News

Joseph Williams was eight years old when his father John earned his first Academy Award nomination for scoring the sudsy big-screen adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's "Valley of the Dolls." Yes, the legendary composer whose music would whisk moviegoers off to a galaxy far, far away, and make us believe a man could fly once flung us into the ugly, pill-popping drudgery of 1960s Hollywood.

John Williams was the son of jazz drummer Johnny Williams, so music has always coursed through the blood of this brood. But while John could occasionally knock out a magnificently jazzy score, he didn't become the Max Steiner of his era until he delivered the nerve-jangling, two-note motif for Steven Spielberg's "Jaws." Almost 50 years later, he is the most beloved scorer of the post-New Hollywood era. He's practically a rock star. Wherever he conducts an orchestra, there will be a roaring, sold-out crowd.

Joseph...

Toto had lots of reasons to be happy when they hit the road in 2018 for their 40th-anniversary tour. After years of slogging it out on the Eighties nostalgia circuit, playing too many casinos and state fairs to even remember, they were finally in high demand again thanks to a huge resurgence of interest in their 1982 hit “Africa.”

“We started playing theaters in America again,” says Toto guitarist Steve Lukather. “Then we went to Australia and played one of these kids’ festivals where we were the only ones onstage playing live.

Spencer Davis, Welsh musician and founder of the Spencer Davis Group, died Monday while being treated for pneumonia in the hospital. He was 81.

Bob Birk, his booking agent for more than 30 years, confirmed Davis’ death to Rolling Stone. “He was a very good friend,” Birk says. “He was a highly ethical, very talented, good-hearted, extremely intelligent, generous man. He leaves behind his long-time domestic partner, June, and three adult children.”

Davis was born on July 17th, 1939 in Swansea, South Wales. Fluent in German, French, and Spanish, he was known to musicians as “the Professor,...

Toto fans woke up yesterday to the news that the band was re-forming exactly one year after announcing an indefinite hiatus. “There is a refreshing, optimistic enthusiasm to step in to the future,” guitarist Steve Lukather said in a statement. “The hope is to move forward with the planned itinerary for Summer 2021 that will bring us back to our fans across the World.”

But this isn’t the same Toto that said goodbye in 2019. Founding keyboardist Steve Porcaro, who played with the group from their first decade and then returned for the previous decade,...

Around the nation, protesters continue to march against racial injustice, despite a deadly pandemic that has already ended more than 163,000 American lives, disproportionately affecting Black people. This has given rise to a vast American reckoning with racism, as countless episodes of police brutality against Black Americans, and protesters in general, are captured on video.

Director Charles Burnett has been documenting Black struggle for decades, and said he was optimistic about the filmmaking that could emerge from these tumultuous times.

“I look forward, hopefully, that something really amazing will come out of storytellers that talk about this particular period, because this is probably one of the most unusual periods that we’ve confronted in every respect,” he said. “With this pandemic, we don’t know at this moment who’s going to live or die. And it’s frightening in a way — the politics and everything behind it, and the fact...

Toto wrapped up the final show of their 40 Trips Around the Sun tour at Philadelphia’s Metropolitan Opera House on Sunday night, and, according to guitarist Steve Lukather, it’s going to be their last performance for quite some time.

“I don’t know what the future-future’s gonna be, but I do know that’s gonna be the last show in Philly for the foreseeable future,” he told The Morning Call earlier this month. “And certainly the end of this configuration of Toto.”

They’ve been playing without keyboardist...

Toto had an undeniable moment this year thanks to the resurgence of interest — ironic or otherwise — of their song “Africa.” They’re banking on that success with a new, limited-edition box set, All In, available only through their website. It contains all of their studio LPs through 1999’s Mindfields, along with bonus content, one item of which is Old Is New. The record contains odds and sods that never made the cut on their regular records, and, as a teaser, they’re releasing “Devil’s Tower,” a song that could...

Two months after Weezer gave into fan demand by covering “Africa” (getting them a single in the Hot 100 for the first time in nine years), Toto returned the favor by tackling their 2001 hit “Hash Pipe” at the launch of their summer tour in Vancouver.

“We figured since we were smoking hash since before they were born, that’s the one we should do,” guitarist Steve Lukather told the crowd. “This is our tribute to Weezer, god bless ’em.”

It’s just the latest moment in Toto’s improbable renaissance over the past couple of years,...