David Paich

Best known as the co-founder and main songwriter of Toto, David Paich was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 25, 1954. His father was Marty Paich, a well-known bandleader, arranger, and composer of TV and film music. Working together, the two songwriters won an Emmy Award for "Best Song or Theme" in 1974, when their song "Light The Way" appeared in an episode of the NBC program Ironside. In 1977, David Paich won the Grammy Award for "Best R&B Song" with Boz Scaggs' "Lowdown." That same year, he also joined the band Toto and produced Aretha Franklin's "Break It to Me Gently," which peaked at Number 1 on the R&B chart. Billed as a supergroup of American session musicians, vocalists, and songwriters, Toto quickly scored a Top 5 single with 1978's "Hold the Line," which Paich wrote. He went on to compose the majority of Toto's biggest hits, including the Grammy Award-winning "Rosanna" (which peaked at Number 2 on the Billboard 100 in 1982), the eight-times platinum single "Africa" (which reached Number 1 that same year), and 1984's "Stranger in Town" (which hit Number 7 on the Mainstream Rock chart). Although he remained with Toto until 2018, Paich also sought out opportunities outside of the band. He appeared on Michael Jackson's blockbuster album Thriller as an instrumentalist, played keyboards on the 1985 charity single "We Are the World," and eventually launched a solo career with 2022's Forgotten Toys. The album enjoyed the warmest reception in Scandinavia, where it debuted at Number 7 on the Dutch Album Top 100 and Number 19 on the Swiss Hitparade.

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