Tag Archives: David Paich

♫ Rosanna ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I rather forgot, but Roger requested this one last week when I was playing a hodge-podge of Christmas-themed music, so I promised him I would play it after Christmas.  Thankfully, it is now after Christmas and so … this one’s for you, Sir Roger!

When David Paich wrote this song back in 1982, the band members initially played along with the common assumption that the song was based on Rosanna Arquette, who was dating Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro at the time.  Paich, however, says that  the song is based on numerous girls he had known.  Arquette herself played along with the joke, commenting in an interview that the song was about “my showing up at 4 a.m., bringing them juice and beer at their sessions.”  Porcaro and Arquette broke up shortly thereafter.

The West Side Story-inspired video was directed by Steve Barron and set in a stylized urban streetscape, with Rosanna represented by a dancer whose bright red dress contrasts with the gray surroundings. The band plays within a chain-link fence enclosure. Cynthia Rhodes is featured as the lead dancer Rosanna, which led to her being cast in Staying Alive the following year. Patrick Swayze was also uncredited as a dancer in the music video and he and Rhodes would both star in the movie Dirty Dancing.

Rosanna charted at #2 in the U.S., #4 in Canada, and #12 in the UK.

Rosanna

By Toto

All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes
Rosanna, Rosanna
Never thought that a girl like you could ever care for me, Rosanna

All I wanna do in the middle of the evening is hold you tight
Rosanna, Rosanna
I didn’t know you were looking for more than I could ever be

Not quite a year since she went away, Rosanna, yeah
Now she’s gone and I have to say

Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah
Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah

I can see your face still shining through the window on the other side
Rosanna, Rosanna
I didn’t know that a girl like you could make me feel so sad, Rosanna

All I wanna tell you is now you’ll never ever have to compromise
Rosanna, Rosanna
I never thought that losing you could ever hurt so bad

Not quite a year since she went away, Rosanna, yeah
Now she’s gone and I have to say

Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah
Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah

Not quite a year since she went away, Rosanna, yeah
Now she’s gone and I have to say

Meet you all the way (yeah-yeah), meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah
Meet you all the way (ooh-ooh, yeah), meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah

Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah
Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah

Writer/s: David Paich
Publisher: editionPlus Verlags GmbH, Spirit Music Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

♫ Hold The Line ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

dorothy-totoI was in search of a Stevie Wonder song to play tonight, but I’ve played them ALL in the past year!  Gee … one would think he was my favourite or something.  Anyway, in my search I came across this one that I have only played once before, and that was a couple of years ago.  For some reason, I forget about the band Toto, although I really like them.

According to SongFacts …

This pop nugget was the first single by Toto, a group made up of six very talented session musicians who had backed up artists like Boz Scaggs, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand and Jackson Browne. Written by their keyboard man David Paich with lead vocals by Bobby Kimball, it deals with the mysteries of love. It proved that a slick pop song created by top players could succeed without a great deal of hype or a charismatic lead singer. Toto was a Top 40 staple in the ’80s, releasing nine hit songs, including the #1 “Africa.”

“Hold the line” is an expression meaning to maintain your existing position, which in this case is the singer telling a girl to be patient and stay with their relationship.

The saying also has a more literal meaning, however, which is how David Paich came up with the title. “Hold the line” is what you tell someone on the phone if you want to put them on hold while you’re taking another call. This is typical in workplaces, but in the days before cell phones, some households (especially ones with teenagers) also had multiple phone lines coming in and could put callers on hold. Paich lived in one such household.

In his 2015 Songfacts interview, Paich said: “When I was in high school, all of a sudden the phone started ringing off the hook, and I had a situation where I was at the dinner table and I had three girls all call at the same time, so all the lights were flashing. I was kind of juggling girlfriends, and that’s how that came about.”

By 2008, guitarist Steve Lukather was the only original member still with the band when he decided to call it quits. He made this statement on the band’s official website:

“Honestly I have just had enough. This is NOT a break. It is over. I really can’t go out and play ‘Hold the Line’ with a straight face anymore. I was 19 when we cut the record. I am 50 now.”

Hold the Line
Toto

It’s not in the way that you hold me
It’s not in the way you say you care
It’s not in the way you’ve been treating my friends
It’s not in the way that you stayed till the end
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do

Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh

It’s not in the words that you told me, girl
It’s not in the way you say you’re mine, ooh
It’s not in the way that you came back to me
It’s not in the way that your love set me free
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do

Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh

It’s not in the words that you told me
It’s not in the way you say you’re mine, ooh
It’s not in the way that you came back to me
It’s not in the way that your love set me free
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do

Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time (Love isn’t always on time)

Hold the line, love isn’t always on time (love isn’t always, love isn’t always on time)
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh

Songwriters: David Paich
Hold the Line lyrics © Spirit Music Group

♫ Africa ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under music, Social commentary

For some reason unbeknownst to me, this song has been bouncing around in my head all day!  I haven’t played it in over two years, so perhaps you’ve forgotten by now, yes? 

