4 Toto Songs That Sound Like the Beatles

One of their biggest influences.

Toto came out with their first self-titled album in 1978. Their first 4 albums were with singer Bobby Kimball and bassist David Hungate. After the fourth album, Toto IV, these two original bandmates left Toto.

During these early years (1978–1984), Toto sounded more like the Beatles in some of their songs. They had a British feel to their music, especially, with their first two albums, Toto and Hydra.

Here are the four songs I think sound the most like the Beatles from these first 4 albums:

“Rockmaker” (Toto) singer/songwriter David Paich

2. “Manuela Run” (Toto) singer/songwriter David Paich

3. “Lorraine” (Hydra) singer/songwriter David Paich

4. “St. George and the Dragon” (Hydra), singer Bobby Kimball, songwriter David Paich

Summary

These are also four of my favorite Toto songs. Interestingly, none of these became big hits. They did make a music video for “St. George and the Dragon”.

You can also hear some of the influences of British singer/songwriter Elton John in these songs, one of Paich’s biggest influences.

David Paich is the songwriter of most of Toto’s songs, including the number one single “Africa” from Toto IV.

He wrote all four of these tunes and was the lead singer in three of the four. Lead vocalist Bobby Kimball, guitarist Steve Lukather, and keyboardist Steve Porcaro helped with backup vocals and probably all the members helped David write and compose the songs.

Not only do these songs sound British, but they also sound like the Beatles with their pop rhythms and melodic harmonies.

Toto is the most versatile band ever, even the best musical band of all time. Their ability to blend different styles, compose complex sounds, execute with studio recording precision, use different lead vocalists, and adapt to the changing times and bandmates is unparalleled in music history.

These four songs not only sound like the Beatles and Elton John, they’re also the most underrated songs of Toto’s early years.

Nearly every song on their first two albums should have been number-one hits, yet only “Hold the Line” made it to the top 10 on the American charts.

I included the live version and studio version for the first two. The second two are the studio versions with “St. George and the Dragon” having a music video.

Hope you enjoy these songs, let me know what you think, are there more songs that sound like the Beatles? Do you agree these sound like their musical heroes, the Beatles and Elton John?

If you’d like to support my writing, click here.

Comments

City of the Damned

The people have been spoiled by wealth and ease The city is a place to hide for the damned Wicked hearts full of evil Fearful and suspecting Not able to discern evil or good As they judge everyone according to status and money They’ve lost something important Yet are unaware of the tragedy They’ve been conditioned They’ve been brainwashed By a targeted social engineering program The city is full of pride Haughty people in vain pursuits People who love money and pleasure People who don’t fear God, nor think they are mortal They are ignorant of their miserable state They mistake it for a cloak of glory When it is a rotten rag that stinks like sin Fake smiles and conversations Fearful motives as they accuse and manipulate They destroy and cause chaos With their lies and deceit All those who have discernment should stay far away From the city of the damned

Opinion: Most communities in Oregon and the US are Republican, yet Democrats are in charge

2022 Oregon Governor Election Photo Assuming election results are valid in Oregon, which does take a lot of faith these days after the questions about the 2020 US Presidential election arose, Democrat Tina Kotek won the Governor’s race in 2022 by a slim margin over Republican Christine Drazan. The interesting aspect of this win is how many of Oregon’s 36 counties voted Republican vs. Democrat. Looking at the political map, almost the entire state is red with only a few small counties in the northwest having the blue color. Specifically, there were 7 counties that voted Democrat and 29 that voted Republican. The difference is the 7 counties voting blue are the most populous counties, also the counties with the most residents coming from other states – much like Tina Kotek herself, a transplant from Pennsylvania . Tina only won the campaign to be Oregon’s 39th Governor by 66,727 votes over Christine Drazan. Said in another way, the Democrats pulled off another close election with m...

3 Ways Small Brick and Mortar Businesses Can Leverage their Websites

Not every modern business is tech-savvy and proficient with digital marketing; in fact, 36% of America's small businesses don't even have a website ; and many of those that do, have nothing more than a lonely website in the shadows. While this is a good start, this type of strategy isn't going to attract many website visitors. The good news is, it doesn't take a marketing genius to start gaining traffic to a business's website, yet it does take some time and effort to develop and execute a viable digital marketing strategy. In an effort to help, let's examine 3 ways small brick and mortar businesses can leverage their websites. 1. Optimize the Website's Sales Funnel: The first thing businesses need to do is optimize their website's sales funnel to make conversions . For brick and mortar small businesses like retailers, restaurants, event centers, etc., gaining a visitor's email is a conversion; for small businesses offering professional se...

When are we good enough?

When have we done enough? When is it good enough, and to whom is it good enough for? This is a question many of us humans struggle with or ponder when we consider the meaning and purpose of our lives. Maybe we don’t consider it deeply enough to understand the underlying motivations, the subconscious drivings that make us never feel satisfied with our accomplishments. Everyone has accomplished something if they are alive and getting by each day. If we have learned to dress ourselves, brush our teeth, drive a car, or ride a bicycle, then we have done something at least. As a child, expectations weren’t as high, and we, along with those around us, were generally happy with the small accomplishments that come with growing up. These expectations grow as we get older, sometimes from others close to us and sometimes from ourselves. Many times, it is our own expectations of ourselves that really set the tone for our contentment with our accomplishments. Where do these expectat...

Business and Society Articles

Search This Blog