Toto founding member Steve Lukather has addressed decades of speculation about tensions with the band’s original lead singer Bobby Kimball, revealing the 78-year-old vocalist can no longer perform because of dementia, Parade reports.
Lukather spoke candidly on the Rockonteurs podcast about the rumors that have persisted since the early 1990s.
“You know… there was all this bulls— in the early ’90s about how we were mortal enemies and all this crap,” he said. “I love Bobby Kimball. He’s one of the greatest singers I’ve ever been around. When the voice was on, he was untouchable.”
The guitarist shared that Kimball’s health has deteriorated.
“Listen, I love Bobby, we’ve been in touch, but he’s starting to lose touch with who he is now because of, you know, dementia,” he said. “It’s very sad.”
Kimball’s official website confirms he has frontotemporal dementia and is unable to perform.
Kimball sang lead vocals on Toto’s Grammy-winning hits during the band’s classic era in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including “Rosanna,” “Hold the Line,” and “Africa.” Founding member Steve Porcaro told Classic Rock that Kimball was fired in 1984 because drug use affected his performance.
The vocalist rejoined the band for a decade starting in the late 1990s but was not part of a 2010 reunion or the current lineup, which features Joseph Williams on vocals, Parade noted. Toto is touring South America and has U.S. dates scheduled for early 2026.
Lukather previously addressed the feud rumors in a 2021 interview with 100 Percent Rock magazine.
“The guy’s got dementia, and I’m trying to hang on with them, and we made our peace a long time ago,” he said.
“The press just keeps it alive… I never hated Bobby Kimball. I hated some of the stupid things he did. And I said some really nasty s— I wish I didn’t say because I was angry. And that perpetuated this media-driven feud that we supposedly had that like never really existed.”
Read the original article on cleveland.com.