Toto

Toto, the Los Angeles outfit formed from a circle of 1970s session players, sit at an unusual crossroads of studio craft and arena pop. Their sound draws on pop, rock, soul, funk, prog, hard rock, R&B, blues and jazz, a mixture that mirrors the range of records they had already helped make. Across fourteen studio albums they have sold more than 50 million copies and won several Grammy Awards, and in 2009 they were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

Their start came from the studio itself. Keyboardist David Paich and drummer Jeff Porcaro formed the group with David Hungate, Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro and Bobby Kimball, and the 1978 debut album reached mainstream ears through the top five single "Hold the Line". It was Toto IV, from 1982, that brought global success, with "Africa" topping the Billboard Hot 100 and "Rosanna" reaching number two. Simon Phillips took over the drum chair after Jeff Porcaro's death in 1992, and the band has kept touring and releasing music, most recently with Old Is New in 2018.