Steve Porcaro recently reflected on his departure from Toto in the late 1980s. In an interview with Music Radar, he discussed how the band’s image evolved during the grunge era and how the shifting music landscape shaped his decision to leave.

Porcaro explained that his exit wasn’t caused by any internal tension. “There was no big fall-out when I took a break from the band,” Porcaro said. “It was the late-’80s and grunge/Nirvana was about to happen. Along with Journey, REO Speedwagon and Foreigner, we’d been lumped-in with the whole Corporate Rawk thing. We weren’t ‘cool’.”

He elaborated on how Toto’s musical direction began to diverge from his own creative role. “Toto were talking about getting back to a more rootsy, basic sound and they didn’t really need some guy noodling around with weird noises on synths – which was kind of my job,” he continued. “So, I said, ‘Is it OK if I go and do this other bunch of stuff?’”

Porcaro’s departure marked a turning point for the group. As a founding member, he had played a major role in defining Toto’s signature sound during their peak years.

According to A Breath of Fresh Air, Porcaro’s keyboard and songwriting contributions were key to Toto’s multi-platinum 1982 album Toto IV, which earned several Grammy Awards and produced classic hits like “Rosanna” and “Africa.” His melodic talent extended well beyond the band — he co-wrote and co-produced Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” from the 1982 Thriller album.

After leaving Toto, Porcaro embarked on a new chapter in his career. Apple Music noted that he built a successful path in film and television scoring while also becoming a sought-after session musician. His credits include contributions to Yes’s Union album, Jefferson Airplane’s 1989 reunion record, and The Chris Squire Experiment in 1992.

As musical trends changed in the late 1980s, Toto faced challenges adapting to the raw, unpolished aesthetic of grunge. Wikipedia records that the band disbanded in 1988 after releasing seven albums. Despite the pause, Toto eventually reunited with different lineups, continuing to tour and record, preserving their signature mix of rock, pop, and jazz fusion.

Porcaro later rejoined Toto around 2010, contributing keyboards, synthesizers, drum programming, and arrangements both on tour and in the studio. The same interview also delved into his collaborations with Michael Jackson and details about his solo work.

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During a recent appearance on Rock History Music hosted by John Beaudin, Toto’s founding member, Steve Porcaro, expressed his dislike for seeing Bobby Kimball, the band’s original frontman, leave in 1984.

When Beaudin asked how they decided to change their lead singer, the keyboardist replied:

“We’d worked really hard to get to that point, to have reached that point. Everyone was kind of fried. We’d been burning it at both ends, working until… touring with Toto and all that and then being home in the studio whether it was with Toto or Michael Jackson or Don Henley or whoever.

It just was a terrible time. It was a horrible time. I hated seeing Bobby go. I hated seeing our lead singer go. Bobby was very special. He wasn’t the guy to sing my songs per see, but it still was a very painful thing.”

He continued:

“For every lead singer, you get the guy who’s gotta sing all the last whoever was behind them. They’ve got to sing their stuff too, and you don’t envy that. There’s especially a singer. It’s one thing to us musicians are expected to do, but it’s hard for a singer to be able to cover all those bases, but anyway, it was all I could say.

It was a very difficult time, and how we came to Fergie [Frederiksen], there were a lot of people we were considering, but there maybe should have been more. I don’t know.”

In early 1983, Kimball was arrested for allegedly selling cocaine to an undercover police officer. Then, Toto decided to fire him, not due to his arrest but because of the detrimental impact that his cocaine use had on his vocal abilities. Porcaro explained in a 2015 interview with Classic Rock:

“The bottom line was Bobby couldn’t sing. I stayed up all night. We all did. The next day my throat would be like ribbons. But I didn’t have to sing. Bobby had to, and he just wasn’t delivering.”

Later, the band recruited Fergie Frederiksen, a former vocalist of Le Roux, as their new singer. However, after touring with Toto in 1985, he departed from the band due to challenges encountered while working in the studio. After Frederiksen, Joseph Williams became the new frontman of Toto.

You can watch the interview below.

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