Toto was, essentially, the band behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album. Just look at the credits for "Thriller". The members of Toto were what the industry called "first call" studio musicians. If you want the best musicians on your album, you call the Toto guys. From Olivia Newton-John to Van Halen....from the band Chicago to Michael McDonald, the members of Toto are on thousands of recordings. Which is also why they can call in favors....have Linda Ronstadt on background vocals? No problem. Get Miles Davis to come in for a jam? Done!
Really holy s*&^% I had no clue thank you for informing me of that Danny. I could tell from Hold The Line and ofc Africa that they were something special. However I had no clue that special/talented.
@@schwarzwald6672 Unfortunately, I think Toto has reached the end of the line as a band in 2019. While not officially disbanded, Toto is on "extended hiatus".
When my daughter was little and couldn't go to sleep, I would play this song at low volume and sing it to her.... she drifted off to sleep with a smile........
Jamel, I'm in an electric wheelchair and I've listened to a lot of you reactions. The song came out just before my ship made port in Mombasa, Africa. Yes I was in the Navy for 20 years. Every time I hear this song I remember my visit there, it was awesome.
Poosala, how right you are shipmate! Mombasa was fantastic. As were the people. Been back several times. Africa just has a powerful draw to her you just cant explain
I am a 45 year old South African male. Who would of thought, that when I hear a song about the continent I live on, sung by an American band, I would get so choked up. This song is without a doubt something special. For most South Africans, when you here this song play, the pride and longing for African soil calls us home, wherever we are.
My mother left SA in 1932 as a 15 year old she doed age 89 and nver saw South Africa again.Every time I listen to this it reminds me of her and I feel so sad she never saw SA again
You can't do Toto without getting into that one. But for a more slightly obscure song by them, I would go with the Dune opening theme soundtrack. A lot of people forget that was Toto too.
And Toto's guitarist, Steve Lukather, played guitar and bass on Beat It(Eddie Van Halen did the lead solo). Their drummer, Jeff Porcaro, also played drums on it and Human Nature and Baby Be Mine. Steve Porcaro and bandmate David Paich also played on Human Nature and a few other tracks. Toto was basically MJ's studio band on Human Nature, Beat It and Baby Be Mine. They also did the musical arrangement for Beat It.
Chillmode My trick for my colicky baby was to sit down with her on a pillow, move my knees while patting her back and playing Don’t Worry Baby. Worked like a charm.
I was his tech in the early 70s. I did his Dads percussion and drums for the 25 years before he retired. I was doing Jeffs drums back to the Sonny and Cher show !
Roger that Keith KC8TCQ! What a versatile, talented session drummer. His work with Tommy Bolin was outstanding. We lost him way too soon. Not sure if it's still available to view here, but I watched a 7/8 part drumming seminar of his several years ago. He was very forthright about his influences on specific songs and how he used them to create patterns and syncopations.
I was a local stagehand running spotlight for their show in Minneapolis. Toto put on a great show and turned Africa into a 30 minute percussion exploration.
My daughter graduated high school 2019 and this was voted to be the class song and was played at the ceremony. I love that it was Toto’s version. As a kid from the 80’s I was proud of them.
In the same year in which Toto's "IV" album swept the Grammy Awards, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather also won a Grammy on his own for co-writing the Best R&B Song - - George Benson's "Turn Your Love Around". The song was co-written with Jay Graydon and Bill Champlin (the band Chicago's keyboard player and vocalist, who shared lead vocals on "Hard Habit To Break").
One of the best songs ever. A shame about the Porcaro brothers and the short lives they lived. RIP Mike and Jeff Edit: Can you do Rubberband Man by Detroit Spinners (1976) plz? 😁
I hope we can hear The Rubberband Man by the Detroit Spinners (1976) it’s a smooth jam with several hooks. It’s a feel good song for a time like this. I requested it twice but I know he’s very busy with many comments. Fingers crossed though 🤞
Lisa Meunier it’s so good Lisa. I’ve been playing some old school R&B jams during this isolation. It really helps. Music helps soothe the soul. I hope you are well.
David C. Yeah I agree I particularly love: power of love Huey Lewis and the news, beat it Michael Jackson, my Sharona by the knack, take on me by aha there are so many
Was driving with a friend when I first heard this. She had heard it. Said there is something odd at the end. 4 years after I got out of the Army I still had it. Morse code intercept while I was in. There was Morse in the song. Said "Think global, Act local".
This song is all about the 80's.... If you grew up in the 80's, it doesn't need to be explained....... Big sigh.... and when I hear these classics, my whole youth COMES UP from my stomach like an overwhelming memory....
Hey it's the 77 year old grandma, since you love this song so much, I am begging you to listen to and view "Africa" The angel city chorale, I guarantee you will love it, it's one of those experiences like Heart singing Stairway to heaven. Looking forward to your reaction on it, you will not be sorry.
@Carla Jean Gilliland - here are two versions of Africa you will absolutely LOVE if you like Angel City - these are better IMO, but your mileage may vary, different people have different tastes.. Don't worry, neither is the weezer version (which IMO is an abomination) One is in another language. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lB7-5_FiZeU.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uolDTn5Aoxo.html
Oh, hell yeah, especially if reacts to the full-length video instead of the shorter version There's a few other Yes songs that he should too: Leave it Changes Starship Troopers Roundabout
Whenever I would play one of their songs, my step-dad would run in saying "Hey, Dorothy. Where's toto?" He liked them too and was hinting he knew the band
I remember reading somewhere that the rest of the band weren't keen on the song when songwriter and keyboard player David Paitch presented it to them in raw form initially.
