"99" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Toto | ||||
from the album Hydra | ||||
B-side | "Hydra" | |||
Released | December 3, 1979 | |||
Recorded | 1979 | |||
Genre | Soft rock | |||
Length | 3:28 (Single Version) 5:16 (Album Version) [1] | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | David Paich | |||
Producer(s) | Toto, Tom Knox, Reggie Fisher | |||
Toto singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"99" on YouTube |
"99" is a song by the American rock band Toto. The song appeared on the Hydra album in 1979. [2] As a single, it reached number 26 on the Billboard charts. [3] In Canada, the song peaked at number 17 on the RPM singles chart. The full album version of the song includes a gentle piano-driven ride out, while the single edit fades the song out before that part.
The song was written as a tribute to George Lucas's film THX 1138, and the music video resembles a scene in the movie. [1] [2] [4]
In the video, as in the movie scene where the main character (named "THX 1138" and nicknamed "Thex") is imprisoned, the room is completely white and all wear white jumpsuits. [5] Toto Legend, the former official International Toto Fan Club newsletter, reviewed the video:
'99' was predominantly a performance video, though the set design was rather conceptual. Following David Paich's intention regarding the lyrics, about a sterile society in which names are forgotten and love forbidden, the set was sterile white, with various sized sculptured 99's hanging and standing about, and the band was clad in futuristic white jumpsuits. There were some notable shots in this one – keyboard close-ups and an artistic view of Jeff through a transparent drum head, a technique that several popular videos have copied since. [5]
Record World praised Lukather's vocal and said that "Slick production wraps the keyboard-laden love song in a perfect AOR-pop package." [6]
Region | Date | Ref. |
---|---|---|
United States | December 3, 1979 | [7] |
United Kingdom | February 29, 1980 | [8] |
Toto, stylized as TOTO, is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1977. Toto combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, hard rock, R&B, blues, and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide, the group has received several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009.
Isolation is the fifth studio album by American rock band Toto, released in November 1984. Isolation is the first album to feature longtime bassist Mike Porcaro, the only album with Fergie Frederiksen as the primary vocalist, and the first time that all of the Porcaro brothers involved together on Toto record. Isolation failed to achieve the popularity of its predecessor, Toto IV, although it achieved gold record status and gave the band their highest charting mainstream rock single "Stranger in Town". Relatively few songs from this album were featured in live performances after 1985's Isolation World Tour.
Tambu is the ninth studio album by American rock band Toto. It was released in 1995 through Sony Records. Tambu has sold 600,000 copies worldwide. It is the band's first album to feature Simon Phillips following Jeff Porcaro's death in 1992. The album includes the single "I Will Remember", which failed to chart in the US but was the band's first chart hit in the UK since "I Won't Hold You Back" twelve years before.
Fahrenheit is the sixth studio album by American rock band Toto, released on 20 August 1986, by Columbia Records. It was the first album to feature Joseph Williams on lead vocals, after Fergie Frederiksen, the band's previous vocalist, was fired following the culmination of the Isolation tour. Additionally, it was the last album to include keyboardist Steve Porcaro as a permanent member.
Toto is the debut studio album by American rock band Toto, released on 15 October 1978, by Columbia Records. It includes the hit singles "Hold the Line", "I'll Supply the Love" and "Georgy Porgy", all three of which made it into the top 50 in the US. "Hold the Line" spent six weeks in the top 10, and reached number 14 in the UK as well.
Turn Back is the third studio album by the American rock group Toto, released in 1981. Although it yielded the band's first top-ten hit in Japan and steady sales in that country, the album was a commercial disappointment elsewhere, failing to produce any charting singles and selling approximately 900,000 copies worldwide.
Hydra is the second studio album by American rock band Toto, released in 1979. It reached No. 37 on the Billboard Pop Albums. While most of the album's singles failed to make any impact in the charts, "99", a song inspired by the 1971 science fiction movie THX 1138, reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
25th Anniversary: Live in Amsterdam is a live album by Toto, released in 2003, in the 25th anniversary of the band. And this was also the band's last live album to feature keyboardist/vocalist David Paich and bassist Mike Porcaro; Paich, before his semi-retirement from touring in 2005 until his return to the band in 2010 with Greg Phillinganes taking his place, and Porcaro, before his retirement from touring due to him being diagnosed with ALS four years later and his death on March 15, 2015.
"Hold the Line" is a song by American rock band Toto from their 1978 eponymous debut studio album. Written by the band's keyboardist David Paich, the lead vocals on the song were performed by Bobby Kimball.
"Rosanna" is a song written by David Paich and performed by the American rock band Toto, the opening track and the first single from their 1982 album Toto IV. This song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the 1983 ceremony. "Rosanna" was also nominated for the Song of the Year award. It is regarded for the half-time shuffle which drummer Jeff Porcaro developed for the song, and for its production, which is generally seen as being one of the best mastered songs of all time. The groove has become an important staple of drum repertoire and is commonly known as the "Rosanna shuffle".
Toto XX: 1977–1997 is a compilation album by Toto to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The album features rare original demos, outtakes, previously unreleased recordings and live tracks from the band's 20-year career. Despite its being labeled as a compilation album, Steve Lukather in 2014 defined the album as the tenth studio album overall.
"Make Believe" is a song by the American rock band Toto, released as the second single from their triple platinum 1982 album Toto IV. It peaked at number 19 in Cash Box magazine and at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on September 25, 1982. The song was also featured on the 2006 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the radio station Emotion 98.3.
"I'll Be Over You" is a hit single by the American rock band Toto. Released as the lead single from their 1986 album, Fahrenheit, the song reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1986. Lead vocals were sung by guitarist Steve Lukather, who co-wrote the song with hit songwriter Randy Goodrum. Guest musician Michael McDonald provided the vocal counterpoint on the recording.
"I Won't Hold You Back" is a song by American rock band Toto, written and sung by Steve Lukather for their fourth album, Toto IV, released in 1982. The song features the Eagles' bassist Timothy B. Schmit on backing vocals during the choruses.
"I'll Supply the Love" is a song written by David Paich and recorded by Toto, with lead vocals by Bobby Kimball. It was issued on Toto's debut album, Toto, and released as a single in January 1979. It peaked at number 45 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, where it spent nine weeks on the chart.
"Africa" is a song by American rock band Toto, the tenth and final track on their fourth studio album Toto IV (1982). It was the second single from the album released in Europe in June 1982 and the third in the United States in October 1982 through Columbia Records. The song was written by band members David Paich and Jeff Porcaro, produced by the band, and mixed by engineer Greg Ladanyi.
"Miss Sun" is a 1980 hit for Boz Scaggs first recorded in 1977 by David Paich along with David Hungate, Steve Lukather, and Jeff Porcaro.
"Stranger in Town" is a hit song by American rock band Toto from their 1984 album Isolation.
"I Will Remember" is a 1995 song performed by Toto from their album Tambu. The song reached number 64 on the UK Singles Chart.
40 Trips Around the Sun is a greatest hits album by American rock band Toto, released on February 9, 2018. The album was released in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Toto's self-titled debut album (1978).