In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott & Blake unravel the surprisingly unlikely rise of Toto, a cadre of hyper-skilled studio players who went from backing name-brand artists to dominating the charts on their own.
Featured in hits ranging from yacht-rock to Thriller, these guys weren't exactly starving artists, but finding solo success wasn't easy.
In fact, sounding exactly like a bunch of elite studio musicians didn't even work in their favor. Critics dismissed them as being overly-polished, calculated, and perfect.
Then came Toto IV, a do-or-die album that delivered "Rosanna," "Africa," and a bonafide Grammy sweep. Of course, in the scope of rock mythology, even success leads to chaos, industry backlash, tragedy, and irrelevance – but, powered by the internet and an unexpected Weezer cover, Toto experienced one of the great second acts in pop history.