"Not all, but, Some of the Musicians I have worked with"

 

01. Joe Cocker: A real great friend that I've done concerts with, and recorded with on a couple of CDs.

 

02. Aerosmith: I played the "Arrow Rock Festival" with them in Europe in 2007, and in the beginning of Toto, we played the LA Colosseum with them 2 days for 90,000 people a day.

 

03. Rush: On the first Toto Tour in 1979 (which we Headlined and sold out the tour), we had an open date, and the management of Rush called to find out if we would be interested in Opening for them. We did, and we got 3 encores.

 

04. Diana Ross: One of the first "Major Background Vocal Sessions" I did for her CD in 1978. We were in the same studio together recording the first Toto album, and her Producer, Richard Perry, who owned "Studio 55" asked me and David Paich to come down to "Studio A" and sing background vocals on two of the songs for her. She was absolutely fantastic.

 

05. Barbara Striesand: I got a call while we were working on the first Toto album, to sing background vocals on the "Wet" album by Barbara. I had heard so many stories about how she could be very hard to work with, but when I got to the session, she was one of the nicest ladies I'd ever met, and it was an awesome session.

06. Richard Marx: I sang on two songs on the "Repeat Offender" album, along with Bill Champlin. I worked with Bill on many sessions during those days.

 

07. Chicago: I was called up to sing "I'm A Man" (one of my favorite songs they do, and it was written by my friend Spencer Davis) in NYC, and later, I got a call to sing on their "Chicago XXX" CD on a song called "Caroline". They're all great friends, and fantastic musicians.

 

08. Etta James: Just after "Tell Mama" came out, Etta toured the States without a band. I just happened to be playing in a band called The Blues Kings at The Circle Club in Vinton, La. (my home town), and Etta was using the house bands to do her songs. I played behind her on that night, and it's an experience I'll never forget.

 

09. Buddy Miles: I played with Buddy in New Orleans at The Ivanhoe Club on Bourbon St. He was one of my Heroes, and I did many of the songs he recorded with various bands.

 

10. Edgar Winter: Edgar was always one of my favorites, and I've played live gigs with him on several occasions. I also recorded a vocal on the "Winter Blues CD" with him.

 

11. Dr. John: Also on the "Winter Blues CD" Dr. John, Edgar, and me did the lead vocals on "Gettin' Back Down to New Orleans"

 

12. Michael McDonald: After joining Toto, Michael, Bill Champlin, and I became a trio that did 100's of background vocals for so many artists. When the Producer wanted it done right, he would call us.We did so many backing vocal tracks in less that 2 hours, that would take most singers one or two days to do.

 

13. Percy Sledge: While I was playing with The Champagne Brothers from Houston, I guess we probably backed Percy about 20 times at various gigs.

 

14. Herby Hancock: Herby was the host of "The Tokyo Jazz Festival", and he asked Toto to be the only Rock Band to be there. We were in Europe at the time, but "how can you turn down an offer to play with Herbie Hancock"? At the end of the show, we all got onstage with his band and jammed a few songs. A truly memorable night.

 

15. Luciano Pavarotti: I did several benefit concerts for the Tsunami and Katrina Victims on TV in Europe. Pavarotti was on one of these concerts, and I talked with him, and found him to be as fantastic a person as he was a singer.

16. John Lord: Since John didn't sing with Deep Purple, he asked me to come out and sing "Smoke On the Water" on the televised "50 Years of Rock Show" in Germany. Very nice guy, and a great gentleman.

 

17. Peter Gabriel: I did another TV Show with Peter for the Katrina Victims in Germany. and I also got a chance to have dinner with him at the Frankfurt Music Festival when they presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

18. Gary Brooker: Gary is famous for bringing "A Whiter Shade of Pale" to the top of the charts. In 1994, I was asked to do a tour called "Rock meets Classic" with Gary and his band. I sang the first hour, with the orchestra, and Gary did the second hour. We did about 40 dates in 42 days. it was one of the most fun tours I've ever been on.

 

19. Quiet Riot: My friend, Spencer Proffer, was producing Quiet Riot, and asked me to come down and sing on a song called "In The Still of the Night". The guys in the band were really great, and Spencer is one of the greatest talents as a producer I've ever worked with.

 

20. Little River Band: Speaking of Spencer Proffer, he had produced TLRB on a couple of albums, and he asked me to come to the studio and sing on one of the Master Tracks he still had. The track was called "Don't Blame Me", and I'm thinking about putting this track on my Solo CD as the first single. I had the great pleasure of meeting Graeham Gobel (who wrote the song) in Melbourne, Australia, and he came backstage and listened to the song with my vocal. He asked who the band was, and I had to laugh a bit before I told him it was LRB. He told me I could use the song on my Solo CD with his full blessing.

 

21. Chris DeBurg: "The Lady In Red" singer was on a TV show with me in Germany to introduce the new Audi series of cars there. He was a very nice guy.

