tell you
You'll always be a part of me
No matter what happens in the future, you'll hold a special place in my heart that will never be erased
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: STEVEN LEE LUKATHER, DAVID F PAICH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Denis S. Pratt
on Take My Hand
Beautiful rendition of a reconciling moment that my mother and I will lay to rest.