Toto

Songwriter: Barrett Strong Norman Whitfield

I can turn your gray sky blue
I could make it rain whenever I wanted to
I can build a castle from a single grain of sand
I can make a ship sail on dry land
But my life is incomplete and I'm so blue
'Cause I can't get next to you
Next to you, I just can't get next to you

I can fly like a bird in the sky
Hey, and I can buy anything that money can buy
I can turn a river into a raging fire
I could live forever if I so desired
Unimportant are all these things I can do
'Cause I can't get next to you
No matter what I do

I can turn back the hands of time
You'd better believe I can
I can make the seasons change
Just by a wave of my hand
I can change anything from old to new
The thing I want to do the most I'm unable to do
Unhappy am I with all the powers I possess
'Cause girl, you're the key to my happiness
And I, wo, I can't get next to you

Girl, you're blowin' my mind 'cause I can't get (next to you)
Can't you see these tears I'm cryin'? I can't get (next to you)
Girl, it's you that I need; I gotta get (next to you)

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

Through the Looking Glass

From the album

Through the Looking Glass (2002)

Toto popular songs

I Can’t Get Next to YouToto

Toto

Through the Looking Glass