Toto

Toto (stylized as TOTO) was formed in 1977 in Los Angeles.  Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard rock, R&B, blues and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide. The group has received several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009. 

Toto by W. W. Denslow
from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

In the early 1980s, band members told the press that the band was named after the dog in The Wizard of Oz. The other origin story is that Jeff Porcaro had written TOTO on one of their demos just to be a marker on the tapes. Bassist David Hungate saw it and said that “in toto” was Latin for “in all, totally, entirely, or all-encompassing.” That might have been a secondary reason to stick with it. It was also easy to remember.

Toto from the Falling in Between Tour (Milan, 2006)

David Paich and Jeff Porcaro were session musicians on several albums and decided to form a band. They put together the group produced the band's eponymous debut album in 1978. It had a Top 5 single "Hold the Line." But their more global fame came with Toto IV (1982) with hits "Africa" and "Rosanna" which reached number 2. Band members played on many other bands' albums as session players throughout the 80s.