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99 (song)
1979 single by Toto
1979 single by Toto
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | 99 |
| cover | 99 by toto US reissue grey 1980s.png |
| caption | US reissue |
| type | single |
| artist | Toto |
| album | Hydra |
| B-side | Hydra |
| released | December 3, 1979 |
| recorded | Summer 1979 |
| label | Columbia |
| writer | David Paich |
| prev_title | Rockmaker |
| prev_year | 1979 |
| next_title | St. George and the Dragon |
| next_year | 1980 |
| misc |
| B-side = Hydra
- Blue-eyed soul
- adult contemporary
- 3:28 (single version)
- 5:16 (album version)
- 4:03 (video version)
- Toto
- Tom Knox
- Reggie Fisher
"99" is a song by the American rock band Toto. The song appeared on the Hydra album in 1979. As a single, it reached number 26 on the Billboard charts. 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. Many years later, Steve Lukather confessed that he didn't like "99" and said that it was one of his least favorite of the band's songs, which is why it was rarely performed after the Hydra Tour.
Development
The song was written as a tribute to George Lucas's film THX 1138, and the music video resembles a scene from the movie.
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. 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.
Reception
Record World praised Lukather's vocal and said that "Slick production wraps the keyboard-laden love song in a perfect AOR-pop package."
Personnel
Toto
- Bobby Kimball – backing vocals
- Steve Lukather – guitars, lead and backing vocals
- Steve Porcaro – keyboards, synthesizer, synthesizer solo
- David Paich – keyboards, piano, backing vocals
- David Hungate – bass
- Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion
Release history
| Region | Date | Ref. | United States | United Kingdom | Europe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 3, 1979 | |||||
| February 29, 1980 | |||||
| April 1980 |
References
References
- "''Hydra'' singles in the ''Billboard'' charts".
- [http://old.playlouder.com/feature/+dr-rock-vs-toto/ Steve Lukather Interview 2007] {{webarchive. link. (October 7, 2007)
- (December 29, 1979). "Hits of the Week".
- "99 discography".
- "UK promo disc".
- "Dutch Top 40, May 10, 1980".
- Elias, Jason. "Song Review: 99 – Toto". [[Allmusic]].
- Saldaña, Edmundo García. (19 October 2001). "De 'Africa' al Foro". [[Reforma (newspaper).
- Ryan, Tim. (7 May 2004). "TOTO flies high on tour". [[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]].
- (28 April 2007). "99". The Official Toto Website.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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