name | Steve Lukather |
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alt | Steve Lukather stands on a stage playing a green electric guitar. |
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background | solo_singer |
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born | October 21, 1957 San Fernando Valley, California, U.S. |
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instrument | Guitar, keyboards, mandolin, lute, vocals |
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genre | Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, Jazz Fusion |
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occupation | Musician, songwriter, arranger, producer |
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associated acts | Toto, Michael Jackson, Boz Scaggs, Los Lobotomys |
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notable instruments | Music Man "Luke" signature model |
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years active | 1975–present |
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label | Mascot Records |
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website | http://www.stevelukather.net/
}} |
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Steve "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957,
San Fernando Valley,
California) is an
American guitarist,
singer,
songwriter,
arranger, and
record producer best known for his work with the rock band
Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a
composer,
arranger, and
session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums. He was also a member of
jazz fusion band Los Lobotomys, a collaboration of notable session musicians. While his work with Toto was predominantly based on
pop rock music, Lukather's solo and side-project work spans many genres including
rock,
progressive rock,
jazz and
funk.
Session keyboardist David Paich and session drummer Jeff Porcaro were high school friends with Lukather. Lukather was invited to join in forming their band, Toto, in 1976 when Lukather was nineteen years old. He was a member of Toto from that time until the band split up in 2008. Lukather's reputation as a guitarist and his association with Paich and Porcaro, who were also established artists, allowed him to secure a solid flow of session work in the 1970s and 1980s. He is a prolific songwriter, writing or co-writing many songs for Toto and other artists. His career has encompassed hundreds of performances and album appearances with Toto and other well-known musicians. Lukather has been nominated for twelve Grammy awards, and has won five times.
Lukather is known for his efficiency in the studio, often recording tracks in one take using minimal sound processing. While he once used many guitar effects in the studio and on stage, he now frequently disparages such practice, and instead advocates clean tones and minimal studio processing. Lukather plays primarily a signature electric guitar manufactured by Ernie Ball Music Man bearing his nickname, Luke. He also plays Yamaha acoustic guitars.
Biography
Early life
Steven Lee Lukather was born on October 21, 1957 in
San Fernando Valley,
California. He first played
keyboards and
drums, and then taught himself how to play the guitar starting at age seven, when his father bought him a Kay
acoustic guitar and a copy of
The Beatles album ''
Meet the Beatles''. Lukather claims that the album "changed his life" and that he was greatly influenced by the guitar playing of
George Harrison in particular.
In high school, Lukather met David Paich and the Porcaro brothers (Jeff, Steve, and Mike), all of whom became members of Toto. Lukather, who had been a self-taught musician until then, began taking guitar lessons from a musician named Jimmy Wyble, who expanded Lukather's knowledge of different aspects of music, such as orchestration. It was during this period that Lukather became interested in the idea of becoming a session musician, which provided opportunities to play with a variety of famous musicians.
Jeff Porcaro, who was playing drums with Steely Dan, became a mentor to Lukather and furthered his interest in session work. Lukather's first job in the music industry was studio work with Boz Scaggs, after which Paich and Porcaro—who had become prominent session musicians in their own right—asked Lukather to join them in forming Toto in 1976, along with Bobby Kimball, David Hungate, and Steve Porcaro. Lukather turned down an offer to join Miles Davis's band because Toto was leaving the next day for a world tour.
Toto
Lukather was the
lead guitarist for Toto, as well as a lead and backing vocalist and composer. In the early years of the band's history, David Paich wrote most of the songs that appeared on Toto records and in the charts. Lukather also credits Jeff Porcaro for his leadership within the band. Lukather's role in Toto evolved, and following Porcaro's death Lukather felt that he needed to step up and make sure the band kept going. Lukather won three of his five Grammy awards for work with Toto, twice as an artist and once as a producer. Toto has sold over 32 million records.