An artist created a set up of speakers powered by solar energy in the middle of an African desert with this song playing on repeat....so cool that literally in the middle of nowhere this song is playing right now and will be for eternity..
Imagine a time when MTV was blasting out quality content like this, 24/7/365. No smartphones, no Facebook, no social media, no "angry Twitter mob". The world was a much better place for all.
Check out the Toto hits “99” (stunning ballad with great piano parts), “Georgy Porgy” (pure groove and a R&B hit as well), and “I’ll Supply The Love” (more rock leaning with a big hook). Enjoy your channel! Keep ‘em comin’
99 is beautiful, especially the long version, but its meaning is unclear, though I've heard it's based on a dystopia where people are numbers and no emotion is allowed. Weird.
This was always my favorite song from Toto. It is well structured. I'm not sure if I'm using the proper terms to describe it but : It has a smooth melody that builds on itself. Then that great chorus hook steepens the melody climb only to come back down for another round of melody building.
For us Africans, this song will always strike a chord. Mother Africa is magnificent and would approve of this song. Her diversity is breathtaking; the languages, the people, the different cultures, and of course the flora and fauna. To hear a lion roar in its natural environment at close range is a sound that rumbles through you - never to be forgotten.
Jeff Porcaro, the drummer in this (and leader/founder of the band together with the keyboardist) is also the drummer for a lot of the Steely Dan stuff! When doing his first work with Steely Dan (Night By Night, which is a super funky tune you should react to one day, and I've seen it be mentioned quite a bit in previous videos) he was 16 years old. And when doing the entire Katy Lied album, he was 19. What a monster of a prodigy!
The Toto members made SO much great music. As a band first, and as session players on hundreds of songs. Without these guys, it's hard to imagine the 70s-80s musical landscape. They are the cats!
The drummer, bass player and keyboard player with the big glasses were all brothers. The keyboardist is still alive and does tons of movie and tv soundtracks.
If you want to dive deeper into Toto's catalog, give these a spin: "Girl Goodbye" "Rockmaker" "Afraid of Love / Lovers in the Night"(*) "Stranger in Town" "Only the Children" "Last Night" "Mindfields" (* technically, these are two separate songs, but on the album they're right up against each other with no gap at all in between them, so I always think of them as a set. :-) )
Back more than a few years (decades) ago we had a Social Studies class that focused on Africa the entire year. At the end of the year the school band honored the teacher by playing this for him. RIP Mr. Stull.
Unfortunately, that's a wrap for Toto. Bobby, who occasionally plays with them, may be suffering from dementia. Luke is touring with Ringo, and everyone admits that without a Porcaro, it's just not Toto, and is done for good, he only came back to to honor Mike.
@@rubioblack they've played for years since Jeff passed, and made two albums since Mike got sick and passed. Steve Porcaro is back with them. However, there was a lawsuit that they lost that will make future tours financially stressful. You can find limited information on that, but it was a real clusterf**k. They are taking a break after touring for nearly three years. Hard telling if they will be back. David Paich can't tour - he has health issues. And Bobby hasn't been with the band since 2008. Joseph Williams was their vocalist of late. He sang on the last two albums they made. Speaking of albums, they actually just released Old Is New, with some brand new tracks and some where they found old tracks featuring Jeff and Mike/David Hungate and re-purposed them. This was part of a box set they released a couple of years ago, but now it's available as a stand-alone purchase.
Bonnie Half-Elven, that was a reference to Steve Lukather’s statement from 2008. You can find it on Wikipedia; “When Dave [Paich] 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 [Porcaro] 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? ... 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.”
@@rubioblack - never say never. Luke's whole world is touring. There is always hope they will return. Steve Porcaro - who gave me my nickname IS A Porcaro!
My nephew can’t stand it. He had to sing it in his choir class, and his teacher made them sing it at almost every concert they performed. And it was pretty awful! She’s not a great teacher, I hate to say.
The Runaway Kid I’ll be over you, stop loving you, rosanna, Georgy Porgy, I won’t hold you back, Goodbye Elenore Mushanga, 99, I’ll supply the love Pamela Home of the brave Mama. All are awesome
You joked about seeing Tarzan in the video, but have you considered doing a reaction to Baltimora's "Tarzan Boy"? That's a classic one-hit wonder song from the '80s.
Jeff Porcaro the drummer and David Paich the singer wrote this gem. The band lineup here is Jeff Porcaro - drums, Mike Porcaro -Bass, Steve Porcaro - synths, Steve Lukather - Guitar, David Paich - piano. The 3 brother's father Joe Porcaro did additional percussion as well. GREAT GREAT GREAT band and criminally underrated
Check out Georgy Porgy by Toto as well. It’s been sampled quite a few times and Eric Benet did kind of a cover a number of years ago. Fantastic, soulful tune. I know you’ll have heard it before.
Jamel, I absolutely agree with you, whenever I hear this song at the store or somewhere else, it’s such a great feeling! Thanks for your great reaction video’s! You do a terrific job!
In this vein, you should react to Men at Work - Land Down Under. It's fun. Also thank you, this is my new favorite channel, this is that wholesome content I need during this quarantine.
Look at the Toto live performance of “gorgy porgy “ and then keep in mind they backed up Boz Scaggs when he started out .... I think you will be blown away in many ways!!
