Toto

Released: February 26, 1988

Songwriter: Steve Lukather Joseph Williams David Paich

Producer: Bill Payne George Massenburg Toto

[Verse 1]
We keep hurting each other
When words can't be easily said
No understanding or reason
Just fear and confusion instead
We need hope for the future
And the young need a chance to survive

[Pre-Chorus]
No one knows the pain that's felt by the innocent
They're fighting to stay alive
Can no one see the tears in their eyes

[Chorus]
Only the children
Only the children cry
Only the children

[Verse 2]
Why do those who have plenty
Ignore those with nothing at all?
Why must the ones just beginning
Stand with their backs to the wall?
They keep asking for answers
And we keep on telling them lies

[Pre-Chorus]
They only want to understand what they feel inside
The hunger that tears them apart
It's the one thing they've known from the start

[Chorus]4x
Only the children
Only the children cry
Only the children (only the children cry)

Toto is an American rock band formed in 1977 in Van Nuys in Los Angeles, California. The band’s current lineup consists of Joseph Williams (lead vocals), David Paich (keyboards, vocals), Steve Porcaro (keyboards), Steve Lukather (guitars, vocals), Shem von Schroeck (bass), and Shannon Forrest (drums). Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard rock, R&B, blues, and jazz.

David Paich and Jeff Porcaro had played together as session musicians on several albums and decided to form a band. David Hungate, Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro, and Bobby Kimball were recruited before their first album release. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the late 1970s and 1980s, beginning with the band’s eponymous debut released in 1978. With the release of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Toto IV from 1982, Toto became one of the best-selling music groups of their era. They are best known for the Top 5 hits “Hold the Line”, “Rosanna”, and “Africa”. Several changes to the lineup have been made over the years. Hungate left in 1982 followed by Kimball in 1984 but rejoined the band in 1998 until 2008. Jeff Porcaro died in 1992 of a heart attack. Hungate rejoined Toto as a touring musician and later a band member. In 2008, Lukather announced his departure from the band, and the remaining band members later went their separate ways. In the summer of 2010, Toto reformed and went on a short European tour, with a new lineup, to benefit Mike Porcaro, who had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and was no longer an active member of the band.

The band has released a total of 17 albums, and have sold over 40 million albums to date. The group was honored with several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009.

more tracks from the album

The Seventh One

From the album

The Seventh One (1988)

Toto popular songs

Only The ChildrenToto

Toto

The Seventh One