David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American
keyboardist
A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...
,
singer
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
, and
songwriter
A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...
, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band
Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the band's three most popular songs: "
Hold the Line
"Hold the Line" is a song included by American rock band Toto on its 1978 eponymous debut studio album. It was written by the band's keyboardist David Paich, and lead vocals were performed by Bobby Kimball.
"Hold the Line" was released by ...
", "
Rosanna", and "
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
". With Toto, Paich has contributed to 17 albums and sold over 40 million records. He and guitarist and singer
Steve Lukather
Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...
are the only members to appear on every studio album.
In addition, Paich has worked as a songwriter, session musician, and producer with a host of artists including
Boz Scaggs
William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was a bandmate of Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller in the Ardells in the early 1960s and a member of the Steve Miller Band from 1967 to 196 ...
,
Cheryl Lynn,
George Benson
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...
,
Helen Reddy
Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...
, and
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
.
Paich is the son of jazz composer, musician, and arranger
Marty Paich.
Career
Toto
A prolific writer of chart-performing songs (13 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100), Paich wrote or co-wrote such tracks as "
Miss Sun"(1980), "
Got To Be Real"(1978), "
Georgy Porgy"(1978), "
99"(1979), "
Lowdown"(1976), "What Can I Say"(1976), "
Lido Shuffle"(1976), "
Lady Love Me (One More Time)"(George Benson), "
Hold the Line
"Hold the Line" is a song included by American rock band Toto on its 1978 eponymous debut studio album. It was written by the band's keyboardist David Paich, and lead vocals were performed by Bobby Kimball.
"Hold the Line" was released by ...
"(1978), "It's Over"(1976), "
Rosanna", "
Hydra", and "
Pamela". He also performed lead vocals on the
Toto hits "
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
", "Lovers in the Night", and "
Stranger in Town".
Paich remained with Toto from the beginning of the band in 1977 until 2004, then performed on only a few shows until their disbandment in 2008. Session keyboardist
Greg Phillinganes
Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, vocalist, and arranger. A session musician, Phillinganes has contributed to numerous albums over a broad array of artists and genres. He has toured with artists includin ...
joined Toto in 2003 as an additional keyboardist for both studio projects and tour dates. In 2010, Paich resumed performing with Toto, and until mid-2018 was one of the band's keyboard players, alongside fellow original member
Steve Porcaro
Steven Maxwell Porcaro (born September 2, 1957) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, singer, and film music composer, known as one of the founding members of the rock band Toto and the last surviving Porcaro brother (after the deaths of Jeff ...
.
With Toto in between legs of its 2018
40 Trips Around the Sun (40th anniversary) tour, the band announced via its official website on July 20, 2018, that Paich "will not be performing on the band's planned North American tour
asting from July 30-November 17 The recent European appearances
ebruary 11-April 8took a toll on his personal well-being... He plans on focusing on his health, and looks forward to returning to the road when ready to do so."
Guitarist
Steve Lukather
Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...
later stated that Paich's absence stemmed partially from an apparent seizure he suffered on the bus during the band's early 2018 European tour.
Paich returned to the stage with Toto for the opening and closing shows of their 2019 US tour, reportedly their last, on September 20 in Los Angeles and October 20 in Philadelphia. In both instances, Paich joined the band at the end of the show to play keyboards and sing on "Africa" and "Home of the Brave". The band dissolved at the end of the tour, however, before he could make a full return. Toto reformed in 2020 with Lukather and singer
Joseph Williams fronting a new band. Paich is no longer able to tour full-time, but remains a member of the band as its musical director and a guest performer whenever his health allows. David made a guest appearance in Amsterdam, the 15th of July 2022 for 5 songs only.
Session and side projects
He has co-writing credits with
Boz Scaggs
William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was a bandmate of Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller in the Ardells in the early 1960s and a member of the Steve Miller Band from 1967 to 196 ...
on the songs "What Can I Say", "
Lowdown", and "
Lido Shuffle" from the multi-platinum album ''
Silk Degrees
''Silk Degrees'' is the seventh studio album by American musician Boz Scaggs, released on February 18, 1976, by Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 2 and spent 115 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200. It has been certified five times platinum ...
