Ten Favorite # Songs: 99 (#10)

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Hashtag! Pound sign! Crooked tic-tac-toe board! Yes, I am following in @teamfreak16 's footsteps and looking at ten favorite number songs. I'm following his rule that it's actually a number in the title, and not the word spelled out. So, as much as I love the song, no "Seven Year Ache" this time around. Here's the first one on my list. #10: 99 - Toto I have sort of a schizophrenic approach to Toto. When Bobby Kimball sang lead, they sounded, to me, like any other lame, formulaic FM rock band. (Kimball sang lead on "Hold the Line" and "I'll Supply the Love.") When guitarist Steve Lukather or pianist David Paich sang, however, they were a completely different band. The elements of their days with Boz Scaggs are evident in Lukather's or Paich's voice. (And, as an aside, if you'd listen to Toto's "Georgy Porgey" then listen to "Jojo" by Boz Scaggs, you'll hear some incredible similarities. Good thing Scaggs and Paich share a Grammy for writing "Lowdown" together, or there may have been lawsuits.) And Paich didn't just do the mid-tempo ballads, either: he sang lead on the great first album cut "Rockmaker." For such a long time I thought this was a love song about Barbara Feldon. No, in actuality, the song was based on the movie THX 1138. That movie probably would never have been remembered, let alone had Toto do a song based on it, if it hadn't been the directorial debut of one George Lucas. And, according to Picky Wedia, Lukather, the lead singer on the song, hates this song. Oh, well, not every song can be a "Rosanna." Personally, I love it. But then, I haven't had to sing it every night since 1979 on tour..... 99 Written by David Paich Recorded by Toto From Hydra, 1979 You don't know who I am: