Steven Maxwell "Steve" Porcaro (born September 2, 1957, Hartford, Connecticut) is an American keyboardist and composer, who was an original member of the rock/pop band Toto.[1]
Porcaro wrote or co-wrote at least one song on each of Toto's first six albums, with the exception of Isolation. Unlike most of his bandmates, he generally did not contribute lead or even backing vocals; he considered himself a weak singer, and sang lead on two of his compositions only because he felt that the vocal styles of his bandmates, with the exception of Joseph Williams, were not appropriate for his songs.[2] He left Toto in 1986 after the Fahrenheit album in order to pursue a more full-time songwriting and composing career. Porcaro composed the music for the song "Human Nature" from Michael Jackson's album Thriller, and also played with Gary Wright during his tour in 1977, supporting the latter's The Dream Weaver album.
However, Porcaro has continued working with Toto in various supporting capacities, assisting with keyboards, drum looping, synthesizers and arranging/composing. He has also done session musician work for many other acts, including Yes (on Union) and Jefferson Airplane (on their self-titled 1989 reunion album). He was also a member of Chris Squire's short lived band, The Chris Squire Experiment, in 1992.
His two older brothers Mike and Jeff were Toto's bass player and drummer, while his father Joe is a prolific session percussionist.
Steve Porcaro is currently working on film scores. He collaborated with his daughter Heather Porcaro on her debut album, the Heartstring Symphony - released in 2009. He composes the music for the FX television show "Justified".
He also returned to play with Toto at live performances since 2010, when they decided to reform the band and tour in Europe to support Mike Porcaro. They have scheduled some more concerts in Europe and South America.[3]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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"What a Fool Believes"* performed by The Doobie Brothers (Jeffrey Baxter, John Hartman, Keith Knudsen, Michael McDonald, Tiran Porter, Patrick Simmons)
produced by Ted Templeman (1980) |
"Sailing"* performed by Christopher Cross
produced by Michael Omartian (1981) |
"Bette Davis Eyes"* performed by Kim Carnes
produced by Val Garay (1982) |
"Rosanna" performed by Toto (Bobby Kimball, Steve Lukather, David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, David Hungate, Steve Porcaro)
produced by Toto (1983) |
"Beat It" performed by Michael Jackson
produced by Michael Jackson & Quincy Jones (1984) |
"What's Love Got to Do with It"* performed by Tina Turner
produced by Terry Britten (1985) |
"We Are the World"* performed by USA for Africa
produced by Quincy Jones (1986) |
"Higher Love" performed by Steve Winwood
produced by Russ Titelman & Steve Winwood (1987) |
"Graceland" performed by Paul Simon
produced by Paul Simon (1988) |
"Don't Worry, Be Happy"* performed by Bobby McFerrin
produced by Linda Goldstein (1989) |
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| Persondata |
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Porcaro, Steve |
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| Date of birth |
2 September 1957 |
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