'', and occasionally still sits in on keyboards with Boz Scaggs' band. As songwriter he wrote or co-wrote songs for
Cher
Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...
,
The Jacksons
The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...
,
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
,
George Benson
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...
,
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...
, Boz Scaggs,
Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...
(Yes),
Cherie
Cherie is an English female given name. It comes from the French ''chérie'', meaning ''darling'' (from the past participle of the verb ''chérir'', ''to cherish''). It has also been used as a diminutive of names starting with or containing the s ...
&
Marie Currie, and
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. As arranger he worked for
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
,
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
,
Patti Austin
Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for " Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after its re-release ...
,
Donna Summer
Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...
,
the Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...
,
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...
and many more.
In 1977, Paich produced the No. 1 R&B hit "
Break It to Me Gently" by
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
.In the early and mid-1980s, Paich often worked with well-known producers
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...
and
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...
. Paich was a part of the session group on the Michael Jackson album ''
Thriller''. He played piano, synthesizer, and did some synth and rhythm arrangements.
In 1982, Paich produced and arranged the song "It's A Long Road" for the film ''
First Blood
''First Blood'' is a 1982 American war action film starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. Directed by Ted Kotcheff, the film was co-written by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, and Stallone, deriving from the 1972 no ...
''.
In 1989, Paich produced and arranged the Oscar-nominated song "
The Girl Who Used to Be Me", written by
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. He is one of a handful of people to win Emmy Awards, Emmy, Grammy Awards, Grammy, Academy Awards, Oscar, and Tony Awards, Tony awards, a feat ...
and
Alan and Marilyn Bergman, for the film ''
Shirley Valentine'' and produced the song "I'll Be Holding On", written by Hans Zimmer and Will Jennings, for the film ''
Black Rain''.
In 1994, Paich was a producer on the Tramaine Hawkins album ''To a Higher Place'' which was nominated for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.
In October 2009, David Paich was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame along with the other members of Toto.
Paich was the Co-Music Director for President Bill Clinton's Foundation Concert in 2011. That year Paich also performed on the all-star benefit album entitled Jazz For Japan (Avatar Records).
David was the music coordinator for 2012 Music Cares Person of the Year, Paul McCartney.
For his extraordinary contributions to the world of music, David Paich was honored with the 2013 South-South Award for Lifetime Cultural Achievement.
As a session musician, Paich has played on numerous soundtracks and on albums by many artists, including
Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1945) is an English Rock music, rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe (band), Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest su ...
' album ''
Rich Man's Woman'';
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...
' song "
Please Forgive Me"; the Michael Jackson songs "
Earth Song", "
The Girl Is Mine
"The Girl Is Mine" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson and English singer-songwriter and musician Paul McCartney for Jackson's sixth solo album, '' Thriller''. The track was written and co-produced by Jackson and ...
", "
Heal the World", "
Stranger in Moscow", and "
I Just Can't Stop Loving You"; and the
USA for Africa
"We Are the World" is a charity record, charity single recorded by the charity supergroup, supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones for the album ''We Are the World (al ...
song "
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a charity single recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones for the album '' We Are the World''. With sales in excess of 20 milli ...
", as well as work with Aretha Franklin, Boz Scaggs, Quincy Jones,
Melanie Safka
Melanie Anne Safka Schekeryk (February 3, 1947 – January 23, 2024), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, was an American singer-songwriter.
Melanie is widely known for the 1971–72 global hit " Brand New Key", her 1970 version o ...
,
Don Henley,
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...
, the Doobie Brothers,
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time.
He has written and ...
,
Seals and Crofts
Seals and Crofts were an American soft rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1969 by James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938). They are best known for their hits " Su ...
,
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...
,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
,
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as
"Feelin' Alright ...
