Steve Porcaro

Steven Maxwell Porcaro (born September 2, 1957) is an American songwriter, film/television composer, synth pioneer/keyboardist, and founding member of the Grammy-winning band Toto, which he founded with his brother, drummer Jeff Porcaro, and later included their brother Mike Porcaro on bass. He has won three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year for "Rosanna" and Album of the Year for Toto IV, and three nominations.

Throughout the 70s and 80s, the Porcaro brothers were in constant demand as session musicians, appearing on records for such artists as Steely Dan, Don Henley, Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, Boz Scaggs, Seals and Croft, Warren Zevon, Paul Simon, and Pink Floyd.

Porcaro has appeared as a session musician on recordings by Yes. He was also a member of Chris Squire's short-lived band, The Chris Squire Experiment, in 1992.

Porcaro was born in Connecticut. Like his brothers Jeff and Mike Porcaro, Steve started out as a drummer under the tutelage of his father, legendary jazz drummer and educator Joe Porcaro, who played with Frank Sinatra, Stan Getz, Rosemary Clooney, Marvin Gaye, and Madonna and played on hundreds of TV and film scores including: The Wild Bunch, Edward Scissorhands, Dances With Wolves and I Dream of Jeannie. Joe went on to create The Percussion Institute of Technology and later the drum department at the Los Angeles Music Academy.

In 1967, his father bought him an organ made by Rheem. Later his father took him to the Guitar Center to trade in the keyboard for a Farfisa with a Leslie 147 and preamp, which Porcaro called his "first real rig".

Porcaro's career as a touring musician began at the age of 17, playing with Gary Wright on the 1975–76 tour in support of his album, The Dream Weaver. The following year, he joined Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees tour, along with his brothers Jeff and Mike, as well as future Toto bandmates David Paich, Steve Lukather and Lenny Castro.

In 1978, Columbia Records released Toto's self-titled debut. The band would go on to become one of the best-selling bands of the era and achieve successful singles such as "Africa", "Rosanna", and "Hold the Line". Their album Toto IV has been certified quadruple platinum in the United States.

The title of the song "Rosanna" was inspired by Porcaro's then girlfriend, actress Rosanna Arquette. Though she did not directly inspire the song's lyrics, her name fit the song pefectly as described by the song's writer, David Paich, on HBO's Music Box: Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary.