Worked With:
Greg Phillinganes,
Jeff Porcaro,
David Paich ,
Steve Lukather,
Jerry Hey ,
Paulinho Da Costa,
David Foster
- Born: September 02, 1957, Hartford, CT
- Genres: Rock
- Instrument: Synthesizer, Keyboards
Biography
As a founding member of the Grammy-winning, platinum-selling rock band Toto, songwriter/keyboardist Steve Porcaro had huge pop hits with "Hold the Line," "Rosanna," and "Make Believe." He also co-wrote "Human Nature" on Michael Jackson's 30 million-selling Thriller album. Other members of the band were his brothers Jeff Porcaro and Mike Porcaro, David Paich, David Hungate, Steve Luthaker, Bobby Kimball, Fergie Fredericksen, and Joseph Williams. Toto also became in-demand session musicians, playing on numerous records.Born in Connecticut, Porcaro's musical roots run deep in his family tree. He started taking piano lessons when he was four years old, though while growing up he spent a lot of time on the baseball field. With his brothers, drummer Jeff Porcaro and bassist Mike Porcaro, Steve began playing in various bands. The Porcaro brothers met David Paich when their fathers, Joe Porcaro and Marty Paich, worked together on Glen Campbell's TV variety show. The keyboardist later toured with Gary Wright ("Dreamweaver") and Boz Scaggs around the time of his Silk Degrees album. Members of that touring band would later form Toto. Their self-titled LP was released by Columbia in fall 1977. Going platinum, it yielded the gold single "Hold the Line," "I'll Supply the Love," and "Georgy Porgy" -- a favorite sample source for rap/hip hop groups in the '90s, as was "Human Nature." Their other LPs were Hydra and Turn Back. 1982 would prove to be a banner year for the group. Their million-selling LP Toto IV had a Grammys sweep, winning Album of the Year, Record of the Year ("Rosanna" ), and Producer of the Year. After seven albums, Toto disbanded in 1988. Porcaro launched a film scoring career having contributed to such movies as Metro starring Eddie Murphy and Hope with Christine Lahti. He also scored the UPN-TV series The Sentinel and Gideon's Crossing which premiered on ABC in fall 2000. ~ Ed Hogan, All Music Guide
