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The song was included on their 1982 album Toto IV, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1983 and number three on the UK Singles Chart the same month. The song was written by the band’s keyboardist David Paich, who also sings both verses of the song, and drummer Jeff Porcaro. Bobby Kimball sings the chorus.
The song almost cut from the Toto IV record prior to its release. Having spent an incredible amount of time producing the tune, the band became so tired of the song that they didn’t want it on the album. The song itself was very different from anything the band had done before, and some members felt that it didn’t sound like Toto.
“I didn’t think it was very good,” said Steve Lukather (Classic Rock Revisited, 2003). “That tells you what can happen when we pick our own singles!”
David Paich, who co-wrote the song with Jeff Porcaro, said that it “could have been the beginning of a solo project because it was so different. I thought I’d save it… World Music wasn’t around then.”
The initial idea for the song came from David Paich, playing on his piano. Jeff explains the idea behind the song: “… a white boy is trying to write a song on Africa, but since he’s never been there, he can only tell what he’s seen on TV or remembers in the past.”
Musically the song took quite some time to assemble, as David and Jeff explain below.
The song almost cut from the Toto IV record prior to its release. Having spent an incredible amount of time producing the tune, the band became so tired of the song that they didn’t want it on the album. The song itself was very different from anything the band had done before, and some members felt that it didn’t sound like Toto.
“I didn’t think it was very good,” said Steve Lukather (Classic Rock Revisited, 2003). “That tells you what can happen when we pick our own singles!”
David Paich, who co-wrote the song with Jeff Porcaro, said that it “could have been the beginning of a solo project because it was so different. I thought I’d save it… World Music wasn’t around then.”
The initial idea for the song came from David Paich, playing on his piano. Jeff explains the idea behind the song: “… a white boy is trying to write a song on Africa, but since he’s never been there, he can only tell what he’s seen on TV or remembers in the past.”
Musically the song took quite some time to assemble, as David and Jeff explain below.
Video
Added by outatime77
Music video for "Africa" by Toto from the very successful album "TOTO IV". This song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1983, and is one of the most immediately…
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Shouts
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ABM1708 wrote:
Chris de Burgh played this song at his concert in Cape Town last night and it was like having Toto here :)
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lindsatthedisco wrote:
♥
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cutebunny77 wrote:
love this song.
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Dora117 wrote:
Another good one.........
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UtopiaThoringi wrote:
Ich liebe diesen Song. Toto ist einfach nur geil.
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Wyrdbeard wrote:
My kinda mozzarella.
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babamulon wrote:
АФРИКА !
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ascrodin wrote:
(Cringe!!!) So cheesy!!
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sansler wrote:
*The Worldwide heart is Afrika*
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ccv_13 wrote:
cranking up the toto !!!!
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Rufio-MT1985 wrote:
I love this song.Great!!!!
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bigmanbmoney wrote:
I blessed the rains... what IS that???
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LQQKIE wrote:
Great song... part of Retro Fridays member group radio. Come and Join!!!
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west2kris wrote:
the best song ever
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KathyRockett wrote:
What a lovely version, that chorus... wow!
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SF-Darkwing wrote:
Wunderschön
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katypoo wrote:
i haven't heard this for years! going to be going around my head for weeks now................. "Hurry boy it's waiting here for you!"
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OLDCHAVYCAR2RED wrote:
a good tune
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retroguy wrote:
I could put this baby on an endless loop and never get tired of it!
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markalvin wrote:
Ahh I love this song.
Toto
Africa
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Recent Activity
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wisekilla, BryanDardar, lukefj and 4 other people loved Toto – Africa. 4 minutes ago
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ilvmy2kids added Africa to ilvmy2kids’s library. 22 minutes ago
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ilvmy2kids added Africa to the playlist. 22 minutes ago
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tomp14, M0v1ngTarget, Thumbs13 and 41 other people loved Toto – Africa. 25 minutes ago
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solartante added Africa to the playlist meineoldys. 4 hours ago
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solartante, lyssa22, LarryJepson and 15 other people loved Toto – Africa. 4 hours ago
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alffkrause added Africa to the playlist. yesterday evening
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KingLawrence, COMMANDERMUSIC, CaptainDynamic and 5 other people loved Toto – Africa. yesterday evening
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