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.
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