After the 1990 dismissal of their fourth vocalist, Jean-Michel Byron, Toto was without a lead singer until around 1997; Lukather assumed most of the vocal duties for the band during that time. He performed lead vocals for every track on 1992's ''Kingdom of Desire'' and 1995's ''Tambu'' except for two instrumental tracks. The ''Tambu'' single "I Will Remember", co-written by Lukather and Stan Lynch, reached #64 on UK charts. Some ''Tambu'' reviewers contrasted Lukather's vocals with those of former singers such as Bobby Kimball (and indeed, panned the entire album), some concert reviewers noted that he struggled vocally on certain songs, and a number of backup singers and guest vocalists accompanied the band's live shows during that period. It was not until Toto brought back former lead singers Joseph Williams and Bobby Kimball to collaborate on 1998's ''Toto XX'' that Lukather returned to lead & backup vocals.
Lukather's songwriting contributions grew from a smattering of tracks on early Toto albums to almost every track from the late 1980s. He wrote very few of Toto's earlier hits by himself however, with the exception of the hit single "I Won't Hold You Back" from ''Toto IV''. Lukather has admitted that writing lyrics is not one of his strengths. Thus, he collaborates with other band members to complete song ideas and make them into viable album tracks. Lukather contributed to all but one song on Toto's 2006 album ''Falling in Between''.
Lukather has frequently expressed frustration in the media over Toto's decline in popularity in the United States since peaking with ''Toto IV''. The American segment of the ''Falling in Between'' tour was not well-attended, and Lukather commented that American audiences prefer the mainstream "cookie-cutter" music typically heard on the radio. He acknowledged that Toto maintains a large overseas fan base, but has criticized the American music industry (MTV in particular), and characterized the industry as catering to "any bonehead with a computer and a cute haircut". He has also criticized popular guitar magazines for covering unremarkable guitarists.
In June 2008, Lukather decided to leave Toto. This decision directly led to the official dissolution of the band. On his website, Lukather stated: "Honestly I have just had enough. This is NOT a break. It is over. I just can't do it anymore and at 50 years old I wanted to start over and give it one last try on my own." In February 2010, the band announced that they would reunite to support Toto bassist Mike Porcaro, who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.
Session work
Lukather achieved notability in the 1970s and 1980s as one of the most sought-after session guitarists in
Los Angeles, playing with a wide range of artists from
Aretha Franklin to
Warren Zevon. He performed the guitar solo for
Olivia Newton-John's popular 1981 single "
Physical", which was Billboard's #1 single of the 1980s. He has performed on over 1,000 records spanning 36 years. He largely credits fellow Toto members David Paich and Jeff Porcaro for getting him exposure in the industry.
Notable sessions include: Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and "Human Nature" (co-written by Toto member Steve Porcaro), Stevie Nicks' "Stand Back" single from Nicks' 1983 album ''The Wild Heart'', several tracks from the Don Henley album ''I Can't Stand Still'', several tracks from the Jackson Browne album ''Lives in the Balance'', two tracks from the Lionel Richie album ''Can't Slow Down'', and the Richard Marx album ''Repeat Offender''. Besides sessions, Lukather has also written hits for such artists as The Tubes and George Benson, for whose song "Turn Your Love Around" Lukather won a Grammy award.
Solo albums
Lukather has had a very successful solo career for 23 years and released six solo studio albums: ''
Lukather'' (1989), ''
Candyman'' (1994), ''
Luke'' (1997), ''
Santamental'' (2003), ''
Ever Changing Times'' (2008) and ''
All's Well That Ends Well'' (2010).