 

22. Motörhead: Toto played before them at a great show in Scandinavia. When Toto played, everyone had on Toto shirts, and when Motörhead came out to play, everyone had their T-Shirts on. I think most of the crowd had bought both band's shirts, and changed in the middle of the show.

 

23. Robert Plant: I met Robert Plant on a TV Show we did together. I did a version of "Stairway To Heaven" which became a very popular version in Europe, and because of that, we ended up on a TV Show together with Robert's new Solo Band. There were 5 stages set up, and while we were playing "Stairway", I looked at the camera-man, who was only abut 8 feet from me, and Robert was standing right next to him. I almost stopped singing when I saw him. Later, Toto did a Festival with Robert's Band and we got a chance to hang out after the show. He was always one of my heroes.

 

24. David Foster: Certainly one of the very best writer/producer/arrangers in the business. i worked with David several times doing back ground vocals. One that comes to mind is The Tubes song "She's A Beauty". Bill Champlin asked me to join him on that date in the studio, but he had a sore throat, so I did al of the backing vocals on that track, which became a number 1 hit for The Tubes. I was so proud of that work, and that very day convinced me that David was a genius.

 

25. Elton John: I first met Elton through a friend of mine who was playing 2nd keyboard in his band. I'd been a fan of his for so many years. Once again, I was honored to do a benefit show for the Katrina Victims in Germany on TV with Elton. He's been one of my favorite writer/singers for many years.

 

26. Nik Kershaw: Nik is such a great talent, and I got to work with him on a couple of CDs and a few TV Shows in Germany. Great writer.

 

27. Paul Young: I had the great pleasure of meeting Paul at the after show Party when Toto played at The Royal Albert Hall,....maybe one of the most prestigious venues in the world. Later on, I sang on a show with Paul in Hamburg, Germany.

 

28. Lou Gramm: I met Lou at a party for Foreigner and Toto when we first put Toto together. I thought he was a nice guy, but I didn't have a chance to talk with him very long. In January 2010, I did another "Rock Meets Classic" Show with Lou and the Prague Symphony Orchestra. We did 15 shows together, and he was very impressive every night. Now, we're good friends.

 

29. Dan McCafferty: "Love Hurts" brought fame to Dan, and my first time to meet him was on the same "Rock Meets Classic" Show I did with Lou Gramm. He's a great guy, and very funny, but his talent has not diminished in the least.

 

30. Katrina (from Katrina & the Waves): The Festival I did with Paul Young also had Katrina as one of the artists. She's a great singer, and a very nice lady.

 

31. Christopher Cross: I've known Christopher since i was playing with the Champagne Brothers in Houston, Texas about 40 years ago. Chris was playing with a band called "Heather Black", and they played only about one block from where we were playing every night. The next I heard from Chris, was on his very famous CD with "Ride Like The Wind", "Sailing",.....etc. About December of 2009, I did 7 dates with him in San Francisco. He's a great talent, and still sounds the same as he always did. very nice guy.

 

32. Mary Wilson: One of the Supremes, and a strong singer. Mary was also on the 7 dates I did with Christopher Cross.

 

33. Jimi Jamison: Jimi is one of my best friends, and we've worked on over 100 concerts together, and I sang on one of his Solo CDs. We did a duet CD "Kimball Jamison" (2011). R.I.P. my friend....

 

34. Mickey Thomas: Mickey has one of the best voices I've ever heard, and I work with him every chance I get. I've done probably 200 concerts with him, and he sang a duet with me on my "All I Ever Needed" CD.

 

35. Mike Reno: The Lover Boy singer. We've worked together on so many concerts, it's hard to count them. We will continue to sing together many times in the future.

 

36. Al Wilson: The Love song singer, who I did many tours with years ago.

 

37. Journey: Steve Perry was a great friend of mine before he got into Journey, and I got with Toto about the same time he joined journey. We used to hang out at clubs in LA and sing with a lot of bands in search of job with them. Toto played the "Day On the Green" Festival with Journey, and Santana in Oakland.

 

38. REO Speedwagon: I knew all of the guys in this band, but it was when a friend of mine, Tom Kelly, was supposed to sing with them on "Midnight Special", but he had a sore throat, so he asked me to fill in for him. They were a great band, and I later played a festival with REO in Cancun with my Solo Band.

 

39. Huey Lewis: The first encounter with Huey was at the "Mountain Air Festival" in Modesto, CA. The line up was:

1. Huey Lewis & The News

2. Ambrosia

3. Toto

4. The Doobie Brothers For the encore of those dates, Toto and the Doobie Brothers played together. I got to sing with one of my favorite bands one those dates.

 

40. Pat Benatar: Toto played as headliner in "Port of Spain Trinidad" right after Pat did her set. Great festival.

 

41. INXS : Toto played with INXS on "the Night of the Proms" in Europe. I think we did about 45 dates with them in Antwerp, Rotterdam, and about 5 dates in Germany. Great guys, and a fun hang.

