March 28, 2025 • 12 mins
American rock band Toto are hitting are gracing New Zealand shores next month as part of their global tour.
The band was formed in 1977, mixing the right blend of groove and melody that swept up crowds.
Band member Joe Williams talks to Jack Tame about their incredible history and visit to our country.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Ah.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
What a jam, What a jam? My goodness. Toto did
it right. They did it. They found just the right
blend of groove and melody to hit that kind of
glorious sweet spot. They didn't crack under pressure. They never
swayed away from their high gloss sound as the world
turned to heavier rock and roll, and next month, Toto
(01:03):
are coming to New Zealand touring shores and ahead of
their tour, Joe Williams from Toto is with us this morning. Kyodo,
Good morning, Off into the show.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Good morning. How's everybody doing.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yeah, everyone is doing incredibly well, all the better for
having you with us this morning. So thank you very
much for your time. How do you how do you
distinguish the success that Toto still enjoys all these years
since you first formed? Why is Toto still so popular?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Do you think? Well?
Speaker 4 (01:37):
I think it's a great deal of it has to
do with these the songs, the big hit songs. I mean,
Africa alone, just as a as a song has given
us life, you know, beyond perhaps may have been you know,
who knows, but you know I think that some of
these songs are timeless, and as people go back searching
(02:00):
through you know, music from the eighties, seventies and eighties
and nineties, they catch onto things that still hold up.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
You know. I think that's part of it.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Yeah, the other the other part, I think it's just
it's just that the band has never really stopped.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Touring over all of these years. And so you know,
who knows.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
You say that Africa has given you life? What do
you mean by that?
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Yeah, well, if you just you know, younger and younger
people are finding it and and I suppose a few
of the different artists who have re recorded it or
used pieces of it or something, or it's shown up
in a particular TV series or a movie something like that,
(02:49):
and and then it still holds up after all the
all of these years, and so as people find it,
it breathes new life into the into the band.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
It's It's amazing, isn't it that that kind of sees
something about human beings as well, that that a song
like that can be so infectious and hatchy, you know,
decades ago, and yet someone introduced to it today will
still have the same reaction. We'll still find it really
infectious and catchy. It'll become an earworm, It'll be stuck
in the head for days. There's something kind of a
(03:18):
bad condition. And I suppose it speaks to the speaks
to the magic of that song.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
It does.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
I mean, you know, in my view, the production of
it and the sounds that were used back at that
at that time, primarily the bob bob you know that
was done on a keyboard. That that really you can
only get that sound from that particular piece of hardware.
(03:47):
And then if you just think about the production of
the whole song after that, it still holds up today.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
A lot of music doesn't, you know, play or seems.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
Corny or odd or maybe the sonically it doesn't sound
as good that kind of thing. Africa still really holds up.
It's a kind of a very smooth feel feeling and
uh and talk about earworms. I think that that that
the chorus of that song, and also just some of
the sounds on there are are infectious.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, do you remember the writing and recording process for Africa?
Speaker 4 (04:23):
I don't, but uh, you know, some of the other
guys I'm sure do. What I what I do know
about that song, which is I think is kind of
an interesting story, is that the rest of the guys
in the band at that time did not want it
on the record. It was brought in late in the game,
and they they went ahead and and produced it up
(04:45):
and finished finished it. But when it finally was finished,
a lot of the guys thought it didn't fit with
the rest of the album, and so maybe they'll just
put it at the very very end.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
In those days when you.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Had vinyl, you would go to side to and put
it as the last cut, and so that's what they
did with it, not thinking or you know, realizing that it.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Would be as big as it you can.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Yeah, it's funny, isn't it. Like you just just think,
I imagine if it hadn't been included, like your life
probably would have been profoundly different.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
It came very close to not being included. That's the
odd thing.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Yeah, So you know, and that's sometimes the way with
like big hit films or big hit TV series that
you can often hear producers and writers and creators saying,
you know, you had no idea.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
It was going to be this big that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
You're listening to Jack Tame, I'm speaking with Joe Williams
from Toto ahead of their three New Zealand shows. So, Joe,
you have all sorts of different musical and artistic pursuits.
I know you've recorded heaps as a solo artist, and
you know you spend a lot of time writing scores
for film and TV as well. So how do you,
(06:02):
you know, kind of balance those different pursuits and interests.
Are there certain things that you get more joy from
at different times?
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Well, certainly that's It's been a while since that I've
done any real work composing for television and or film.
