Jeff Porcaro--The Groove Master: * Welcome to Jeff Porcaro: Groove Master!

My first intention was to get the word out! I started this blog years ago in effort to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Jeff’s passing. I was at Jeff’s funeral and that evening went to a Dave Weckl drum clinic. Dave dedicated a shuffle to Jeff…it was moving. MUCH thanks to Robyn Flans with Modern Drummer!

If you are interested in the year-by-year chronology of Jeff's sessions I put together. HERE

Jeff's 69th Birthday Bash ala Zoom--some great stories here

Jeff Porcaro: The Man and His Music Zoom session

GREAT video on Jeff's history from his dad's POV!

Jeff's Instructional Video (When this came out around 1990 I was never more excited...NO Internet back then...)

*** 2018: UNRELEASED Jeff Porcaro with TOTO ***

TOTO's 40th Anniversary LP 40 Trips Around the Sun
Struck by Lightening & Alone the two originals and thanks to the discovery of some unfinished tracks, the band was also able to revisit previously unreleased material featuring late Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro, who died in 1992, and his brother, bassist Mike Porcaro, who died in 2015 after battling ALS. “We were able to take things with Jeff and Mike that were recorded during the 1981 to 1984 era, and Sony found a whole vault full of s--- that we forgot about,” Lukather says. “Just basic tracks that we didn’t use, because 'Oh, that chorus sucks.' So we were able to go in and go, 'Well, the chorus sucks, but the f---ing track was killer. Can we fix this? Let’s rewrite it and insert it.' We were able to do that now.”

The group used that process on “Spanish Sea,” which grew out of a musical idea from the period when it was working on the 1984 album Isolation. “As David says, it’s an heir apparent to an ‘Africa’ kind of a groove," Lukather notes. "It’s got massive Brian Wilson-like vocals on it. We really went for it. We said, ‘Well, if we’re going to be over-produced and everybody hates that s--- about us anyway, our fans love it, so let’s give them what they want.’ So we kitchensinked this bad boy!”

Jeff once said half of what he recorded is sitting someplace on a shelf in a vault. I am surprised they didn't do this a long time ago!

Jeff in Studio 1989...WOW!

Live Session w/Jeff

UPDATE ADDED: Jeff Porcaro--David Paich Interview 1978
See; Jeff's Articles section. Jim Ladd interviews Jeff and David at the release of TOTO's first lp. Really cool stuff at the beginning of TOTO's career!

UPDATE ADDED: TOTO Demo's circa 1977
Hear the demo's before the first LP...a few songs never recorded as well like Joker's Wild and Love is a Man's World. end of page HERE

ADDED: Jeff's Performances
Steely Dan 1974 (2 shows), Larry Carlton Live, Karizama Live at the Baked Potato, Greg Mathieson Project: Baked Potato Super Live, Jeff Porcaro, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton Live at Baked Potato 1977, Michael McDonald, TOTO Isolation Soundcheck, HERE

ADDED: Jeff's lesser known recordings click HERE
A journey through his early days of being a session drummer...worth a listen to see his development in the studio on tracks most of us never heard!

ADDED: Jeff's Modern Drummer Interviews
Go back to 1983 and 1988. History! Great insights to his recording sessions and influences. Also, the CLASSIC Rikki Lee Jones session story! ALSO...New articles 2017--Remembering Jeff, an interview with Jeff's father Joe with an added comment by guitarist/producer Jay Graydon --MUST READ

ADDED: Jeff's Drum Set History
Some interesting drum forum comments. HERE

Some RARE Jeff playing recently...this is a rare

drum solo from his Sonny & Cher days circa 1973.

Jeff was about 20

1988 MI Visit

Jeff at Musician's Institute

Holy Grail of Jeff up close and personal

The EPIC signature track
Want more Rosanna isolated tracks?
Go HERE

VIDEO OF THE MONTH

Beautiful Bruce Springsteen Tribute the day after Jeff died

Lowdown (drums only)

Jake to the Bone (Drums Only)

Black Friday (Drums Only)

I don't speak French, but who cares?

Never saw this before as well...

Recording studio video with Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro,

Mike Porcaro and Michael Omartian. SoundHouse Recording Studio,

Los Angeles, CA - 1990

New video? Just caught this uploaded 4-2017

TOTO Goodbye Elenore rehearsal...AMAZING!

Youtube comments...

"2nd drummer Jeff Porcaro had just turned 20. My wife and I first saw a teenaged Porcaro drumming for Sonny & Cher at a 1972 concert in Fort Wayne, Indiana... then 2 years later we saw him tandem drumming with Jim Hodder at a Steely Dan concert at Toledo University...I use to see him (Jeff) on Sonny & Cher after seeing him at my high school the day before. You should heard his band, Rural still Life,whom later became Toto. My whole school was really a big booster for Jeff;we were all proud of him. But you shoulda seen them during lunchtime, accompanied by the great Scott Shelly on guitar.