If you say, “Toto” to me, I will immediately think of the little doggie in the movie, The Wizard of Oz.  If you remind me that you mean the band, Toto, only one song will come to mind … Africa.  It is, to me, their signature song, the only one I can name of theirs.

‘Twasn’t always so, though, and the song almost didn’t even get recorded.  In an article in Time magazine, one of the group members said they were looking for a song just to close off the album and did not think Africa would do as well as it did. They also mentioned that if you listen close enough during the lyrics “catch some waves,” some group members were singing “catch some rays.”

Toto keyboard player David Paich wrote the song …

“At the beginning of the ’80s I watched a late night documentary on TV about all the terrible death and suffering of the people in Africa. It both moved and appalled me and the pictures just wouldn’t leave my head. I tried to imagine how I’d feel about if I was there and what I’d do.

There’s a little metaphor involved here, because I was at the age where I was so immersed in my work, 24/7, that at times I felt like I was becoming just a victim of my work. There was a little bit of autobiographical information in there: being consumed by my work, not having time to go out and pursue getting married and raising a family and doing all the things that other people do that were my age at the time.”

This is probably Toto’s most famous song, but per guitarist Steve Lukather …

“A lot of people categorize us as ‘that ‘Africa’ or ‘Rosanna’ band,’ and I hate that s–t. We have a lot more substance than that. Don’t get me wrong – those songs have been great to us, but you really don’t understand the depth of the band if that’s all you know.

According to an article in Rolling Stone in October 2018 …

“Nothing sums up 2018 like the fact that Toto’s “Africa” has become our unofficial anthem. It’s a song that’s ridiculous by definition — an Eighties ode to Africa by a bunch of L.A. rock dudes who’d never set foot in the place. But something about this song speaks to our moment. It’s the new “Don’t Stop Believin’” — a mega-cheese classic of Eighties sentiment that’s gotten bizarrely popular in recent years, beloved by hipsters and moms and tone-deaf karaoke singers screaming “I bless the rains down in Africa!” Love it or hate it, you’ve probably heard it today. You’ll hear it tomorrow. This damn song follows you everywhere, like the sound of wild dogs crying out in the night.”

Africa
Toto

I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She’s coming in, 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, “Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you”

It’s gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what’s right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what’s deep inside, frightened of this thing that I’ve become

It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

Hurry boy, she’s waiting there for you

It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
(I bless the rain)
I bless the rains down in Africa
(I bless the rain)
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
(Ah, gonna take the time)
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

Songwriters: David Paich / Jeff Porcaro
Africa lyrics © Spirit Music Group

♫ Hard To Say I’m Sorry ♫

Posted on by under music

I’m hungry … and therefore, it is inevitable that I would play something by Chicago tonight, right?

This song marked a resurgence for Chicago, who had been dropped from their longtime label, Columbia Records, and picked up by the Full Moon label, distributed by Warner Bros.  Hard to Say I’m Sorry was their first single on Full Moon, providing an instant return for the label when the song went to #1 in the U.S. and even became a rare UK hit for Chicago, reaching #4.

Chicago vocalist Peter Cetera wrote this with David Foster, who also played piano on the track.  Foster worked on a similarly themed song for Earth, Wind & Fire a few years earlier in After The Love Has Gone .

Steve Lukather (guitar), David Paich (synthesizer) and Steve Porcaro (synthesizer), all played on this track. These guys were top studio musicians as well as members of Toto. Bringing them in caused plenty of friction in the band, which didn’t like the idea of other musicians playing their parts. But David Foster knew exactly what he wanted, and was willing to bring in the guys who could achieve it.  Bill Champlin, who joined the band in 1981 and suggested they use Foster, explained …

“Foster would just as soon call the A players and bring them in, and I really don’t blame him. Real major players that can get this stuff for you in a minute. They really eyeball with the producer once and give it to him on take one.”

Hard to Say I’m Sorry
Chicago

Everybody needs a little time away
I heard her say
From each other

Even lovers need a holiday
Far away from each other

Hold me now
It’s hard for me to say I’m sorry
I just want you to stay

After all that we’ve been through
I will make it up to you
I promise to

And after all that’s been said and done
You’re just a part of me I can’t let go

Couldn’t stand to be kept away
Just for the day
From your body
Wouldn’t want to be swept away
Far away
From the one that I love

Hold me now
It is hard for me to say I’m sorry
I just want you to know
Hold me now
I really want to tell you I’m sorry
I could never let you go

After all that we’ve been through
I will make it up to you
I promise to

After all that’s been said and done
You’re just a part of me I can’t let go

After all that we’ve been through
I will make it up to you
I promise to

Songwriters: Peter P. Cetera / David Walter Foster
Hard to Say I’m Sorry lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group

♫ Hold The Line ♫

Posted on by under music

dorothy-totoA couple of days ago I played a song … I don’t remember which one it was now … and Roger commented that he liked the bands Toto, Journey, and Kansas.  Immediately, I thought of The Wizard of Oz … Dorothy left Kansas and took Toto on a Journey.  So anyway, then I started thinking that those are three bands that I haven’t featured very much on my music posts.  Tonight, I decided to consider some Toto songs.  To date, the only Toto song I have played here is Africa, probably the one they are best known for.  Tonight, I add Hold the Line to that list …

According to SongFacts …

This pop nugget was the first single by Toto, a group made up of six very talented session musicians who had backed up artists like Boz Scaggs, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand and Jackson Browne. Written by their keyboard man David Paich with lead vocals by Bobby Kimball, it deals with the mysteries of love. It proved that a slick pop song created by top players could succeed without a great deal of hype or a charismatic lead singer. Toto was a Top 40 staple in the ’80s, releasing nine hit songs, including the #1 “Africa.”

