Trivia / Toto

• Approval of God: They think the memes regarding Africa are hilarious.
• Black Sheep Hit: "Africa" is this for them. The song itself was never meant to be on Toto IV; it was thrown in at the last second because they needed another song to complete the album. The band themselves noted that besides not sounding like them at all, it was inherently ridiculous for them to be writing a song about Africa when they're a bunch of white men from California who had never even been to Africa. No one anticipated it'd be a hit, and the band even joked that the song should've been reserved for David Paich's solo album (a band inside joke for when a song didn't fit the Toto mold), yet the song ended up being their biggest hit despite the kitschy nature of the track. While they themselves love the song, they're still baffled by the song's explosive success to this day, and they've since struggled to fight through the perception of the song misrepresenting who they are, as audiences often come to them thinking "Africa" is all Toto are as a band. When the song & band gained a second wind (due to memes and appearances in popular shows and movies), it only baffled them even more, but they were deeply appreciative as it ended up exposing them to two new generations of audience members - Millennials, and Zoomers. Needless to say, it's a mixed bag for them.
• Chart Displacement: Despite performing better than frequent setlist appearers "I'll Supply the Love" (US #45) and "Georgy Porgy" (US #48), the Toto tracks "Make Believe" (US #30 in 1982), "Stranger in Town" (US #30 in 1984), and "Without Your Love" (US #38 in 1986) are not very prominent and have rarely appeared in concerts.
• Executive Meddling: They were hit with it pretty hard after Joseph Williams quit. Based on the assumption that neither Williams nor Kimball had provided a suitable "Face" for the group (see below), the record company decided to force a new singer, Jean-Michel Byron (Lukather frustratedly complained, "the guy had never even heard Led Zeppelin IV"), into the band.
• He Also Did: Too many to count. Look at any member's individual discography.
  • The band started out as Boz Scaggs' backing band.
  • Drummer Simon Phillips was a touring member for The Who in 1989.
  • Three members of the band collaborated with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. Drummer Jeff Porcaro played the drum parts on "Mother" after Nick Mason found the Uncommon Time too difficult to work with, and both he and Steve Lukather provided session parts on Waters' solo album Amused to Death. The 2015 remaster of the latter also features Hammond organ by David Paich on "The Bravery of Being out of Range".
• Playing Against Type: While Lukather usually sang the band's ballads, Kimball sang "Million Miles Away" on Turn Back. Lukather sang the song himself during the Tambu tour in 1996, although Kimball had left the band by then.
• Revival by Commercialization: In 2017, "Africa" was the subject of various memes, which led to an increase in digital sales, as well as their concerts being attended by not just aging baby boomers/Gen Xers but also millennials and Gen Zers.
• Role-Ending Misdemeanor:
  • Lukather has suggested in later interviews that Kimball's drug problems led to the band firing him.
  • Joseph Williams was also fired from the band due to substance abuse.
• Similarly Named Works: The band has created such songs as "Don't Stop Me Now" (Fahrenheit), "Let it Go" (Falling in Between), and many more.

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