, Rod Stewart, Cher, Sarah Vaughan,
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...
,
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
,
the Brothers Johnson
The Brothers Johnson was an American funk and R&B band consisting of the American brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, with three ...
and
Pink
Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...
.
Paich traveled to China, where he worked composing the theme music for the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
. In 2009, he sang the hit song "Africa" at the
Millennium Development Goals
In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...
awards in New York and co-produced a new tune for George Benson. Paich was involved with the
61st Primetime Emmy Awards
The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 20, 2009
on CBS. It took place at Peacock Theater, Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominations were announced on July 16, 2009.
On July 13, 2009, the Academy of Televi ...
as a music producer and keyboardist for the on-stage band.
Solo career
In 2022, Paich announced his debut solo album titled ''
Forgotten Toys''. It was released by The Players Club (
Mascot Label Group) on August 19, 2022. On June 9, 2022, he released the first single titled "Spirit of the Moonrise," followed by July 14's "Queen Charade."
Paich has said he plans to release more solo music in the future and he has "some stuff lying around here", and is often "slow" because he is "methodical and a perfectionist, sometimes too much...".
Personal life
David Paich was born in Los Angeles, California to Hilda Lorraine Paich and
Martin Louis Paich. He had one sister, Lorraine Louise Paich Cohen, who died on December 20, 2010, at age 58. She was a survivor of a double lung transplant that took place in November 2006, and Paich took a leave of absence from Toto in 2003–2008 to help care for her. She has three credits on albums her brother David was involved in. These include two production credits, one from the 1978
Cheryl Lynn self-titled
debut album David produced, and one from the 1981
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
album titled ''
Songs Of The Beatles''. She was also credited as providing vocals on the Toto song "Struck By Lightning" from their 2018 studio album ''Old Is New''. His mother, Hilda, died in 1979, and his father, Marty, died on August 12, 1995. He married his wife, Lorraine, on December 8, 1984. They have one daughter together named Elizabeth, who was born on November 4, 1988.
Awards
* 1974 –
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
for Best Song or Theme: David Paich & Marty Paich (songwriters) – "Light The Way", from the ''
Ironside'' episode "Once More For Joey"
* 1977 –
Grammy Award for Best R&B Song: David Paich &
Boz Scaggs
William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was a bandmate of Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller in the Ardells in the early 1960s and a member of the Steve Miller Band from 1967 to 196 ...
(songwriters) – "Lowdown", from the Boz Scaggs album ''
Silk Degrees
''Silk Degrees'' is the seventh studio album by American musician Boz Scaggs, released on February 18, 1976, by Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 2 and spent 115 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200. It has been certified five times platinum ...
''
* 1982 –
Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices
The Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices was awarded from 1977 to 1986. From 1977 to 1981 it was called the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement for Voices. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.
Years refle ...
: David Paich (arranger) – "
Rosanna", from the Toto album ''
Toto IV
''Toto IV'' is the fourth studio album by American rock music, rock band Toto (band), Toto, released on April 8, 1982, by Columbia Records. The album's lead single, "Rosanna (song), Rosanna", peaked at number 2 for five weeks on the Billboard Hot ...
''
* 1982 –
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s):
Jerry Hey
Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'', '' Rock with Y ...
, David Paich, and
Jeff Porcaro
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but is also one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundr ...
(arrangers) – "Rosanna", from the Toto album ''Toto IV''
* 1982 –
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
: Toto – "Rosanna", from the Toto album ''Toto IV''
* 1982 –
Grammy Award for Producer of the Year: Toto – ''Toto IV''
* 1982 –
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the The Recording Academy, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the r ...
: Toto – ''Toto IV''
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
External links
David Paich page on The Party Of The Century project
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paich, David
1954 births
Living people
American male pop singers
American pop keyboardists
American rock keyboardists
American session musicians
American baritones
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers
21st-century American keyboardists
21st-century American male musicians
Musicians from Los Angeles
Grammy Award winners
Toto (band) members
20th-century American keyboardists