"I Won't Hold You Back" by Toto

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  1377
Date:  03/12/1983
Debut:  67
Peak:  10
Weeks:  17
Genre:  Soft Rock, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Toto's third single, "Africa," from their Grammy-winning album "Toto IV" returned them to the Top 10 (#1 actually) after a slight misstep with the LP's second single "Make Believe" (#30). This fourth single would become another major hit for them just peaking inside the Top 10 and reaching #1 at AC. The success of "Africa" and this single pushed the album back into the Top 10 where it initially peaked at #4 when "Rosanna" was riding high on the chart. The album would eventually go triple-platinum.

ReduxReview:  I always thought this was a very pretty ballad. It almost trespasses on Alan Parsons Project territory, especially in the instrumental section. I didn't buy "Toto IV" until after this single came out (which I mentioned in the "Make Believe" post). After the two major hits and this one, I figured the album was a safe bet. I was kind of wrong. I ended up not liking the album. The three singles were the only songs I really liked. I can't say it's a bad album. After all, it won the Album of the Year Grammy. It's just the bar was set so high with the three songs that the rest were completely underwhelming. It's one of the few major hit albums from the 80s that I never upgraded to CD or digital. I bought a Toto compilation instead. As for this song, it's a delicious slice of MOR pie.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  In addition to their own work in Toto, the band members were sought after studio musicians. They all have played on countless recordings over the years. Arguably their most memorable contributions to an album would be their work on Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Of the six members of Toto at the time, four participated in the "Thriller" sessions including Steve Porcaro who co-wrote the hit "Human Nature." Although Toto needed to tour in order to support the "Toto IV" album, they ended up delaying the tour due to their work on "Thriller."

_________________________________________________________________________________