Jeff Porcaro

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Jeff Porcaro was an American drummer and songwriter, born in 1954 in Hartford, Connecticut. He was the eldest son of the Los Angeles session percussionist Joe Porcaro, and grew up in the San Fernando Valley. He began drumming at seven, first with lessons from his father. At seventeen he was already playing in Sonny & Cher's touring band. He then became a much sought-after studio musician, including on three Steely Dan albums, among them Katy Lied (1975).

Music and breakthrough

Together with his brother Steve and childhood friends David Paich and Steve Lukather he founded Toto. The band had hits such as Hold the Line, Rosanna and Africa, which Porcaro wrote with Paich. The album Toto IV (1982) became their greatest success. For Rosanna Porcaro devised a famous rhythm: a half-time shuffle in which he blended the shuffle of Bernard Purdie with the groove of John Bonham in Fool in the Rain. Alongside Toto he kept doing session work, and played on tracks from Michael Jackson's Thriller and on records by Boz Scaggs and Dire Straits.

Influence

Porcaro was regarded as one of the most valued studio drummers of his time. His playing was tight and relaxed at once, with small details that let a track breathe. The sound of pop drums in the 1980s was largely his sound. He died in 1992 at the age of 38 of a heart attack.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1986Time No Longer

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 4: When Rock Was Still Pop^NL Reader