Porcaro, Mike (29 May 1955-15th March 2015)

Bassist from South Windsor, Connecticut, who grew up in a musical family with brothers Jeff and Steve and father Joe.

Jeff and Steve formed Toto and Mike performed with them on occasion, but they already had a bass player by the name of David Hungate. David left the band, however, and Mike replaced him in 1982.

Mike appeared on Toto’s albums, Isolation and Fahrenheit, in 1984 and 1986, respectively. While touring in support of Fahrenheit, he had a nasty spill on-stage and broke his arm during a concert in Hanover, Germany.

He was back for The Seventh One and Toto’s subsequent world tour in 1988.

On 5^th August 1992, his brother Jeff had a fatal heart attack. The band honoured Jeff with a tribute concert on 14^th December 1992 at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California.

Toto released Absolutely Live in 1993 and Tambu in 1995. In 1997, Mike and Steve recorded “Young at Heart”, which became the official song of the UEFA Champions League Final.

Toto XX hit the shelves in 1998 and Mindfields followed in 1999. Mike played cello on the latter.

On 18^th October 1999, Toto performed unplugged for Radio 2 in Hilversum, Holland.

Mike performed in another tribute concert for Jeff in 2002 in Koblenz, Germany. It was recorded live and later released as a solo album entitled Brotherly Love.

On 13^th November 2003, Toto appeared at Night of the Proms in Antwerp, Belgium.

They released Falling in Between in 2006 and followed it up with a tour that included a stop in Helsinki, Finland, on 1^st March.

In 2007, Mike suffered from numbness in his fingers and had to stop performing. He was supplanted by Lee Sklar for a brief time but Toto called it quits in 2008.

They were enshrined in the Musicians Hall of Fame in October 2009.

On 26^th February 2010, a press release rang out the bad tidings that Mike had been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Steve and other Toto alums assembled for a European tour that summer in support of his brother. They did the same in 2011, with Nathan East filling in on bass.

Mike’s musical legacy hardly begins and ends with Toto. A ubiquitous session musician, he recorded with a wide range of artists and groups. His discography is far too extensive to list in its entirety, but here are a few highlights: Anywhere You Go by David Pack; Bad Girls by Donna Summer; Captain Fingers by Lee Ritenour; Exiles by Dan Fogelberg; Friends in Love by Dionne Warwick; Hits! by Boz Scaggs; If That’s What it Takes by Michael McDonald; The Legend & the Legacy by “Sneaky Pete” Kleinow; Love Hurts by Cher; Night Dancing by Joe Farrell; Strength in Numbers by .38 Special; That’s What Friends Are For by Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams; Tonin’ by the Manhattan Transfer; Vuelve by Ricky Martin; Which One of Us is Me by Jay Gruska; and, Your Place or Mine by the Hues Corporation.

He can also be heard on the soundtracks of Dune, Grease, Love at First Bite, and The Warriors.

Due to his disease progressing he was in a wheelchair in 2012 and in 2015 he passed away from complications of ALS while at home in Los Angeles when he was 59 years old. He is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.

Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams recordings
Emotion (Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb)
S CBS 6164B (UK 45)

Sources:

Porcaro, Mike (29 May 1955-15th March 2015)

Navigate Feenotes

Search Feenotes

Please donate to keep the site alive