Steve Lukather's best-known work with Toto yielded some mighty popular pop-rock songs in the '70s and '80s. But his solo offerings -- which began in the '80s when his band was at the height of its popularity -- offer a much broader spectrum of sounds. Lukather developed his endlessly versatile, melodic but very intense playing style around the ace musicians who made up Toto, which he co-founded as a teenager. But he's also worked on hundreds of sessions as a first-call studio guitarist. Along the way, he would collaborate with everyone from Boz Scaggs and Alice Cooper to Chicago and Cheap Trick, among many others. Albums issued under his own name reflect his varied career, including excursions in hard rock, prog, blues and fusion. Over the years, he's worked with Eddie Van Halen, Chicago's Bill Champlin, Chad Smith and Paul Rodgers on his solo recordings. By 2010, with his old band on a temporary hiatus, Lukather began to incorporate more of the classic ballad style into his own music and appeared onstage with artists as diverse as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Ringo Starr.
- Selected Discography: ‘Lukather’ (1989), ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ (2010), ‘Transition’ (2013)
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Related Artists: Toto, Ringo Starr
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Further Reading: Toto Lineup Changes, Steve Lukather Interview