Music Blurbs Vol. 15

Toto
Few bands have covered the wide stylistic range of Toto; fewer still have found commercial success doing so. Formed in 1977 by a coterie of top session players, Toto has made music that has variously – and accurately – been described as progressive rock, pop, soft rock, hard rock and even jazz fusion. Multiple Grammy award winner, Toto has sold over 50 million records worldwide. The band’s early lineup of the Porcaro brothers Jeff (drums) and Steve (keyboards) plus David Paich (more keys), singer Bobby Kimball and guitarist Steve Lukather all played on the band’s first four albums. Between 1978 and 1988, Toto placed fifteen of their songs on U.S. singles charts; “Hold the Line,” “99,” “I Won’t Hold you Back” and “Rosanna” were all Top Ten, and “1982’s “Africa was #1, and a worldwide smash. The band members have long had a lucrative and creatively successful sideline playing on other artists’ records, including sessions for Michael Jackson (“Beat It”) and The Tubes (“Talk To Ya Later”).
Clint Black
Clint Black is a country superstar. Though he spent nearly a decade toiling as a songwriter and performer before landing a record deal in 1987, his career took off like a shot from there. Black has since won a Grammy, an American Music Award, three TNN Music Awards, five Academy of Country Music Awards and four CMA Awards. To date he has placed more than 30 singles on Billboard’s Country chart, including a staggering 13 songs taking the number one position. He’s made successful forays into film and television as well, but Black’s primary focus remains songwriting and making music. While he stepped away from the business for several years, Black returned in 2013. He released On Purpose in 2015, and followed it up in 2020 with his 12^th studio album, Out of Sane. His current run of headlining dates – dubbed the Back on the Blacktop Tour – takes him all over the U.S. from the heartland to date in major markets.
Billy Idol
In mid 1970s London, a community of like-minded individuals exerted influence on the city’s music and fashion. Dubbed the Bromley Contingent, that group became a regular fixture at gigs by pioneering punk group Sex Pistols. The Contingent included a number of future stars, Billy Idol among them. Idol first came to fame leading Generation X, and then as an artist under his own name. During the MTV era, Idol’s distinctive look and sound caught the viewing public’s attention’ he scored major hits with “Dancing With Myself” from his Generation X days), “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell” and other tracks. He’s also a three-time Grammy nominee. While his biggest successes came between 1982 and 1990, Idol has remained busy as a touring and recording artist. His latest release, 2025’s Dream Into It charted in the Top 5 in three countries, and its release coincided with Idol’s nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna began as a side project in 1969 when guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady were still members of another legendary group, Jefferson Airplane. Designed as a vehicle for their more blues-oriented compositions, Hot Tuna released their self-titled debut album in 1970; a live set, it captured the band as a trio (with harmonica player Will Scarlett) and was well- received by critics and fans alike, reading No. 30 on Billboard’s album chart. The group has always been a loose and malleable aggregation, but Kaukonen and Casady have always been the group’s omnipresent core. Hot Tuna has recorded and performed as both a highly-charge, powerful blues-rock band and as a stripped-down, acoustic group, sometimes with only the two mainstays. The band’s most recent studio outing is 2011’s Steady As She Goes; since that time, Hot Tuna has focused primarily on live performances. A 2019 archival set documents a 1969 show in Santa Rosa, California. Today, Kaukonen (age 84) and Casady (81) remain as fiery as ever.