Died On This Date (March 15, 2015) Mike Porcaro / Bassist For Toto; Session Great
themusicsover Mike Porcaro
May 29, 1955 – March 15, 2015
Mike Porcaro is perhaps best remembered as the longtime bassist for Toto, however, he didn’t become an official member until he replaced original bassist, David Hungate, in 1982. He went on to tour and record with the band until his retirement in 2007. He can be heard on such Toto albums as Isolation, Fahrenheit, The Seventh One, and their popular soundtrack to the motion picture Dune. As an in-demand session player, Porcaro’s list of credits reads like a who’s who of popular music of the past five decades. That list includes albums by Aretha Franklin, Cher, Country Joe McDonald, Dan Fogelberg, Donna Summer, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Sparks, Steve Perry, Stevie Nicks, and Wanda Jackson. In 2007, Porcaro retired from playing due to a numbness he was feeling in his fingers, and three years later, it was announced that he was suffering from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or as it is more commonly known, “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” On March 15, 2015, Mike Porcaro finally lost his brave battle with the disease. He was 59.
What You Should Own
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, 
