“Some people’s destiny, passes by…”
Those are the first few lines of “I’ll be Over You” by Toto. Soon after, guest Michael McDonald chimes in with harmonies that make the song even more beautiful.
I was thinking of my favourite Toto song when I heard they were playing in Calgary tonight.
However, “I’ll be Over You” is just one song and one memory from a band that gave me a few.
Commercial success
My first memory of Toto is seeing a clip of one of their music videos and thinking the lead singer looked liked Burton Cummings. It was part of a commercial for one of those K-Tel or Polytel mixed tapes of songs.
My first memory of Toto is seeing a clip of one of their music videos and thinking the lead singer looked liked Burton Cummings. It was part of a commercial for one of those K-Tel or Polytel mixed tapes of songs.
Not too much later, I was riding the school bus and heard Toto had a big night at the Grammys the previous evening. I thought that was pretty cool, but it made a lot of sense to me because Burton Cummings was very popular in my household and everyone thought he was very talented.
Soon, I discovered that was not Burton Cummings. Toto’s actual lead singer at that time was Bobby Kimball. I just Googled him, and he still looks like Burton Cummings.
The early years
Toto was actually formed in 1977 and released their debut album “Toto” in 1978. Their debut single was “Hold the Line” which went all the way to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Only later did I come to know this song, and discover it was their first single. The album also garnered Toto a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist.
Toto was actually formed in 1977 and released their debut album “Toto” in 1978. Their debut single was “Hold the Line” which went all the way to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Only later did I come to know this song, and discover it was their first single. The album also garnered Toto a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist.
Toto released their follow-up album, “Hydra”, in 1979. The first single was “99” which went all the way to number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wikipedia reveals it is a tribute to George Lucas’ film “THX 1138”, which I found quite interesting. The video even resembles a scene in the movie.
“Hydra” did not achieve the same success as “Toto”, but the band kept on writing and recording, releasing “Turn Back”, their third album, in 1981. Wikipedia reveals “Turn Back” had a poor performance on the charts and sales and put the band’s career in jeopardy.
So, they needed something big.
Boy did they deliver in 1982.
Four is the lucky number
The band released “Toto IV” in 1982, under a great deal of pressure to return to the success they had on their debut album.
The band released “Toto IV” in 1982, under a great deal of pressure to return to the success they had on their debut album.
The first time I heard the name of the album was “Toto IV”, I wondered why, because I had never heard of them before. But I was 12, and barely knew anything about music.
The first song released was “Rosanna”, which is an amazing love song. It went all the way to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is named after Rosanna Arquette who was dating keyboard player Steve Porcaro at the time. “Rosanna” won the Grammy for Record of the Year and was nominated for Song of the Year.
The second single was “Make Believe” which peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.
That was followed by “Africa”, which became Toto’s most successful single. It went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It is an iconic song of the ‘80s.
“Toto IV” would yield one more hit, “I Won’t Hold You Back”, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is Toto’s last top 10 hit to date. When I hear the chorus, it reminds me so much of the Bee Gees.
“Toto IV” delivered in spades for the band. Toto went on to win a total of six Grammys – Album of the Year and Best Engineered Recording, Non-classical for “Toto IV”; and Producer of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices, and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals for “Rosanna”. They were also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for “Rosanna”.
Interregnum
After “Toto IV”, the band recorded most of the music for the 1984 movie “Dune”. I was unable to see “Dune” in the theatre, because it was restricted and I was still 14. Earlier that year, Bobby Kimball had run into drug-related charges and was fired from the band. He was replaced by Fergie Frederiksen on the band’s next album, “Isolation”, which was released in November of 1984. It did not have near the commercial success of “Toto IV” It did have the single “Stranger in Town”, which peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After “Toto IV”, the band recorded most of the music for the 1984 movie “Dune”. I was unable to see “Dune” in the theatre, because it was restricted and I was still 14. Earlier that year, Bobby Kimball had run into drug-related charges and was fired from the band. He was replaced by Fergie Frederiksen on the band’s next album, “Isolation”, which was released in November of 1984. It did not have near the commercial success of “Toto IV” It did have the single “Stranger in Town”, which peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After the “Isolation” tour closed in 1985, Toto let Fergie Frederiksen go. After an audition, they hired Joseph Williams, son of film composer John Williams who had written famous songs for “Star Wars”; “Jaws”; “ET”; “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and so much more.
That set the stage for when I picked up the trail of Toto.
Taking the Temperature
Toto released “Fahrenheit” in October of 1986. The first single was “I’ll be Over You”, which remains one of my favourite love songs of all time. It features background vocals by Michael McDonald which makes the song even richer. “I’ll be Over You” went all the way to number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Toto released “Fahrenheit” in October of 1986. The first single was “I’ll be Over You”, which remains one of my favourite love songs of all time. It features background vocals by Michael McDonald which makes the song even richer. “I’ll be Over You” went all the way to number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Lucky number seven
This is where the trail ends for me. In 1988, Toto released their seventh album, fittingly called “The Seventh One”. It had the single “Pamela” which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is their last top 40 single to date. It also went all the way to number nine on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
This is where the trail ends for me. In 1988, Toto released their seventh album, fittingly called “The Seventh One”. It had the single “Pamela” which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is their last top 40 single to date. It also went all the way to number nine on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Wikipedia reveals “The Seventh One” was the band’s most successful release since “Toto IV”.
The first time I heard "Pamela" was when I was just back from my first year ofuniversity. I was pulling out of the driveway on our farm north of Coaldale and crossing the bridge over the irrigation canal when I heard it.
The voice sounded familiar, and sure enough, it was Toto.
That was the last new music I ever heard from the band.
Parting thoughts
Toto continues performing to this day, evidenced by their concert in Calgary.
Toto continues performing to this day, evidenced by their concert in Calgary.
They will always be a part of the soundtrack of the ‘80s, especially with “Rosanna” and “Africa”, which are two absolutely amazing songs I never get tired of. Yet for me, they topped that with “I’ll be Over You”, which just touches my heart. In fact, I almost used it in a play I wrote about my high school years, and penciled it in as a possibility for the sequel.
After all, it not only came out when I was in high school, but spoke to me as a high school student.
So, I guess “I’ll be Over You” and Toto really are part of the soundtrack of my life.
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