Jeffrey Thomas "Jeff" Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American session drummer and founding member of the Grammy Award winning band Toto. Porcaro was one of the most recorded drummers in history, working on hundreds of albums and more than 3000 recording sessions. While already an established studio player in the mid 1970s, he shot to prominence in the US as the drummer on the Steely Dan album Katy Lied. Many producers and musicians have characterized him as "arguably the most highly regarded studio drummer in rock , pop and fusion. "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." recalls Quincy Jones at his funeral. Albums with Steely Dan, Roger Waters, Elton John, Richard Marx, Dire Straits, Bee Gees, Bruce Springsteen, Hall & Oates, Michael Jackson, Greg Lake, Don Henley & Pink Floyd barely scope the vast legacy of recordings he contributed to in the 23 years of his professional drumming career.

Porcaro died on August 5, 1992 at the age of 38. The rock star fell ill after spraying insecticide in the yard of his Hidden Hills home and died that evening at Humana Hospital-West Hills. According to one LA Times Report, The Los Angeles County Coroner's office lists the cause of death to be a heart attack from atherosclerosis, not from an allergic reaction to the pesticides as presumed (and stated by Toto in the band's official history) immediately after his death


One of my favorite teenage heroes, this drummer taught me how to " stay in the pocket " and the art of subtle breaks and beats that hold a song together. Salute Jeff Porcaro !