In 1976, drummer Jeff Porcaro and keyboardist David Paich, two seasoned L.A. session musicians renowned for their work with Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs, decided to trim back their session work and form a band of their own. Jeff and David brought in guitarist Steve Lukather and keyboardist Steve Porcaro, both of whom had played with Jeff and David in high school. David Hungate, another acclaimed studio musician, shared many of the same sessions with Jeff and David, and they felt that Hungate was a perfect fit on bass. In order to produce the depth of vocal harmonies and breadth of musicianship the live performance of their material would require, Bobby Kimball, a singer from Louisiana, was brought in on lead vocals.
After the band’s formation, David Paich set about writing what became the eponymous debut album. Once written, the new band came together in the studio to cut its first demos. Having just recently watched The Wizard of Oz, Jeff Porcaro began to write the word "toto" on the demo tapes so that they would be easily identifiable. When the time came to choose a name for the band, the band explored the roots of the word "toto" more thoroughly. David Hungate explained to them that, in Latin, the word "toto" means "total" or "all-encompassing," and given this group's long list of studio accolades and their collective ability to play in any given situation, the name TOTO was chosen as the official title of the new record and the band name. "It's representative of our music," said Jeff Porcaro. "Mishmash. A goulash."
