The Rise and Fall of Toto

David first gravitated towards the drums, but at his dad's encouragement took up piano lessons aged eight. His early songwriting influences included Elton John and Jimmy Webb. In 1976 he struck a winning combination with Boz Skax resulting in the latter's Grammy-winning multi-platinum selling 1976 album Silk Degrees. Toto formed in 1977 when their impressive self-titled debut album was released the following year. David went on to write and perform on all 14 of the band's studio offerings. Of those albums, 1982's Toto 4 proved the band's commercial zenith,. reaching the Billboard Top 10, yielding several hit singles, going four times, platinum and winning five