“Hold the line” is an expression meaning to maintain your existing position, which in this case is the singer telling a girl to be patient and stay with their relationship.

The saying also has a more literal meaning, however, which is how David Paich came up with the title. “Hold the line” is what you tell someone on the phone if you want to put them on hold while you’re taking another call. This is typical in workplaces, but in the days before cell phones, some households (especially ones with teenagers) also had multiple phone lines coming in and could put callers on hold. Paich lived in one such household.

In his 2015 Songfacts interview, Paich said: “When I was in high school, all of a sudden the phone started ringing off the hook, and I had a situation where I was at the dinner table and I had three girls all call at the same time, so all the lights were flashing. I was kind of juggling girlfriends, and that’s how that came about.”

By 2008, guitarist Steve Lukather was the only original member still with the band when he decided to call it quits. He made this statement on the band’s official website:

“Honestly I have just had enough. This is NOT a break. It is over. I really can’t go out and play ‘Hold the Line’ with a straight face anymore. I was 19 when we cut the record. I am 50 now.”

Hold the Line
Toto

It’s not in the way that you hold me
It’s not in the way you say you care
It’s not in the way you’ve been treating my friends
It’s not in the way that you stayed till the end
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do

Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh

It’s not in the words that you told me, girl
It’s not in the way you say you’re mine, ooh
It’s not in the way that you came back to me
It’s not in the way that your love set me free
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do

Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh

It’s not in the words that you told me
It’s not in the way you say you’re mine, ooh
It’s not in the way that you came back to me
It’s not in the way that your love set me free
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do

Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time (Love isn’t always on time)

Hold the line, love isn’t always on time (love isn’t always, love isn’t always on time)
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh

Songwriters: David Paich
Hold the Line lyrics © Spirit Music Group

♫ Africa ♫

Posted on by under music

If you say, “Toto” to me, I will immediately think of the little doggie in the movie, The Wizard of Oz.  If you remind me that you mean the band, Toto, only one song will come to mind … Africa.  It is, to me, their signature song, the only one I can name of theirs.

‘Twasn’t always so, though, and the song almost didn’t even get recorded.  In an article in Time magazine, one of the group members said they were looking for a song just to close off the album and did not think Africa would do as well as it did. They also mentioned that if you listen close enough during the lyrics “catch some waves,” some group members were singing “catch some rays.”

Toto keyboard player David Paich wrote the song …

“At the beginning of the ’80s I watched a late night documentary on TV about all the terrible death and suffering of the people in Africa. It both moved and appalled me and the pictures just wouldn’t leave my head. I tried to imagine how I’d feel about if I was there and what I’d do.

There’s a little metaphor involved here, because I was at the age where I was so immersed in my work, 24/7, that at times I felt like I was becoming just a victim of my work. There was a little bit of autobiographical information in there: being consumed by my work, not having time to go out and pursue getting married and raising a family and doing all the things that other people do that were my age at the time.”

This is probably Toto’s most famous song, but per guitarist Steve Lukather …

“A lot of people categorize us as ‘that ‘Africa’ or ‘Rosanna’ band,’ and I hate that s–t. We have a lot more substance than that. Don’t get me wrong – those songs have been great to us, but you really don’t understand the depth of the band if that’s all you know.

According to an article in Rolling Stone in October 2018 …

“Nothing sums up 2018 like the fact that Toto’s “Africa” has become our unofficial anthem. It’s a song that’s ridiculous by definition — an Eighties ode to Africa by a bunch of L.A. rock dudes who’d never set foot in the place. But something about this song speaks to our moment. It’s the new “Don’t Stop Believin’” — a mega-cheese classic of Eighties sentiment that’s gotten bizarrely popular in recent years, beloved by hipsters and moms and tone-deaf karaoke singers screaming “I bless the rains down in Africa!” Love it or hate it, you’ve probably heard it today. You’ll hear it tomorrow. This damn song follows you everywhere, like the sound of wild dogs crying out in the night.”

Africa
Toto

I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She’s coming in, 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, “Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you”

It’s gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what’s right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what’s deep inside, frightened of this thing that I’ve become

It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

Hurry boy, she’s waiting there for you

It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
(I bless the rain)
I bless the rains down in Africa
(I bless the rain)
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
(Ah, gonna take the time)
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

Songwriters: David Paich / Jeff Porcaro
Africa lyrics © Spirit Music Group