''Lukather''
''Lukather'' came about after Toto had been recording and playing for 11 years, and the consensus among the band members was to take a break. As Lukather had written a number of songs that did not appear on Toto albums, he decided to pursue a solo album, with the intention of presenting a dimension of his music that fans would be unfamiliar with. He collaborated with many notable musicians, including
Eddie Van Halen,
Richard Marx,
Jan Hammer,
Steve Stevens, and fellow Toto members Jeff Porcaro and David Paich. Lukather has said that the album was produced very simply, and that a lot of ambient studio noise, such as counting off on various tracks, is audible on it. He also credits bands
Pink Floyd,
Cream,
Led Zeppelin, and guitarists
Jimi Hendrix,
David Gilmour,
Jeff Beck, and
Eric Clapton as influences on the album. The single "Swear Your Love" came from the album.
''Candyman''
''Candyman'', recorded and mastered from March 1993 through November 1993, was a collaboration of musicians who were for the most part also in Lukather's band Los Lobotomys. Toto familiars
Simon Phillips and David Paich participated as well as David Garfield, John Peña, Chris Trujillo,
Lenny Castro, Larry Klimas,
Fee Waybill,
Richard Page, and
Paul Rodgers. Lukather recorded the album in mostly live takes with little
overdubbing.
Some international fans were confused about whether ''Candyman'' was a Steve Lukather album or a Los Lobotomys album. The Japanese and US releases of ''Candyman'' were under the Los Lobotomys name rather than Lukather's; the Japanese release also featured a version of the Hendrix song "Red House." The European release of ''Candyman'' was credited to Lukather alone. Additionally, the touring band for the album was sometimes introduced as "Steve Lukather and Los Lobotomys" and sometimes as just "Los Lobotomys."
The song "Borrowed Time" was released as a single in Europe and included "Red House" as a B-side.
''Luke''
Released in 1997, ''Luke'' is a much different and more introspective album than Lukather's previous two solo efforts. The album is a concentrated collection of many of Lukather's musical influences, and he deliberately let those influences come out on the album. ''Luke'' is an experimental album, and like ''Candyman'' it was recorded mostly in live sessions with minimal overdubbing and processing afterwards. ''Luke'' also features instrumentation not heard on previous Lukather albums such as
pedal steel,
harmonicas,
Mellotrons, and experimental guitar, bass, and drum sounds.
The US version of ''Luke'' includes a version of the Jeff Beck song "The Pump." The song "Hate Everything About You" was released as a single.
''Santamental''
''Santamental'' is a collaborative project featuring several prominent musicians such as guitarists Edward Van Halen,
Slash, and
Steve Vai and drummer
Gregg Bissonette. When Lukather's record company, Bop City Records, approached him about recording a Christmas album, he quipped, "Why me? Do I look like Father Christmas to you mofos?" The company wanted him to do the record knowing he would approach the project with a unique angle and produce something different from the typical Christmas album. Lukather recruited keyboardist Jeff Babko and guitarist Larry Carlton, who Lukather had worked with previously, to help arrange the songs. The project was a challenge to Lukather, who had to be creative to turn the traditionally simple songs into something interesting for listeners without altering the fundamental structures. He said of the album, "But I never dreamt in a million years that I'd do a Christmas record."
The musicians Lukather chose for ''Santamental'', most of whom were involved in the hard rock genre, lent a heavy feel to the album. Van Halen recorded guitar tracks for "Joy to the World" after not having been in the studio for some time but immediately made an impression on Lukather with his level of playing. Vai provided guitar work for "Carol of the Bells" along with Lukather's son Trevor, then 14 years old. Slash, who recorded his part in one take, played on the Lukather/Stan Lynch composition "Broken Heart for Christmas". Lukather spoke highly of Slash after the project, calling him the "Keith Richards of our generation". Well-known session guitarist Michael Landau played on the song "Look Out For Angels", and there is a version of "Jingle Bells" featuring a big band and sung by Sammy Davis, Jr.
