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Five interesting facts about Jeff Porcaro: The historic drummer of Toto would have been 69 years old today
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on 1 April 1954.
Son of the Italian-born drummer Joe Porcaro, in 1976 in Los Angeles Jeff founded the historic band Toto with his brother Steve and musicians David Paic, Steve Lukather, David Hungat and Bobby Kimball.
Jeff Porcaro died after a domestic accident in Hidden Hills on 5 August 1992: here are some interesting facts you might not have known about the historic and talented drummer, who would have been 69 years old today.
Knieps Oliver, Wikimedia Commons
5 interesting facts about Jeff Porcaro
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on 1 April 1954. Son of the Italian-born percussionist and drummer Joe Porcaro, in 1976 in Los Angeles Jeff founded the historic band Toto with his brother Steve and musicians David Paic, Steve Lukather, David Hungat and Bobby Kimball. Jeff Porcaro died in Hidden Hills on 5 August 1992: here are some facts you might not have known about the historic drummer, who would have been 69 years old today.
Jeff Porcaro started playing the drums as a child
Being a child of art, Jeff learnt to play when he was very young, even before he turned seven. In the beginning, it was of course his father who gave him lessons every weekend and supported his son in his musical growth. His first drum kit was a Slingerland Champagne Sparkle, given to him by Joe Porcaro.
Jeff Porcaro collaborated with Sonny & Cher
In 1972, Jeff abandoned his studies to accompany Sonny & Cher's summer shows. However, this is not the musician's only important collaboration. For example, he played drums on Michael Jackson's 'Beat It', Pink Floyd's 'Mother', Aretha Franklin's 'What a Fool Believes' and Bruce Springsteen's 'Human Touch'.
Michael Erik - Folket, Wikimedia Commons
The origin of the name "Toto"
The choice of name came from an idea of Jeff Porcaro, who at the time of recording the first demos had recently seen the film 'The Wizard of Oz', in which the dog of Dorothy, the protagonist, was called 'Toto'. This term was used by Jeff to personalise the first tapes he recorded. Bassist David Hungate later pointed out that in Latin, the word toto means "total", "that includes everything": Toto was thus considered the ideal name to identify the band's musical repertoire, which had the ambition to experiment with any genre.
Ohconfucius, Wikimedia Commons
Jeff's musical idols
There are many drummers from whom Jeff Porcaro claimed to have been inspired, especially early in his career. Among them: Buddy Rich, Art Blakey, John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) and Keith Moon (The Who).
In 2022, his musical works made $25 million
Although Jeff died in 1992, his music and artistic collaborations still allow his heirs to generate substantial earnings. According to the magazine Forbes, in fact, in 2022 Jeff Porcaro ranked sixth on the list of deceased musicians who generated the most profit during the past year.