Toto

Toto was a Grammy Award winning American Rock Band formed in Los Angeles in 1977.

The group was formed by six studio musicians who between them had done recordings with acts ranging from Sonny and Cher, to Steely Dan, to Boz Scaggs. The word Toto in latin means “All-Encompassing“, so given that the band members had played in such varied genres of music, the title “Toto” was deemed appropriate.

Their self-titled debut album “Toto” was released in 1978.

The album “Toto IV” won the Album of the Year Grammy Award in 1983.

The band went on to record 12 Studio Albums, 4 Live Albums, and 8 Compilation Albums over the course of their career.

They charted a number of hits including:

Hold the Line
Rosanna
99
Africa
Stranger in Town
Make Believe
I Won’t Hold You Back
I’ll Be Over You
Pamela
Without Your Love
I’ll Supply the Love

Their top charting hit was “Africa” which hit #1 on the Billboard Charts in 1982.

“Rosanna” hit #2 on the Billboard Charts that same year.

Rosanna won the Record of the Year Grammy Award in 1983.

It was long assumed that the song “Rosanna” was written about Actress Rosanna Arquette, who at the time was involved with one of the members of the band. The song had already been written by another member of the band and all the song was lacking was a name which would fit into the chorus of the song, so Rosanna was used.

The video for Rosanna (above) features dancer Cynthia Rhodes. She went on to acting, appearing in such movies as Dirty Dancing, Flashdance, Staying Alive, and Runaway. She also became the new lead singer of the group “Animotion” in the late 80′s and sang lead on their top-10 hit “Room to Move”. She is currently married to 80′s/90′s musical star Richard Marx.

Toto sold over 30 Million records worldwide.

The group disbanded in 2008 after over 30 years of performing and recording together.