Jean-Michel Byron | |
---|---|
Birth name | Jean-Michel Byron DuPlessis |
Origin | East London, South Africa |
Genres | Funk, rock |
Occupation(s) | Vocalist, songwriter |
Years active | 1983–present |
Jean-Michel Byron (born Jean-Michel Byron DuPlessis) is a South African-born funk and rock vocalist. The singer-songwriter is best known for serving for a time as the lead vocalist for the rock band Toto for new material on their first greatest hits album, Past to Present , [1] as well as the band's Greatest Hits Live...and More project. Byron was the fourth frontman in the band's history, replacing Joseph Williams after Williams had suffered from voice issues due to intense touring as well as drug abuse. The South African singer was pushed heavily by the group's record label. The line-up change divided Toto's band-members, yet key group member Jeff Porcaro expressed support at first. His tenure with the band ended up being both brief and highly controversial with fans. [2] In more recent years, Byron has collaborated with the jazz fusion group Michael Sanders & the One Tribe Nation. [3] [4]
Byron's musical career began in 1983 as a session singer, having also played in groups doing cover songs. Originally from East London, South Africa, he attended high school (senior secondary) at John Bissicker High School in a former "coloured area". He sang at high school concerts and community shows.
Byron joined Toto for their Past to Present 1977–1990 album. Singing on the release's four new tracks, including the funk-fueled song "Love Has the Power", Byron had a style mixing rock music with R&B different than the group's past vocalists, being directly influenced by artists such as George Michael. [2] The album proved to be a hit after it came out in mid-1990, reaching top 20 spots on album ranking charts in over four nations including Germany and Switzerland, [5] and it also attracted critical praise. Reviewers had mixed remarks on Byron's vocal abilities, with AllMusic's William Ruhlmann finding the artist "more soulful than his predecessors, but no more memorable." [6]
The band's record label had strongly pushed Byron on the other band members, who felt uncertain given the difference of styles between Byron's soul music background and Toto's previous rock work. Despite album success, things would soon become more intense. During the album's supporting tour in 1990, Byron and the band began to openly clash. His on-stage antics and diva-like behavior irked other band members and had a strongly polarizing influence on Toto's fans, some concertgoers even flipping him off and heckling him during performances. "Byron comes out and starts dancing around. I’m looking at Jeff [Porcaro] with bulging eyes. In rehearsal, Byron was just sitting there, but now he's out doing this Michael Jackson on crack shit, with a golf glove on one hand, and my jaw was on the floor," Toto guitarist, songwriter, and co-vocalist Steve Lukather later remarked, "We’re mortified... but it had all gone to his head". [2]
The group ended up bringing in additional singers, and Steve Lukather took on a more prominent role until Byron ended up being basically relegated to the role of a backing vocalist. Upon Byron's dismissal, Toto were once again at a crossroads, having had an acrimonious divide during his tenure. [2]
Fans' anti-Byron sentiment had built up to the point that all of his songs were cut from the filmed Toto Live video from the aforementioned tour, though his studio work has remained a hot topic among critics and listeners alike over the years. After being kicked out of Toto, Byron released a solo album, simply titled Byron, which contains an alternate version of "Love Has the Power".
More recently, Byron has collaborated with the group "Michael Sanders & the One Tribe Nation", a band playing a mix of jazz rock with funk, world music, and more, and he appeared on the outfit's 2005 debut album Servants of a Lesser God. [3] With Byron's material alongside works by Luis Conte and Andy Vargas of Santana among others, the release has received positive remarks from several critics such as Morley Seaver of antimusic.com, who praised the "hypnotic blend of musical virtuosity and melodic ear-pleasers" on the album. [4]
Byron also contributed to the Star Jasmine Music Foundation project's 2007 release, titled simply Star Jasmine, with his material alongside songs performed by artists such as Ginger Baker and Van Morrison. His song was called "For a Dancer". The charitable organization assists Californians in many ways such as operating "JAMS", a volunteer-run music school giving instruments and lessons to at-risk youths in the Santa Barbara area. [7] [8]
In 2021 he was on the jury for the regional finals of the Italian music talent format Sanremo Rock, during which he performed in a live jam session with Nora Hime, art name of Eleonora Almonti, front of the winning Italian band Tothem. [9]
David Frank Paich is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the band's three most popular songs: "Hold the Line", "Rosanna", and "Africa". With Toto, Paich has contributed to 17 albums and sold over 40 million records. He and guitarist and singer Steve Lukather are the only members to appear on every studio album.
Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a steady flow of session work beginning in the 1970s that has since established him as a prolific session musician, recording guitar tracks for more than 1,500 albums spanning a broad array of artists and genres. He has also contributed to albums and hit singles as a songwriter, arranger and producer. Notably, Lukather played guitar on Boz Scaggs' albums Down Two Then Left (1977) and Middle Man (1980), and was a prominent contributor to several studio albums by Michael Jackson, including Thriller (1982). Lukather has released nine solo albums, the latest of which, Bridges, was released in June 2023.
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.
Toto IV is the fourth studio album by American rock band Toto, released on April 8, 1982, by Columbia Records. The album's lead single, "Rosanna", peaked at number 2 for five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, while the album's third single, "Africa", topping the Hot 100 chart, became the group's first and only number 1 hit. Both songs were hits in the UK as well, reaching number 12 and 3, respectively. The fourth single, "I Won't Hold You Back", also peaked within the top ten on the Hot 100, at number 10, but atop the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts for three weeks. It also went into the top 40 in the UK. With the success of "Africa", the album climbed back into the top 10 in early 1983 on both sides of the Atlantic.
Kingdom of Desire is the eighth studio album by Toto, released in 1992. It is the first album on which guitarist Steve Lukather assumed sole lead vocal duties and the final album to feature drummer Jeff Porcaro, who died during rehearsals for the tour promoting this album, and the last album that all of the Porcaro brothers involved together in the band. The album was mixed by Bob Clearmountain and dedicated to Jeff in his memory.
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.
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions. While already an established studio player in the 1970s, he came to prominence in the United States as the drummer on the Steely Dan album Katy Lied (1975).
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.
Falling in Between is the twelfth studio album by American rock band, Toto. The album was released in Europe on February 14, 2006 on the Italian label Frontiers Records, and in the United States on April 18, 2006. The band supported the album with a world tour. It was the band's first studio release since Through the Looking Glass in 2002, the last one with lead vocalist Bobby Kimball and the only one with keyboardist/vocalist Greg Phillinganes. Phillinganes originally began playing with Toto as a touring replacement for David Paich, who had retired from the road. Another Porcaro brother, Steve, continues to work in the studio with the band, though he also retired from touring following the Fahrenheit album in 1987. Similarly, Lenny Castro has never been a member of the group, but has consistently contributed to their recordings since their first album in 1978. This is also the band's last studio album to feature bassist Mike Porcaro and drummer Simon Phillips; Porcaro retired from touring in the following year due to symptoms of ALS taking away the use of his hands and died in 2015. Phillips left the band in 2014 to focus on his solo career.
Robert Troy Kimball is an American singer and songwriter best known as longtime frontman of the rock band Toto from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1998 to 2008. Kimball has also performed as a solo artist and session singer.
Steven Maxwell Porcaro is an American keyboardist, songwriter, singer, and film composer, known as one of the founding members of the rock band Toto and the last surviving Porcaro brother ; as the songwriter of "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson and songs by Toto; and as the composer of the TV series Justified. He has won three Grammys, including Record of the Year for "Rosanna" and Album of the Year for Toto IV, and three nominations.
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.
The Seventh One is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Toto. It was released in 1988, and became the best-received Toto album since Toto IV. The title track, "The Seventh One", is featured only on the Japanese version of the album and on the B-side of the single "Pamela". It was also released on some compilations on a later date. It would be their second and last studio album with lead vocalist Joseph Williams until Toto XIV (2015).
"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.
"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.
"Stop Loving You" is a song from the rock band Toto from their album The Seventh One. It was released as the first single from the album in Europe, peaking at No. 2 in The Netherlands and Belgium. Jon Anderson is featured on backing vocals.
Past to Present 1977–1990 is the first compilation album by Toto, released in 1990. It contains nine hit songs from the band's first seven albums, and four new songs recorded with new singer Jean-Michel Byron.