Toto Star Recalls How Cocaine ‘Overtook’ L.A. During ’70s Heyday

Legendary Toto guitarist Steve Lukather is looking back on how cocaine took hold of the Los Angeles rock music scene in the 1970s.

“It was unbelievable how [cocaine] overtook the city,” Lukather told The Telegraph in an interview published Friday, January 31. “I didn’t even realize what was going on. I didn’t realize why there were five guys in the bathroom stall.”

Toto have been touched by drug-related issues through their near 50-year career, in which they scored a No. 1 hit with the iconic ’80s power-ballad “Africa” and won three Grammy Awards.

Toto drummer and songwriter Jeff Porcaro died in 1992 from a heart attack resulting from coronary disease associated with cocaine use, though Lukather disputed the details surrounding his bandmate’s death.

At the time of Porcaro’s death, Toto’s manager suggested that the drummer may actually have died from an allergic reaction to inhaling pesticides while gardening.

In this new interview, Lukather admitted that he initially “didn’t understand” how destructive the drug was for his musical community.

“I’d walk into the bathroom to take a leak and there’s all these guys in the stall. ‘Hey, what the f— are you guys doing in there?’ ‘Nothing man, nothing kid,’” he recalled before mimicking a snort.

While Lukather maintains that he avoided drugs during Toto’s rise to the top of the rock world, he said he eventually succumbed to its influence.

“One night, 2 in the morning, I’m going, ‘I’ve got a 10 a.m. [session], how am I f— going to get through this?’” he remembered. “Some guy goes, ‘Come here man, have some of this’.’ And I go, ‘Oh man, it’s drug s—’ … but they sold me the whole lot. They sold us all the lies: it’s not addictive, it’s better than coffee, it’s no problem. And all my heroes were doing it so I said, ‘OK.’ And it started out fine … but it got bad because it just turned into this weird dark thing. It became cloak and dagger s—. [People said], ‘No, I don’t have anything.’ It was the addiction thing that people lied to us about.”

The guitarist and acclaimed session musician stressed that he now has a very different outlook on life than when drugs were rampant in the rock scene.

“Even in your youth, you just don’t know how long you have left,” he said. “I mean, today could be my last day. I could go tonight. I’m at an age now where every day above ground is a bonus. I’m 67 years old, man. I haven’t had a drink or a smoke for going on 16 years but I did it pretty good back in the day. I was hanging out wherever I went.”

Lukather went on: “No matter where you are, people would say, ‘Oh, yeah, come on, we’ll meet you at the bar.’ It’s really easy to get to the point where that’s your everyday life. And it starts out harmless and nice, like it does when you’re young, and then suddenly you’re 50 and you’re going, ‘I can’t do this any more.’”

Lukather continues to lead Toto after nearly half a century, having been a driving creative force behind their estimated 50 million records sold worldwide.

Toto’s track “Africa” has been streamed more than 2 billion times on Spotify, with the band attracting more than 24 million monthly streams on the service for their wider catalog.

Lukather was also one of the most prolific session musicians of the 1980s. The guitarist played on Michael Jackson’s record-breaking Thriller, as well as contributing to hits by Aretha Franklin, Olivia Newton-John, Lionel Richie and Chicago, among many others.

Toto are set to tour this summer in a coheadlining show with fellow ’80s rockers Christopher Cross and Men at Work. The band released their 15th studio album, Old Is New, in 2018.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).