''Ever Changing Times''
''Ever Changing Times'', released on February 22, 2008, is a collection of songs Lukather recorded in 2007 while between Toto tours. The album contains contributions from a wide assortment of fellow
session musicians such as
Bill Champlin,
Abe Laboriel, Jr.,
Leland Sklar, Steve Porcaro, and from Lukather's son Trevor. Joseph Williams provides backing vocals on five of the tracks. Lukather wrote the songs for the album with his son and a handful of other musicians using basic equipment in a hotel room. His song-writing philosophy is that if a song sounds good with only guitars and vocals, it will likely sound good after a full production.
Lukather collaborated with Grammy Award-winning engineer and producer Steve MacMillan on the project, with the goal of introducing some new methods and techniques into the recording process. Lukather described the final tracks as "perfectly imperfect", preferring to record with the five-piece backing band in one room and in one take. MacMillan encouraged Lukather to use "organic, vintage tones". As a result, Lukather eschewed effects and played the guitar parts directly through tube amplifiers manufactured by Marshall, Vox, and some boutique brands. Lukather commented that MacMillan served as a valuable "second set of ears" in the studio, often encouraging him to keep parts that he normally would have discarded.
''All's Well That Ends Well''
Lukather's sixth studio album, ''All's Well That Ends Well'', was released on October 11, 2010 in Europe and Japan, and November 16 as a digital download worldwide. It draws from Lukather's personal experiences in the two years since ''Ever Changing Times''. While Lukather focused on instrumental writing and production on previous albums but collaborated with lyricists, he wrote much of the lyrics for ''All's Well That Ends Well'' himself.
Side projects
When not working with Toto, Lukather has participated in numerous side projects such as playing in Toxic Monkey with Bill Evans, Will Lee, Keith Carlock and Steve Weingart and touring with
Edgar Winter and
Larry Carlton and others. In 1985, Lukather released the instructional "Star Licks" guitar video featuring many of the guitar parts from the first five Toto studio albums. It was released on
DVD in 2005.
Lukather has been a long-time member of the band Los Lobotomys, a collaboration of session musicians including jazz and be-bop player David "Creatchy" Garfield and Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro. Los Lobotomys formed in the mid-1980s and played regular shows in the Los Angeles area, often inviting whatever session musicians happened to be available and in the area. They recorded an album under the Los Lobotomys name in 1989, and the band was heavily involved in the recording of Lukather's ''Candyman''. Los Lobotomys recorded a live album in 2004 comprising several tracks from ''Candyman'' and from the 1989 album.
In 1998, Lukather received an invitation to tour Japan with fellow guitarist Larry Carlton after Japanese promoters requested that Carlton's annual tours each be different from the last. Lukather and Carlton exchanged some recorded material and decided that a collaboration would be interesting. Lukather was flattered by the invitation to tour with Carlton, citing him as his favorite guitarist. Lukather speaks highly of their stage efforts, although the two were admittedly outside their normal realm of work. He stated in an interview that "you can hear us having fun on the record—you can hear the smiles on our faces."
After several shows, the duo realized that they should record their collaboration even if just for their own use. Guitarist and producer Steve Vai heard one of the subsequent recordings and expressed interest in releasing it under his Favored Nations label, also home to artists such as Eric Johnson and Dweezil Zappa. Vai and Lukather mixed and produced the recording, which is said to be a mixture of jazz, blues, and fusion music. The resulting album, ''No Substitutions: Live in Osaka'', won a 2001 Grammy award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Album reviewers described Lukather as having a heavier style than Carlton. Lukather and Carlton later did an international tour in support of the album.
In 2005, Lukather was noted for his rendition of the Jimi Hendrix song "Little Wing" at a gala 90th birthday celebration for jazz guitarist Les Paul.
Lukather has also been participating in projects such as the Fermatta Master Class Series showing his support for music education around the world.
Personal life
Lukather married Marie Currie (twin sister of The Runaways' Cherie Currie) in 1981. They had two children together: Cristina, born in 1985, and Trevor, in 1987. They later divorced in 1994.
He is now husband to Shawn, and father to Lily-Rose, born in 2008.
