You don’t have to be a Toto fan to know “Africa.” You may not even need to be much of a music fan to be familiar with the 1982 megahit. Not surprisingly, “Africa” dwarfs every other Toto song in popularity, but it’s far from being the only song in the band’s catalog that people still listen to. With nearly 890 million streams on Spotify, “Hold the Line” is threatening to join “Africa” in the billion-stream club. “Rosanna” has topped 300 million streams, and “I’ll Be Over You” has more than 200 million streams.
Yet several of the songs that made Toto popular between the late ‘70s and mid-’80s have been overshadowed by their four signature hits. We’re not talking about deep cuts; four of the five songs featured here were Top-40 singles, and the fifth is the highest-ranking non-single Toto ever placed on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart. None has yet to crack the 25 million-stream threshold on Spotify. Here’s a refresher on a group of songs that helped to launch Toto to the pinnacle of commercial success during their peak era.
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“99” from Hydra (1979)
Due to the overwhelming success of “Hold the Line” as Toto’s first single, many fans identified Bobby Kimball as the voice of the band. However, the lead single from their sophomore album Hydra featured guitarist Steve Lukather on lead vocals. The setting of “99” is futuristic, based on George Lucas’ film THX-1138. By contrast, the musical vibe is smooth and funky, much like that of “Georgy Porgy” from the band’s debut album—another Toto song featuring a Lukather lead vocal. “99” peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. Only their four signature songs plus the 1988 hit “Pamela” had a longer stay on the Hot 100 than “99’s” 17 weeks.
“Make Believe” from Toto IV (1982)
It’s easy to forget that “Make Believe” was the second single released from the phenomenally successful Toto IV, as it was sandwiched in between “Rosanna” and “Africa.” It’s also easy to see why Columbia Records opted to make “Make Believe” the follow-up to “Rosanna.” It’s a catchy tune in 6/8 time with a Kimball lead vocal, evoking the magic of “Hold the Line.” While “Make Believe” reached No. 30 on the Hot 100, it did not chart in any other country with the exception of West Germany.
“Afraid of Love” from Toto IV (1982)
While “Rosanna” was still climbing the charts, album-oriented rock stations put “Afraid of Love” into their rotations, giving Toto IV two songs on the Mainstream Rock chart during the spring of 1982. Prior to “Afraid of Love’s” run on AOR playlists, Lukather’s best-known vocal performances were on soulful numbers, and afterwards, he was most strongly associated with ballads like “I Won’t Hold You Back” and “I’ll Be Over You.” “Afraid of Love” is probably Lukather’s most famous lead vocal turn on a straight-ahead rocker. The song was released as a single only in Japan, but it rose to No. 28 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock rankings.
“Stranger in Town” from Isolation (1984)
Only two Toto songs had a higher peak or longer stay on the Mainstream Rock chart than “Afraid of Love,” and “Stranger in Town” was one of them, along with “Rosanna.” (We should note the chart did not exist when “Hold the Line” was released in 1978.) In fact, no Toto track has ever matched “Stranger in Town’s” peak position of No. 7.
As the lead single from Isolation, it was the first new Toto song to hit the radio and MTV after their run of successful singles from Toto IV. It features both Kimball and new lead vocalist Fergie Frederiksen (who passed away in 2014), though both are backing up David Paich’s lead vocal on this particular track. It would be the last time Kimball would be featured on a Top-40 single, and it would be Frederiksen’s only appearance on a Toto Top-40 single, as he would be replaced by Joseph Williams in 1986. Despite spending 15 weeks on the Hot 100, it rose no higher than No. 30.
“Without Your Love” from Fahrenheit (1986)
Just as “Make Believe” got overshadowed by the bigger hit singles on Toto IV, “Without Your Love” has lived in the shadow of “I’ll Be Over You,” the lead single from Fahrenheit. While Williams sang the lead vocal on seven of Fahrenheit’s 10 tracks, the two songs featuring Lukather’s lead vocals were chosen as the singles released in the U.S. Lukather also delivers a blistering bluesy guitar solo, giving this Paich-penned love song some bite. The song barely crept into the Top 40, peaking at No. 38. However, “Without Your Love” is one of only five Toto songs to make the Top 10 of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at No. 7.
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Photo by snapshot-photography/D Vorndran/Shutterstock
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