Toto is on a 53-date North American tour, sharing the bill for many of the dates with Journey, another remarkably successful classic-rock band founded in the 1970s.
Following the tour’s sold-out opening night in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the next night’s show in Charlottesville, Virginia, lead singer Joseph Williams said things are off to a strong start.
“The second night was even better than the first,” Williams said last week from the third stop on the tour, Savannah, Georgia.
Formed by premier Los Angeles session musicians in 1976, Toto hit the big time in 1978 with the Top 5 hit, “Hold the Line.” The group far exceeded that early success with 1982’s “Toto IV,” the album that brought Toto three Top 10 hits — “Rosanna,” “Africa” and “I Won't Hold You Back” — and three Grammy Awards.
Despite Toto’s 10 Top 40 hits, Williams credits the band’s nearly 50-year run to one song — “Africa.”
Contributing factors to the band’s longevity, Williams said, include many friendships among the group’s musicians and the players’ desire to continue performing. But most of all, he said, the decadeslong popularity of “Africa” sustained Toto.
Statistics back up the latter statement. In November 2021, “Africa” reached one billion Spotify streams. The band’s only No. 1 song, it’s also been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 8 million.
Beyond being a radio staple and streaming juggernaut, “Africa” continuously resurfaces elsewhere. For instance, it’s in the debut episode of “Stranger Things” and episodes of “South Park” and “Family Guy.” In 2016, electronic duo Bacall & Malo’s rendition of the song reached No. 11 on the Swedish pop charts. A 2018 remake by American pop-rock band Weezer reached No. 1 on Billboard’s alt-rock chart. And Jason Derulo, Wiz Khalifa, Nas, Xzibit, Ja Rule and JoJo sampled “Africa.”
“It’s been re-recorded so many ways, by so many different people,” Williams said.
In concert, Toto builds anticipation for “Africa,” placing it strategically on the setlist. Although Williams doesn’t relish singing every Toto hit, he loves to sing “Africa.”
This year’s Toto lineup is the band’s 15th on-stage iteration. Original member Steve Lukather joins Williams, bassist John Pierce, drummer Robert “Sput” Searight, keyboardist and backup vocalist Steve Maggiora, keyboardist Dominique “Xavier” Taplin and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Warren Ham.
Toto co-founder David Paich sometimes joins the band on stage.
“He’s going to play with us tomorrow here in Savannah,” Williams said. “He’ll drop in on a couple of California shows. He comes out when he wants to.”
Williams first joined Toto in the mid-1980s. He’s on the band’s 1986 album “Fahrenheit” and 1988’s “The Seventh One.” After he left Toto in the late ’80s, Williams worked as a recording session singer, wrote music for TV shows and, like his Oscar-winning father, John Williams, composed film scores.
Williams’ studio singing credits include the role of the grownup Simba in the 1994 Disney animated musical “The Lion King.”
“It was exciting because it was Disney, but it was still just another studio session when I recorded it,” Williams said of his “Lion King” sessions. “Back then there was no guarantee they were going to use something, but then I went to a screening with the cast and there it was.”
A guest appearance for Toto’s 2006 album, “Falling In Between,” preceded Williams’ return to the band in 2010, the year Toto reformed to raise funds for Mike Porcaro, the band’s ailing longtime bassist. Carrying on after Porcaro’s death, the band’s activities included a 40th-anniversary tour in 2018 and a greatest hits album, “40 Trips Around the Sun.”
Williams’ non-Toto work includes co-writing songs for Ringo Starr with his fellow Toto member Lukather. Williams also produces demos for the former Beatle, and Lukather and another Toto member, Ham, tour with Starr’s All-Starr Band.
“We just wrote another song for the record Ringo’s working on right now,” Williams said. “He likes to keep moving and busy. He’s a dear, dear guy."
Journey/Toto
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23
Cajundome, 444 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette
$59-$225