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
Make Believe
Toto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why don't we make believe we're in love again
Who said the crimson moon doesn't shine
Where do people go when they're lookin' for that one of a kind
Why don't we make believe that we're sorry
Why must we hold it all inside
Where do lovers go when they're runnin' and there's no place to hide
Always remember, the day we met in the foreign rain
You were content and, we went our separate ways
No matter which way the wind blows now, hang on to it anyhow
Don't ever say it could never be the same
[Chorus]
Always remember, holding hands on a summer day
You were content ob das stimmt?? and you took it all away
I didn't come here to change your mind, lead you on and waste your time
All alone in the evening, gettin' blue
Why don't we make believe
[Chorus]
Why don't we make believe, why don't we make believe
In Toto's song Make Believe, the chorus invites us to imagine a situation where we can pretend to be in love again, despite the fact that something went wrong and the relationship ended. The lyrics suggest that we keep the feelings we had when we first met and hang on to them, even if it seems impossible to go back to that time. The crimson moon, a symbol of love and passion, is still shining, encouraging us to make believe that we can resurrect the romance.
In the second verse, the lyrics reflect on a happy memory with the person we loved. We held hands on a summer day, but the romantic feeling was ended by the person we loved who took it all away. The lyrics express regret about not being able to change the person's mind and lead them on.
Line by Line Meaning
Why don't we make believe we're in love again
Let's pretend that we're in love again, just like we used to be.
Who said the crimson moon doesn't shine
Despite what others may say, there is beauty and hope even in the darkest of times.
Where do people go when they're lookin' for that one of a kind
People often wander and search for something unique and special, whether it be love or some other desire.
Why don't we make believe that we're sorry
Perhaps we can try to pretend that we're sorry and make amends, even if we're not truly feeling remorseful.
Why must we hold it all inside
Why do we keep our emotions bottled up and not express them to others?
Where do lovers go when they're runnin' and there's no place to hide
When couples encounter difficulties and have nowhere to turn, what options do they have left?
Always remember, the day we met in the foreign rain
Think back to the moment when we first met, in a time and place that may have been unfamiliar to us.
You were content and, we went our separate ways
At that time, we both felt satisfied and comfortable with parting from each other.
No matter which way the wind blows now, hang on to it anyhow
Whatever changes may come, hold on to your feelings and memories tightly.
Don't ever say it could never be the same
Don't give up hope that things could return to the way they once were.
Always remember, holding hands on a summer day
Recall those warm, sunny moments when we shared tender embraces and walked together hand in hand.
You were content ob das stimmt?? and you took it all away
You were satisfied with what we had but then suddenly ended it, leaving me with nothing but confusion and sadness.
I didn't come here to change your mind, lead you on and waste your time
My intentions were not to manipulate or mislead you, but rather to be honest and straightforward.
All alone in the evening, gettin' blue
Now I'm left by myself in the evening, feeling melancholy and saddened by our separation.
Why don't we make believe
Perhaps pretending things are different than they really are is worth a try.
Why don't we make believe, why don't we make believe
Let's keep imagining and pretending together, and see where it takes us.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHARLES MINGUS
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.