Steven Maxwell "Steve" Porcaro (born September 2, 1957,
HartfordHartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
,
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
keyboardistA keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
and
composerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, who was an original member of the rock/
popPop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
bandA musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
TotoToto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
.
Porcaro wrote or co-wrote at least one song on each of Toto's first six albums, with the exception of
IsolationAllmusic's review praised the performances of Jeff Porcaro, David Paich, and Steve Lukather in passing but dismissed Isolation as "a Journey clone album, minus the aching ballads that had made Journey such a success."-Track listing:...
. 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. 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"Human Nature" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written and composed by Steve Porcaro and John Bettis, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the fifth single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller . Initially, Porcaro had recorded a rough demo of the song on a...
" from
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's album
ThrillerThriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
, and also played with
Gary WrightGary Malcolm Wright is an American musician, best known for his song, "Dream Weaver". He was the piano player on Harry Nilsson's version of "Without You".-Early life:...
during his tour in 1977, supporting the latter's
The Dream WeaverThe Dream Weaver is a hit solo album by one-time Spooky Tooth keyboard player Gary Wright released in June 1975.The album was said by Wright to be the first-ever all-synthesizer/keyboard album - it features Wright on vocals and keyboards and Jim Keltner and Andy...
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 musicianSession musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
work for many other acts, including
YesYes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
(on
Union) and
Jefferson AirplaneJefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
(on
their self-titled 1989 reunion albumJefferson Airplane is the reunion album of San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane, released on Epic Records in 1989.-Overview:Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, and Jack Casady, who had played together on Surrealistic Pillow, After Bathing at Baxters, Crown of Creation and...
). He was also a member of
Chris SquireChristopher Russell Edward "Chris" Squire , is an English musician, known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the progressive rock group Yes. He is the only member of the group to appear on every album.-Before Yes:...
's short lived band, The Chris Squire Experiment, in 1992.
His two older brothers
MikeMike Porcaro is best noted as the bass player in the Grammy Award winning band, Toto.He is the middle brother of Toto members Jeff Porcaro and Steve Porcaro...
and
JeffJeffrey Thomas "Jeff" Porcaro 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, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions...
were Toto's
bassThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player and
drummerA drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, while his father
JoeJoseph Porcaro is an American jazz drummer, percussionist and educator....
is a prolific session percussionist.
Steve Porcaro is currently working on
film scoreA film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
s such as the one for
Montana SkyMontana Sky, also known as Nora Roberts' Montana Sky, is a 2007 made-for-TV movie. It was directed by Mike Robe, and stars Ashley Williams and John Corbett. The film is based on the Nora Roberts novel of the same name, and is part of the Nora Roberts 2007 movie collection, which also includes...
. 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 "
JustifiedJustified is an American television drama series created by Graham Yost. It is based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its central character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky...
".
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.
External links