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Former Toto bass player dies at 59

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – A publicist said Mike Porcaro, former bass player for the Grammy-winning group Toto, died. He was 59.

Toto publicist Keith Hagen said Porcaro died Sunday.

No cause was given, but Porcaro suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, for several years.

Toto was formed in the mid-1970s when Porcaro’s brothers, Jeff and Steve, joined other successful session musicians.

Mike Porcaro came aboard in 1982 after founding bassist David Hungate left.

Toto’s merging of jazz, power-pop, soul and other musical forms sold millions of records in the late 1970s and early ’80s and made the group one of the most popular of that time.

The album “Toto IV” won the Grammy for album of the year in 1982. The song “Rosanna” won record of the year.

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