Just I've been busy back on the road for sixteen fifteen,
almost sixteen years, and so I've been fortunate to have
these chunks in my life where I'd be doing one
(06:32):
thing or another. You know, I left I left the
group in eighty nine and had went through a little
period of reinvention and uh, you met my wife and
up ended up having my kids and and and learned
how to do a different thing, you know, acquired a
skill to do it, and and moved into composing for
(06:54):
TV and film and then uh, and then always recording
you know, pop music or rock music or whatever whatever
you want to call us. In between and showing up
for the odd concert here and there with Toto.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
But then, you know, after fifteen.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
Years or so, I started to feel a little bit
bit of a burnout with the with the composing for
for producers and directors, it's it's an exhausting process, and
you're dealing with a lot of different personalities, and you know,
it's it takes.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
It takes a strong person to do that and handle that.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
My hats are always off to my father because he's
always done such a great job with that. But then
I was lucky when that, you know, when that came
to a sort of a slow.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
End, back came the touring full time. Like you say, yeah,
different different chunks.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
And now you know, my kids are grown, I have
grandchildren and and uh and and our tours are going
better than they than they ever have really in terms
of in terms of attendance and the kinds of venues
that we're playing.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
So it's very exciting.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
And uh, you know, we still have a good hunger
to keep out there on the road. Everybody's healthy and
and ready to go, and and we've got a great
show that we're doing now that we're going to be doing.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
This whole year.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah, tell us about the show and what what can
audiences in New Zealand E speat.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Well, we have a great set. Uh. You know.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
One of the lovely things about the band is that
there's a very very deep, deep barrel of wonderful songs
to choose from. Of course, you're going to hear all
of the big ones, you know, that's that's a that's
a given. And I think they're placed just right in
terms of you know, audience.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Excitement and everything.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
But uh uh, but and and then there's a slew
of songs that were in the top ten or perhaps
even in different territories of the world number one songs
that maybe people people have I don't know, I don't
know forgotten about is the is the right way to
put it?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
But you're you're sure, Oh yeah, I didn't. I forgot.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
I didn't know it was that those guys, right, I
forgot that tune was from those guys. We have a
lot of those, and then a couple of deep cuts
that maybe the really diehard fans are going to recognize,
but are great songs in and of themselves and I
think exciting to listen to, and that you know, the
(09:29):
tour is.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Is a it's a stage of really great musicians. You know.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
One one of the things about this band is that
it's always had, with all of its different changes, fantastic musicians,
just a very very top and in uh in musicianship
and and uh you know, cohesiveness within within the group.
So you'll have that. You'll hear great singing. You're gonna
you're gonna there's, You're gonna there's. People are gonna be surprised.
(09:55):
We have a couple of old members coming back and
a couple of new members who were very exciting for
us and breathing some new life and great program. We
just did a month in Europe and it was fantastic,
So we'll we're going to bring it to you.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
And Christopher Cross is going to be here as well,
which is which is just so exciting for you know,
for New Zealand fans. I know, hey, before we let you,
before we let you go, Joe, there was one other
thing I wanted to ask you about that the speaking
of like amazing enduring kind of cultural performances. You played
(10:33):
Simba in The Lion King. You were the voice of
Simba and The Lion King. Did did you have any
idea at that time that that that that film was
going to have the kind of impact that it's had.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Well, I certainly hoped it would, you know. I remember
the session very very clearly. I wasn't in the studio.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
For very long, and uh, my part was was going
to be pretty small.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
Thankfully, my wife was with me, and she was in
the booth and actually old friends with one of the
producers of the music in that film. Obviously, it was
at hot Zimmer's place and and uh, and the directors
of the film were there, and a couple of the
producers and they they they were scratching their heads about
(11:19):
how to do you know, the song Hakuna Matata, where
where the where the lion the lion king goes from
being a little kid into being an adolescent and then
and then on from there, and they weren't sure how
they were going to pull it off. And uh, they
had a couple of lines in that song, and my
wife said, don't you just leave them out there in
the booth and ask them to just, you know, ad
(11:41):
lib something.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
And so that's what happened, and they liked what I did,
so I.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Ended up I ended up in that film in a
in a kind of memorable.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Way, very very lucky break.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
And uh something I very very happy happened.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
And still that's another one that kind of holds up.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
It certainly does it certainly does. I think you've got
a neck of involved somehow. Joe, Hey, look, thank you
so much for your time. We really appreciate it, and
I know so many Kiwi fans are just delighted that
you're going to be playing here soon. So travel safely
and we look forward to seeing you on our shores.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Great, my pleasure. We'll see you, Derek.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
That is Joe Williams from Toto. So Toto, We're coming
to Auckland, Wellington and christ Church next month. Get in quick,
especially if you want to get to that christ Church show,
because tickets are selling really quickly and all of the
details for getting tickets to Toto and Christopher Cross are
going to be up on our website news talks hedb
dot co dot.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
I mean.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
He does. Joe has just said like a connection with
just has a connection with so many amazing kind of
catchy songs. Do you know what, though controversially I actually
reckon hold the line as a better song than Africa
is that is a controversial take.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, Listen live
to news talks he'd b from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Ah.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
What a jam, What a jam? My goodness. Toto did
it right. They did it. They found just the right
blend of groove and melody to hit that kind of
glorious sweet spot. They didn't crack under pressure. They never
swayed away from their high gloss sound as the world
turned to heavier rock and roll, and next month, Toto
(01:03):
are coming to New Zealand touring shores and ahead of
their tour, Joe Williams from Toto is with us this morning. Kyodo,
Good morning, Off into the show.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Good morning. How's everybody doing.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yeah, everyone is doing incredibly well, all the better for
having you with us this morning. So thank you very
much for your time. How do you how do you
distinguish the success that Toto still enjoys all these years
since you first formed? Why is Toto still so popular?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Do you think? Well?
