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?
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