Toto's Steve Lukather has shared his mixed feelings about the band's 1982 hit "Africa."
Appearing on the Fail Better with David Duchovny podcast, the guitarist told the former X-Files star about how the band's biggest hit has become both a "blessing and a curse" for them throughout the course of their career.
Speaking about the gratitude he feels for being in a band for nearly 50 years and working on more than 1,500 records as a session musician, Lukather reflected on "Africa" and its legacy.
“For some reason, this ‘Africa’ thing has been a blessing and a curse,” he explained. “First off, it's the least Toto song out of our whole bunch, but that's the one everybody thinks that's what we are.”
Taken from the band's 1982 album, Toto IV, "Africa" is Toto's only song to top the Billboard Hot 100. The song has remained held its relevance over the years, thanks to their inclusion in the popular "yacht rock" movement, its use in movies and television, and the cover version Weezer released in 2018 that became a surprising hit.
Lukather revealed that while they thought it was “catchy” and had “potential," their biggest hit was not considered much of a song by the band and was “the last thing” they recorded for Toto IV.
“We thought it was a throwaway song,” he said. “We made the whole record without hearing the lyrics. And the last thing we did was put the lead vocal on. Everything else was done.”
Still, Lukather and the rest of his bandmates appreciate the song for becoming a gateway song for the band, and help people "find out [that Toto is] actually a rock band.”
“It's become the golden carrot, you know, so you can't argue with it," he added.
Listen to the episode below.