Speaker 4 (01:37):
I think it's a great deal of it has to
do with these the songs, the big hit songs. I mean,
Africa alone, just as a as a song has given
us life, you know, beyond perhaps may have been you know,
who knows, but you know I think that some of
these songs are timeless, and as people go back searching
(02:00):
through you know, music from the eighties, seventies and eighties
and nineties, they catch onto things that still hold up.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
You know. I think that's part of it.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Yeah, the other the other part, I think it's just
it's just that the band has never really stopped.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Touring over all of these years. And so you know,
who knows.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
You say that Africa has given you life? What do
you mean by that?
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Yeah, well, if you just you know, younger and younger
people are finding it and and I suppose a few
of the different artists who have re recorded it or
used pieces of it or something, or it's shown up
in a particular TV series or a movie something like that,
(02:49):
and and then it still holds up after all the
all of these years, and so as people find it,
it breathes new life into the into the band.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
It's It's amazing, isn't it that that kind of sees
something about human beings as well, that that a song
like that can be so infectious and hatchy, you know,
decades ago, and yet someone introduced to it today will
still have the same reaction. We'll still find it really
infectious and catchy. It'll become an earworm, It'll be stuck
in the head for days. There's something kind of a
(03:18):
bad condition. And I suppose it speaks to the speaks
to the magic of that song.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
It does.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
I mean, you know, in my view, the production of
it and the sounds that were used back at that
at that time, primarily the bob bob you know that
was done on a keyboard. That that really you can
only get that sound from that particular piece of hardware.
(03:47):
And then if you just think about the production of
the whole song after that, it still holds up today.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
A lot of music doesn't, you know, play or seems.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
Corny or odd or maybe the sonically it doesn't sound
as good that kind of thing. Africa still really holds up.
It's a kind of a very smooth feel feeling and
uh and talk about earworms. I think that that that
the chorus of that song, and also just some of
the sounds on there are are infectious.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, do you remember the writing and recording process for Africa?
Speaker 4 (04:23):
I don't, but uh, you know, some of the other
guys I'm sure do. What I what I do know
about that song, which is I think is kind of
an interesting story, is that the rest of the guys
in the band at that time did not want it
on the record. It was brought in late in the game,
and they they went ahead and and produced it up
(04:45):
and finished finished it. But when it finally was finished,
a lot of the guys thought it didn't fit with
the rest of the album, and so maybe they'll just
put it at the very very end.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
In those days when you.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Had vinyl, you would go to side to and put
it as the last cut, and so that's what they
did with it, not thinking or you know, realizing that it.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Would be as big as it you can.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Yeah, it's funny, isn't it. Like you just just think,
I imagine if it hadn't been included, like your life
probably would have been profoundly different.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
It came very close to not being included. That's the
odd thing.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Yeah, So you know, and that's sometimes the way with
like big hit films or big hit TV series that
you can often hear producers and writers and creators saying,
you know, you had no idea.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
It was going to be this big that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
You're listening to Jack Tame, I'm speaking with Joe Williams
from Toto ahead of their three New Zealand shows. So, Joe,
you have all sorts of different musical and artistic pursuits.
I know you've recorded heaps as a solo artist, and
you know you spend a lot of time writing scores
for film and TV as well. So how do you,
(06:02):
you know, kind of balance those different pursuits and interests.
Are there certain things that you get more joy from
at different times?
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Well, certainly that's It's been a while since that I've
done any real work composing for television and or film.
