Died On This Date (August 5, 1992) Jeff Porcaro / Toto
themusicsover Jeff Porcaro
April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992
Born into a musical family, Jeff Porcaro began playing the drums at an early age. His father was well-known session drummer, Joe Porcaro, and his brothers, Steve and Mike Porcaro are active studio musicians as well. Drum lessons began for Jeff at age seven, leading to a career as one of the most respected drummers of his time. At seventeen, Porcaro landed his first job, playing in Sonny & Cher’s touring band. By his twenties, he was playing with the likes of Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs. In 1977, Porcaro, Steve Lukather, and David Paich co-founded Grammy-winning rock band, Toto. Having sold some 30 million albums to date, they are considered to be one of the most successful mainstream rock bands of all time. Even with all that success, Porcaro had time to play on recordings by a who’s who of popular music, including Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney, Miles Davis, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton and Paul Anka. On August 5, 1992, Porcaro suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 38. Some speculated that his death was caused by an alergic reaction to insecticide. The offiicial autopsy concluded that he died of a previously undiagnosed heart condition.
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