Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro
April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992)

Jeff 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.

AllMusic has characterized him as "arguably the most highly regarded studio drummer in rock from the mid-'70s to the early '90s" and says that "it is no exaggeration to say that the sound of mainstream pop/rock drumming in the 1980s was, to a large extent, the sound of Jeff Porcaro.
He was posthumously inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1993.

Note from Don of Don & Ginger's Adventures in Live Music
I started reading these tributes, and even though it is a long list, I had to add it all.
Jeff's Tribute was the first I added to our new website on 08/25/2023.
It's a Doozy. I now feel like I knew him………
Here's to Jeff Porcaro:
What a list of names below!!!

Comments from friends and music partners about Jeff Porcaro......

Donald Fagen: "He was such a great drummer, and his personality really came out in his playing. He changed the way people played the drums."

Boz Scaggs: "I met Jeff through producer Joe Wissert. I had assembled a body of material and was getting ready to start the Silk Degrees album.
Jeff approached his role more like a songwriter, a singer, or an arranger would approach the song. He did a lot more than just keep time. He moved me as a singer through the song. Everybody in the band would know what was coming up in the next few bars because we could feel it in the way he anticipated and moved us toward it like a rider moves a horse."

Brenda Russell: "Jeff was fierce. His talent was ridiculous in his sense of soul. He was passionate. He had the look of a smiling wild man, sometimes. Just laying it down with a big grin on his face."

Bruce Springsteen: "He had a tremendous beauty to his playing that went beyond craft and precision into the realm of the spirit. It was with that spirit that he graced and blessed my music. He was a soul man."

David Hungate: "Those of us who had the great privilege of knowing Jeff and working with him can know that, for a while, we walked with a giant".

Steve Lukather: "He spent so much quality time with his kids, too. He would spend hours making models with the kids.
He'd get up early and stay up late with little Nico and let Susan sleep. He'd write lyrics and hang out with Nico. He spent much more time with those kids than an average parent would in a lifetime."

Eddie Van Halen: "He was one of the best drummers in the world. The groove master. He was just so heavy."

Lenny Castro: "When you find a soul mate, you know it. It hits you over the head like a bolt of lightning. It's just mental telepathy. It was scary. We not only did that when we played but just in hanging out. We always thought along the same lines. That's probably why the Porcaros took me into the family. I left my mother and father in New York, struggled out here for a while, met Jeff, and suddenly had a family."

Jay Graydon: "Undoubtedly, Jeff Porcaro was one of the best drummers of any era."

Don Henley: "When he came to a session, he would light up the room enthusiastically. And he didn't care if the clock was going late. He wasn't worried about what he was getting paid or any of that. He was there for the music and with everything he had. He made you feel comfortable, and he really made you feel like he cared about the music. Jeff was one of the best drummers in the world."

Mark Knopfler: "He's amazing, as good as it gets."

Jim Keltner: "Jeff's playing will be studied and enjoyed for many years alongside all the greats. His overall musicality and incredible timekeeping will be emulated. But for those fortunate to have known him well, he will be alive in our hearts and memories."

Mike Baird: "I remember one day he called me up and said, 'Why don't you come over, I want to show you something.' I went over, and he put this record on, and he was going, 'Dig this, dig this,' at some fill that was playing. I'm going. 'Yeah, okay.' He said, 'That's you, man.' For the next three hours, I was putting on records he played on, going, 'Yeah, but dig this.' It was this major bond thing. And he played one of mine for everyone I played of his. It was incredible. That just tells you about the person he was. To have someone call you over to their house to say, 'This is how much I groove on you,' is unbelievable. It just blew me away."

Richard Marx: "There was no better drummer than Jeff Porcaro. His musicianship and kindness to me will never be forgotten. Our loss is heaven's gain."

Vinnie Colaiuta: "His presence alone spawned excitement and hope for us because he was the cat, deep in it, and had it all. People listened to him, and he set the standard and kept it. His stuff didn't get old. He is timeless. Sometimes, you get people who, well, they document things, and that's it. You don't update, modernize, or modify the Mona Lisa. You just don't."

Michael McDonald: "He was the one person who changed my life. I thought the world of the guy. A great personal loss to so many and a giant loss to American music."

David Gilmour: "I wanted to make a really good record (About Face). I wanted to get the best musicians in the world that I could get hold of to play with me, so I thought I'd just make a little list of all my favorite musicians. You know, best drummer, bass player, and keyboard player, and I'll work through the list to see who I can get. Jeff Porcaro was top of my drummer's list."

Larry Carlton: "His contribution to my records (and countless others) will never be forgotten…"

David Foster: "Jeff was a one-of-a-kind musician. There never was, nor will there ever be, another one like him. He had the best feel, personality, and musicality of any musician I have ever met. I miss him a lot and still think about him all the time. All of us in his circle still talk about him all the time. He was the best of the best!"

Peter Frampton: "Playing in the studio with him was always a great adventure. He would invent stuff no one else would invent, making the song feel amazing. Yes, he was one of the best drummers ever, but his humility and caring for those around him made him one of the best people ever, too."