Lukather resides in the Los Angeles area. His son Trevor is an active professional guitarist, frequently performing and now and then attending events with his father.
Discography
Solo
''Lukather'' (1989)
''Candyman'' (1994)
''Luke'' (1997)
''No Substitutions: Live in Osaka'' (2001)
''Santamental'' (2003)
''Ever Changing Times'' (2008)
''All's Well That Ends Well'' (2010)
With Toto
With Los Lobotomys
''Los Lobotomys'' (1989)
Style and equipment
Influenced by blues-rock guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix and
Jimmy Page, jazz guitarists such as Larry Carlton and
Al Di Meola and session players like Jay Graydon, Larry Carlton, Dean Parks, Ray Parker jr., Lee Ritenour, and many more..., Lukather is known for a "melodic and intense" playing style. His vibrato is very pronounced and his exaggerated wide bends are instantly recognizable. Well versed in theory, Lukather can follow chord charts and changes as a jazz musician would, and this ability enhances his value as a session musician. In interviews, he has explained how he thinks of the guitar in a "chordal cluster" format, and not the typical "linear scale" format.
Lukather's approach to engineering his sound in the studio is usually very simple. He is not known for doing a large number of takes or for incorporating much overdubbing—rather, he has a reputation for doing only single takes for many parts. Although he enjoys the technical mastery that is possible in the studio, Lukather prefers the dynamic of performing live on stage. He has stated that dynamics are the most important element of producing a recording with good sound quality.
Despite being known in the past for having an intricate effects rack, Lukather now claims to play mostly free of effects after seeing some overdone commercial effects processors named after him. Other than some delay, he has not used many effects in recent years. He has held a long association with Bob Bradshaw of Custom Audio Electronics, who designed and manufactured key elements of Lukather's effects rack. Lukather is one of the few official endorsers of EMG pickups, having collaborated on his own Lukather signature "SL20" pickup system. The pickup system is a single unit incorporating two different types of pickups (including a humbucker), single volume and tone knobs, and a pickguard.
Lukather is an endorser of Music Man guitars and has a signature model named "Luke". The guitar started out with only MusicMan specifications (including a Floyd Rose locking vibrato, later replaced with a vintage-style fulcrum bridge), but in 1998 the manufacturer made several customizations to the model to better fit Lukather's playing style. Music Man also produces a Ball Family Reserve Steve Lukather Model that features upgraded hardware and materials. Lukather has also been known to play Ibanez, Tyler and Valley Arts guitars as well as a vintage Gibson Les Paul. His relationship with Ibanez and Valley Arts yielded an endorsement for a brief time in the 1980s with the release of the Ibanez Roadstar RS1010SL and Valley Arts Custom Pro Steve Lukather Signature guitars in 1984/85.
Awards
1982 - Grammy Award for Best R&B; Song: Steve Lukather, Jay Graydon, Bill Champlin (for George Benson) - "Turn Your Love Around"
1982 - Grammy Award for Producer of the Year: Toto - ''Toto IV''
1982 - Grammy Award for Album of the Year: Toto - ''Toto IV''
1982 - Grammy Award for Record of the Year: Toto - "Rosanna"
2002 - Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album: Larry Carlton & Steve Lukather - ''No Substitutions: Live in Osaka''
Edison Award:
1999, Lifetime Achievement Award, Toto, Holland.
Musicians Hall of Fame:
2009, Toto induction Musicians Hall of Fame, Nashville, USA.
Eddie Christiani Award:
2010, Lifetime achievement guitar award, Holland (along with Jan Akkerman & Brian May).
Guitar Player's Gallery of the Greats:
Guitar Player Magazine winning Best Studio Player 5 years in a row in the readers poll.
Gibson:
Voted one of the top 10 session guitar players of all time.
References
External links
Category:1957 births
Category:Living people
Category:American session musicians
Category:American rock guitarists
Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:Lead guitarists
Category:Columbia Records artists
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