 

42. Ray Charles: My very first inspiration in music. The very reason I sing. I got a call from a Producer friend to do a duet with a singer, Charles Veal. There were some openings at the end of the song that they wanted to fill with Ray Charles, and Joe Cocker. Ray came in on the day I was finishing my vocal parts, and when I walked into the control room, he glanced me direction and uttered one word,......."Yeah". All of a sudden, my greatest influence had validated my whole life with that one word. I felt like I could die right there and my life would have been complete. What an honor to sing with my greatest mentor.

 

43. Bonnie Raitt: I did several benefit concerts with Bonnie, and we became friends over the years. She's one of the most talented slide guitar players, and emotional singers I know.

 

44. Eric Clapton: In 2001, Toto opened for a show Eric did in Mexico City for 55,000 people. He was one of the nicest gentlemen I'd ever met.This is also where I met Greg Phillinganes (One of the other nicest people I know), who was playing keyboard with Eric's Band at that time. He later became a member of Toto for a couple of years.

 

45. Starship Band: A great group of guys who are lucky enough to back up Mickey Thomas on his gigs. Like I said, I've done over a 100 concerts with them.

 

46. Richard Page: I met Richard when he was with the band "Pages". I was in awe of his voice. Later, I got a chance to work with him on the "Mindfields CD for Toto". Not long after that, we did a concert with "The Power Haus Band" led by Peter Wolf, who wrote songs like "We Built this City", and others for Starship.

 

47. The Tubes: As I mentioned before, I did all of the back ground vocals on "She's A Beauty", which brought The Tubes their greatest claim to fame.

 

48. The Doobie Brothers: Friends of mine for years, but the greatest moment was "The Mountain Air Festival" in Modesto, CA. where Toto and The Doobies joined forces for the encore.

 

49. Blood, Sweat, & Tears: I did two CDs and many concerts with David Clayton Thomas in Germany. He's a great singer, and very nice guy.

 

50. Alice Cooper: A long-time friend of mine, and we worked on some of his CDs with Producer, Richie Podler (who produced the first album I did in LA).

 

51. Kansas: I did a 3 week tour with my solo band in Europe with Kansas. On the Stage passes, they had a tornado whirling around, with a little dog in the wind, and on the bottom of the tour pass, it read, "Kansas, I don't think we're in Toto anymore". I thought that was so great of them to do this for me.

 

52. Peter Frampton: Our first two concerts with Toto were opening for Peter's Band in Oahu, Hawaii. That was a couple of days I'll never forget. We were so worked up, we could have gone onstage without our instruments and done the concert.

 

53. Kenny Loggins Band: After we did our first the two concerts with Peter Frampton, we got an offer to do 5 dates with Kenny Loggins.Kenny was such a great guy, and one night we had some equipment failure, and the norm in those situations is for the opening band, who usually gets about 45 minutes to an hour to play, forfeits their time if the equipment goes down. Kenny walked out on the stage and told the crowd that we were having problems with the gear, but he would hold the concert until it was fixed, and we got to play our whole set. That was the nicest thing I'd ever seen the headliner act do for an opening band. I learned a lot from Kenny during those 5 concerts we did together.

 

54. Tom Jones: I was on a TV Show with Tom in Europe doing a benefit for Katrina. I still think he has one of the strongest voices in the business.

 

55. Paul Carrack: What a singer this guy is. I did 3 TV Shows with him, and plan to do many more in the future.

 

56. En Vogue: These ladies were on "the Night of the Proms" concerts with Toto. They are very entertaining, and very beautiful. Musically wonderful, and very nice personalities.

 

57. Joe Walsh: Early on in Toto, we did a Christmas concert in Santa Barbara with Joe Walsh & Joe Cocker. It was such a fun concert with the two of these guys.

 

58. Boz Scaggs: I've known Boz since the very beginning of Toto, because Toto was his core band on"The Silk Degrees" Album. That one netted him two Grammy Awards, then the guys from Toto decided to form their own band (one of the luckiest moments of my life), but Boz and I remained friends through it all. On the last few weeks of the last Tour Toto did before the band dissolved in Seoul, Korea, Boz was our warm-up band. It was so great to see him again, and I think he's better now than he's ever been.

 

59. Jack Bruce: I recorded two CDs with Jack in Germany, and found him to be one of the funniest guys I'd ever met. He came out and played with my Solo band in Liechtenstein.

 

60. Chaka Khan: Chaka came out to the same concert and sang with my solo band in Liechtenstein. What a voice this woman has. She is one of my favorite vocalists, and such a nice lady.

 

61. Erica Baddu: Erica was also on the same concert in Liechtenstein. She is quite an impressive talent.

 

62. Candy Dulfer: A great talent on the saxophone, and her father was one of the inventors of her instrument.

 

63. Joe Lyn Turner: My friend for many years, and a very great singer of heavy rock music. We always have fun when we play concerts together.