How “Africa” Went From Throwaway Track to Toto’s Biggest Hit

Toto‘s only No. 1 hit song, “Africa,” is a well-known standard if you regularly do karaoke or, say, were a member of The Harvard Undergraduate Drummers in 2019. Generally, it’s a song we all know. Some of us love it, some of us don’t, but no one can deny its staying power. Released in 1982, it’s still a staple of playlists everywhere.

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However, according to founding Toto member Steve Lukather, “Africa” has always been a bit of an odd duck in his repertoire. He recently spoke with David Duchovny on the Fail Better podcast, where he shared insights into his career, from starting as a session musician to forming Toto in 1977.

“[I] spent the best times of my life being this young session player,” Lukather began. “We’d just roll in, and it was always the same bunch of knuckleheads, and we were always getting into trouble. But we took the music very seriously.”

Lukather commented on his time as a session musician “at the last era of the great session guy.” Then, he and Duchovny spoke about the longevity of Toto’s music. As Duchovny stated, “the music survives because the music is good.”

Steve Lukather of Toto Explains “This ‘Africa’ Thing”

In a perfect world, Toto would be known for more than just “Africa.” According to Steve Lukather, anyway, who described “this ‘Africa’ thing” as a “blessing and a curse.” While the song was the band’s only No. 1 and the track most associated with them, it’s wildly different than their usual work.

“First off,” Lukather explained, “it’s the least Toto song out of our whole bunch, but that’s the one everybody thinks that’s what we are.” Apparently, “Africa” wasn’t really supposed to be this big. Being “the last thing” the band cut for the album Toto IV, they considered it a “throwaway.”

“We made the whole record without hearing the lyrics,” said Lukather. “And the last thing we did was put the lead vocal on. Everything else was done.”

Keyboardist David Paich and drummer Jeff Porcaro wrote the considerably nonsensical lyrics, which have often been criticized. However, for Toto, they knew they had a hit. “Africa” was “catchy” and had “potential,” according to Lukather. Still, those lyrics.

“People try to think we’re serious about all this,” he said, but then clarified that the band often joked about the confusing metaphors and impossible geography mentioned in the song. When they heard the lyrics for the first time, Lukather said, “We started laughing, going, ‘What does this mean, man? We’re from North Hollywood.’”

He continued, “But it’s become the golden carrot, you know, so you can’t argue with it.” Steve Lukather’s hope for people who hear “Africa” for the first time is that it leads them to the rest of Toto’s discography, adding, “And then they find out these guys are actually a rock band.”

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