The teenage drummer for Sony and Cher founded Toto.
Jeff Porcaro (1 April 1954 - 5 August 1992), providing the drum-beats for Sony and Cher, indeed began his career as a teenager. Soon thereafter, this “April Fools” baby became the “in demand” drummer of several quite esteemed musicians and musical outlets. From Don Henley, to Michael Jackson, Boz Scaggs, Elton John, Dire Straights, and even Bruce Springsteen, on top of an even larger list of names of the 1970s and ’80s pop-scene, let’s look into his legacy:
From Drummerworld [http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Jeff_Porcaro.html], here is one detailed list of performers he worked with:
From the start of his career, Jeff Porcaro was viewed as one of the music industry’s top drummers. Porcaro possessed an impeccable sense of rhythm as well as a versatility that bridged virtually every style. Among the hundreds of albums he played on were Boz Scaggs’ “Silk Degrees” (for which he wrote “Lowdown” and “Lido Shuffle”) [sic], Dire Straits” “On Every Street”, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, Elton John’s “Jump Up”, Don Henley’s “End Of The Innocence”, Warren Zevon’s “Excitable Boy”, Rickie Lee Jones’ debut, and Bruce Springsteen’s “Human Touch”.
The site listed above, Drummerworld, by the way, has quite an extensive list of performers that Jeff Porcaro performed with throughout his lifetime:
Toto
Steely Dan
Boz Scaggs
Tommy Bolin
David Gilmour
Claire Marlo
David Foster
Chuck Findley
Jay Graydon
Victor Feldman
Steve Porcaro
Mike Porcaro
Michael Boddicker
Fred Tackett
Larry Carlton
Lee Sklar
Jim Keltner
Tom Scott
Ernie Watts
Herp Alpert
Alessi Brothers
Patti Austin
Chet Atkins
Jeff Berlin
Eric Carmen
Dire Straits
Eric Clapton
Dire Straits
Dr. John
Earth, Wind & Fire
Robben Ford
Randy Newman
Lee Ritenour
Leo Sayer
Paul Simon
Bette Middler
Notably, in 1977, he co-founded the band Toto. By many that is what declares his legacy. But apparently it is far broader territory than a single band he helped pioneer. Sure, that may be considered a highlight, but it is quite short-sighted to see that as any form of exclusive claim to fame.
From Answers.com [http://www.answers.com/topic/jeff-porcaro], here is a brief tribute to him:
In addition to being the drummer in the Grammy winning, platinum-selling rock band Toto, Jeff Porcaro was arguably the most highly regarded studio drummer in rock from the mid-’70s to the early ’90s. His playing was crisp and precise, propulsive without being showy and throughout his career, the most successful musicians in the popular music business lined up to work with him. It is no exaggeration to say that the sound of mainstream pop/rock drumming in the 1980s was, to a large extent, the sound of Jeff Porcaro.
And from Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Porcaro], here are elaborate personal details of this performer:
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was a highly regarded session drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award winning band Toto. While already an established studio player in the 1970’s, he shot to national prominence as the drummer on the Steely Dan album titled Katy Lied. His other studio credits include Beat It, I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near), Welcome Back, Dirty Laundry, I Love L.A., Forever Man, New York Minute, Heal The World, and many others. He is also famous for his performance on the song “Rosanna“.
By all means, learn more about him in the Answers.com site listed above. Before going into details of his death, though, though he did not even live to see his 40th birthday, from his teenage years this April Fools baby left quite a remarkable legacy.
Death
Jeff Porcaro died of a heart attack on August 5, 1992, at the age of 38. He was spraying insecticide in his garden and inhaled too much of the spray, triggering the attack. It has been claimed Porcaro’s heart was weakened by smoking and cocaine use. An autopsy revealed a serious heart condition that had been previously undiagnosed.
Porcaro’s funeral, attended by an estimated 1,500 people (friends, family, colleagues, fans), was held August 10 in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery, where he was buried. The Jeff Porcaro Memorial Fund was established to benefit the music and art departments of Grant High School in Los Angeles where he was a student in the early 1970s. A memorial concert took place at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles on December 14, 1992 with an all-star line up that included Boz Scaggs, Donald Fagen, Don Henley, Michael McDonald, George Harrison, David Crosby, Eddie Van Halen and the members of Toto. The proceeds of the concert were used to establish an educational trust fund for Porcaro’s sons.
The impact of this short life will be remembered for centuries to come!
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