Just I've been busy back on the road for sixteen fifteen,
almost sixteen years, and so I've been fortunate to have
these chunks in my life where I'd be doing one
(06:32):
thing or another. You know, I left I left the
group in eighty nine and had went through a little
period of reinvention and uh, you met my wife and
up ended up having my kids and and and learned
how to do a different thing, you know, acquired a
skill to do it, and and moved into composing for
(06:54):
TV and film and then uh, and then always recording
you know, pop music or rock music or whatever whatever
you want to call us. In between and showing up
for the odd concert here and there with Toto.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
But then, you know, after fifteen.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
Years or so, I started to feel a little bit
bit of a burnout with the with the composing for
for producers and directors, it's it's an exhausting process, and
you're dealing with a lot of different personalities, and you know,
it's it takes.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
It takes a strong person to do that and handle that.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
My hats are always off to my father because he's
always done such a great job with that. But then
I was lucky when that, you know, when that came
to a sort of a slow.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
End, back came the touring full time. Like you say, yeah,
different different chunks.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
And now you know, my kids are grown, I have
grandchildren and and uh and and our tours are going
better than they than they ever have really in terms
of in terms of attendance and the kinds of venues
that we're playing.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
So it's very exciting.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
And uh, you know, we still have a good hunger
to keep out there on the road. Everybody's healthy and
and ready to go, and and we've got a great
show that we're doing now that we're going to be doing.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
This whole year.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah, tell us about the show and what what can
audiences in New Zealand E speat.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Well, we have a great set. Uh. You know.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
One of the lovely things about the band is that
there's a very very deep, deep barrel of wonderful songs
to choose from. Of course, you're going to hear all
of the big ones, you know, that's that's a that's
a given. And I think they're placed just right in
terms of you know, audience.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Excitement and everything.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
But uh uh, but and and then there's a slew
of songs that were in the top ten or perhaps
even in different territories of the world number one songs
that maybe people people have I don't know, I don't
know forgotten about is the is the right way to
put it?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
But you're you're sure, Oh yeah, I didn't. I forgot.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
I didn't know it was that those guys, right, I
forgot that tune was from those guys. We have a
lot of those, and then a couple of deep cuts
that maybe the really diehard fans are going to recognize,
but are great songs in and of themselves and I
think exciting to listen to, and that you know, the
(09:29):
tour is.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Is a it's a stage of really great musicians. You know.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
One one of the things about this band is that
it's always had, with all of its different changes, fantastic musicians,
just a very very top and in uh in musicianship
and and uh you know, cohesiveness within within the group.
So you'll have that. You'll hear great singing. You're gonna
you're gonna there's, You're gonna there's. People are gonna be surprised.
(09:55):
We have a couple of old members coming back and
a couple of new members who were very exciting for
us and breathing some new life and great program. We
just did a month in Europe and it was fantastic,
So we'll we're going to bring it to you.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
And Christopher Cross is going to be here as well,
which is which is just so exciting for you know,
for New Zealand fans. I know, hey, before we let you,
before we let you go, Joe, there was one other
thing I wanted to ask you about that the speaking
of like amazing enduring kind of cultural performances. You played
(10:33):
Simba in The Lion King. You were the voice of
Simba and The Lion King. Did did you have any
idea at that time that that that that film was
going to have the kind of impact that it's had.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Well, I certainly hoped it would, you know. I remember
the session very very clearly. I wasn't in the studio.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
For very long, and uh, my part was was going
to be pretty small.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
Thankfully, my wife was with me, and she was in
the booth and actually old friends with one of the
producers of the music in that film. Obviously, it was
at hot Zimmer's place and and uh, and the directors
of the film were there, and a couple of the
producers and they they they were scratching their heads about
(11:19):
how to do you know, the song Hakuna Matata, where
where the where the lion the lion king goes from
being a little kid into being an adolescent and then
and then on from there, and they weren't sure how
they were going to pull it off. And uh, they
had a couple of lines in that song, and my
wife said, don't you just leave them out there in
the booth and ask them to just, you know, ad
(11:41):
lib something.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
And so that's what happened, and they liked what I did,
so I.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Ended up I ended up in that film in a
in a kind of memorable.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Way, very very lucky break.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
And uh something I very very happy happened.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
And still that's another one that kind of holds up.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
It certainly does it certainly does. I think you've got
a neck of involved somehow. Joe, Hey, look, thank you
so much for your time. We really appreciate it, and
I know so many Kiwi fans are just delighted that
you're going to be playing here soon. So travel safely
and we look forward to seeing you on our shores.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Great, my pleasure. We'll see you, Derek.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
That is Joe Williams from Toto. So Toto, We're coming
to Auckland, Wellington and christ Church next month. Get in quick,
especially if you want to get to that christ Church show,
because tickets are selling really quickly and all of the
details for getting tickets to Toto and Christopher Cross are
going to be up on our website news talks hedb
dot co dot.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
I mean.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
He does. Joe has just said like a connection with
just has a connection with so many amazing kind of
catchy songs. Do you know what, though controversially I actually
reckon hold the line as a better song than Africa
is that is a controversial take.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, Listen live
to news talks he'd b from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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