– THE WOMEN OF TOTO –

The men of Toto have a knack for writing songs about women. The most famous example, of course, is “Rosanna.” The song was written by David Paich and is about Rosanna Arquette, who was Steve Porcaro’s girlfriend at the time. Another big hit is “Pamela,” also written by David Paich, named after the then-girlfriend of singer Joseph Williams. And Toto has quite a list of songs named after women. Here’s an overview, along with the albums they appear on. Do you know them all?

• Manuela Run (Toto)
• Angela (Toto)
• 99 (Hydra) – According to Paich, this song is about a future where people no longer have names, only numbers. “99” refers to his beloved.
• Lorraine (Hydra)
• Mama (Hydra) – Should we count this one? It’s named after a woman, of course…
• Goodbye Elenore (Turn Back)
• Rosanna (Toto IV)
• Carmen (Isolation)
• Holyanna (Isolation) – About a woman attending Catholic school who sneaks out to party in the city, hence the “Holy” in the name.
• Lea (Fahrenheit)
• Pamela (The Seventh One)
• Anna (The Seventh One)
• Mushanga (The Seventh One) – About a South African woman; the only non-English name on the list.
• Melanie (Mindfields)
• Chelsea (Old Is New)

Honorable mentions go to “Mrs. Johnson” and “Miss Sun,” both from the compilation album Toto XX, which featured previously unreleased Toto songs. Interestingly, the albums Kingdom of Desire, Tambu, Falling in Between, and XIV contain no tracks with women’s names in their titles. Perhaps by that time, the band members were settled with their partners, and the era of writing love songs was behind them?

Written by Ruben Cornelissen – Kingdom of Desire’s Bass Player.