Toto (band)

Toto
Toto live in Copenhagen, Denmark, at K.B. Hallen July 20, 2010. 2010 lineup, left to right, Simon Phillips (drums), David Paich (keyboards, vocals), Mabvuto Carpenter (vocals), Jory Steinberg (vocals), Steve Lukather (guitar, vocals), Nathan East (bass, vocals), Steve Porcaro (keyboards), Joseph Williams (lead vocals)
Background information
Origin	Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Rock, pop, jazz fusion
Years active	1977–2008, 2010–present
Labels	Columbia, Frontiers, Toto
Associated acts	Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, Seals and Crofts, Michael McDonald
Website	www.totoofficial.com
Members	Steve Lukather David Paich Steve Porcaro Joseph Williams
Past members	Jeff Porcaro Mike Porcaro Simon Phillips David Hungate Bobby Kimball Fergie Frederiksen Greg Phillinganes Jean-Michel Byron Keith Carlock

Toto is an American rock band formed in 1977 in Van Nuys in Los Angeles. The band's current lineup consists of Joseph Williams (lead vocals), David Paich (keyboards, vocals), Steve Porcaro (keyboards), Steve Lukather (guitars, vocals), plus touring members Leland Sklar (bass) and Shannon Forrest (drums). Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard rock, R&B, blues, and jazz.

David Paich and Jeff Porcaro had played together as session musicians on several albums and decided to form a band. David Hungate, Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro and Bobby Kimball were recruited before their first album release. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the late 1970s and 1980s, beginning with the band's eponymous debut released in 1978. With the release of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Toto IV (1982), Toto became one of the best-selling music groups of their era. They are best known for the Top 5 hits "Hold the Line", "Rosanna", and "Africa". Several changes to the lineup have been made over the years. Hungate left in 1982 followed by Kimball in 1984 but rejoined the band in 1998 until 2008. Jeff Porcaro died in 1992 of a heart attack. Hungate rejoined Toto as a touring musician and later a band member. In 2008, Lukather announced his departure from the band, and the remaining band members later went their separate ways. In the summer of 2010, Toto reformed and went on a short European tour, with a new lineup, to benefit Mike Porcaro, who had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and was no longer an active member of the band. Porcaro died in 2015.