99 (song)

For the Fightstar song, see 99 (Fightstar song).

"99"
US reissue
Single by Toto
from the album Hydra
B-side	"Hydra"
Released	December 3, 1979
Recorded	Summer 1979
Genre	Blue-eyed soul, adult contemporary
Length	3:28 (Single Version) 5:16 (Album Version) 4:03 (Video Version)
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	David Paich
Producer(s)	Toto, Tom Knox, Reggie Fisher
Toto singles chronology
"Rockmaker" (1979) "99" (1979) "St. George and the Dragon" (1980)
Music video
"99" on YouTube

"99" is a song by the American rock band Toto. The song appeared on the Hydra album in 1979. ^[1] As a single, it reached number 26 on the Billboard charts. ^[2] 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.

Development

The song was written as a tribute to George Lucas's film THX 1138, and the music video resembles a scene in the movie. ^{[3] [1] [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 characters 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... 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]

Reception

Record World praised Lukather's vocal and said that "Slick production wraps the keyboard-laden love song in a perfect AOR-pop package." ^[6]

Personnel

Toto

• Bobby Kimball – backing vocals
• Steve Lukather – guitars, lead and backing vocals
• Steve Porcaro – keyboards
• David Paich – keyboards, piano, backing vocals
• David Hungate – bass
• Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion

Release history

Region	Date	Ref.
United States	December 3, 1979	[7]
United Kingdom	February 29, 1980	[8]
Europe	April 1980	[9]

References

1. Ryan, Tim (7 May 2004). "TOTO flies high on tour". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Retrieved 12 March 2010.
2. "Hydra singles in the Billboard charts". AllMusic .
3. Elias, Jason. "Song Review: 99 – Toto". Allmusic . Retrieved 12 March 2010.
4. Saldaña, Edmundo García (19 October 2001). "De 'Africa' al Foro". Reforma (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 March 2010.
5. "99". Toto Encyclopedia. The Official Toto Website. 28 April 2007. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
6. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World . 29 December 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 11 February 2023– via worldradiohistory.com.
7. "99 discography".
8. "UK promo disc". Discogs .
9. "Dutch Top 40, May 10, 1980".