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Jeff Porcaro

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Jeff Porcaro

Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American session drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award winning band Toto. Porcaro was one of the most recorded drummers in history.[1] While already an established studio player in the 1970s, he shot to prominence in the US as the drummer on the Steely Dan album Katy Lied.

His other studio credits include Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and "Heal The World"; Michael McDonald's "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)"; John Sebastian's "Welcome Back"; Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" and "New York Minute"; Elton John's "Jump Up!"; Randy Newman's "I Love L.A."; Eric Clapton's "Forever Man", and many others. He is also famous for his performance on the Toto song, "Rosanna".

Biography

Personal life

Porcaro was born in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, the eldest son of Los Angeles session percussionist, Joe Porcaro. His brothers Steve Porcaro and Mike Porcaro are both still active session musicians.

On October 22, 1983, Porcaro married Susan Norris, a Los Angeles television newscaster. They had three sons, Christopher Joseph (born July 3, 1984), Miles Edwin Crawford (born June 12, 1986), and Nico Hendrix (born December 26, 1991).

Career

Porcaro began playing at the age of seven. Lessons came from his father Joe Porcaro, followed by further studies with Bob Zimmitti and Richie Lepore.

When he was seventeen, Porcaro got his first professional gig playing in Sonny and Cher's touring band. During his 20s, he played on hundreds of albums,[2] including several for Steely Dan. He toured with Boz Scaggs, before co-founding Toto with his brother Steve and childhood friends Steve Lukather and David Paich.

Besides his work with Toto, he also performed as a session musician with artists such as Paul McCartney, Dire Straits, Willy DeVille, Jackson Browne, Donald Fagen, Rickie Lee Jones, Michael Jackson, Go West, Nik Kershaw, Love and Money, Paul Simon, Don Henley, Madonna, Airplay, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Manhattan Transfer, America, Peter Frampton, Bee Gees, Clair Marlo, Tom Scott, Michael McDonald, Amy Holland, Joe Cocker, Stan Getz, Sergio Mendez, Lee Ritenour, Christopher Cross, James Newton-Howard, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh, Jim Messina, Four Tops, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Natalie Cole, Les Dudek, Warren Zevon, Bonnie Raitt, Dire Straits, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Pink Floyd, Roger Hodgson; Paul Anka, Eric Carmen, Eric Clapton, Miles Davis, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Tommy Bolin and Larry Carlton.

Richard Marx dedicated the song "One Man" to him and said Porcaro was the best drummer he had ever worked with.[3]

Michael Jackson made a dedication to Porcaro in the liner notes for his 1995 album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. Porcaro had contributed drums to four songs on Jackson's Thriller album ("The Girl Is Mine", "Beat It", "Human Nature", and "The Lady In My Life"), as well as playing on the Dangerous album hit "Heal the World".

He also played drums on 10cc's ...Meanwhile (1992). On the 1993 10cc Alive album, recorded after his death, the band dedicated "The Night That the Stars Didn't Show" to him.

Death

Porcaro died in a gardening accident on August 5, 1992, at the age of 38. He was spraying insecticide in his garden and inhaled too much of the spray, triggering a heart attack. An autopsy revealed a serious heart condition that had been previously undiagnosed.

Porcaro's funeral, attended by an estimated 1,500 people (friends, family, colleagues, fans), was held on August 10 in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery, where he was buried. The Jeff Porcaro Memorial Fund was established to benefit the music and art departments of Grant High School in Los Angeles where he was a student in the early 1970s. A memorial concert took place at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles on December 14, 1992 with an all-star line up that included Boz Scaggs, Donald Fagen, Don Henley, Michael McDonald, George Harrison, David Crosby, Eddie Van Halen and the members of Toto. The proceeds of the concert were used to establish an educational trust fund for Porcaro's sons.

Discography

With Toto

Other artists

References

  1. ^ Freedrumlessons.com
  2. ^ - Jeff Porcaro's official discography
  3. ^ liner notes "Paid vacation", see quote about "One man"
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