Hold the Line
Encyclopedia
Hold the Line is a song written by David Paich
and recorded by the American rock
group Toto
. The song was the band's first single, and was featured on their debut eponymous album
. It reached #5 in the US
Billboard Charts during the winter of 1978–79.
, the band's drummer, gave a definition for the song:
"'Hold the Line' was a perfect example of what people will describe as your heavy metal chord guitar licks, your great triplet A-notes on the piano, your 'Sly'-hot-fun-in-the-summertime groove, all mishmashed together with a boy from New Orleans singing... and it really crossed over a lot of lines.".
"It started out with the piano riff that is in the intro. I started playing this riff and I just couldn't stop playing it. I played it for days, and I started singing, "Hold the line, love isn't always on time." It was a phrase that just came into my head. . . . it was a blessing. (The words) came to me in the night, and then I went to the verse. I wrote it in 2 hours. Sometimes songs come quickly like that, and sometimes I spend 2 years trying to finish a song."
Jeff Porcaro on "Hold the Line", in a 1988 interview with Modern Drummer:
"That was me trying to play like Sly Stone's original drummer, Greg Errico, who played drums on "Hot Fun In The Summertime." The hi-hat is doing triplets, the snare drum is playing 2 and 4 backbeats, and the bass drum is on 1 and the & of 2. That 8th note on the second beat is an 8th-note triplet feel, pushed. When we did the tune, I said, "Gee, this is going to be a heavy four-on-the-floor rocker, but we want a Sly groove." The triplet groove of the tune was David's writing. It was taking the Sly groove and meshing it with a harder rock caveman approach."
Several of the band members recall hearing "Hold the Line" for the first time on the radio:
"I flipped the first time I heard myself on the radio. My mom called me up and said, "Turn on KLOS
." It was the song "Hold the Line," and I started running around the house in my underwear, screaming, "I'm on the radio!" My wife was cracking up. It was just a thrill." (Steve Lukather
, Guitar Player magazine, April 1984)
Bobby Kimball
had a similar experience when he heard Toto for the very first time on the radio:
"I was asleep, I had my alarm clock set for noon because we were gonna do something in the studio, some promo and when the alarm came on there was the radio and "Hold The Line" was playing. And my room was totally black and I was looking for the telephone and I called Paich and I heard him scream, he was living over there with his girlfriend and he was screaming around and falling over trying to get to the radio." Toto99.com
on the fictional classic rock radio station K-DST, and was included in the 2006 Adam Sandler
comedy Click.
In the 6th season of the hit television show The 70's Show in the 3rd episode titled Magic Bus, Fez
, one of the main characters, sings the song to Eric in regards to him trying to get over his girlfriend Donna
going away to college.
In the Cartoon Network
show Regular Show
, the intro of the song is played by the band "Fist Pump", but stripped of the piano riff.
The song was also featured in the new Tron movie as Flint is walking into his fathers video game store.
Several main characters in Questionable Content
discuss which Toto song is their favourite. (However, the only songs they discuss are the top hits: Hold the Line, Rosanna, and Africa.)
David Paich
David Frank Paich is a session musician, keyboard player, recording producer, arranger, vocalist and main composer of the Los Angeles-based rock/pop band Toto. David is the son of the late jazz composer, musician, and arranger Marty Paich...
and recorded by the American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group Toto
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
. The song was the band's first single, and was featured on their debut eponymous album
Toto (album)
Toto is the first studio album by the American band Toto. It was released in 1978 and includes the hit singles "Hold the Line", "I'll Supply the Love" and "Georgy Porgy", all three of which made it into the top 50 in the USA. "Hold the Line" spent six weeks in the Top 10, and reached number 14 in...
. It reached #5 in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Charts during the winter of 1978–79.
Content
Jeff PorcaroJeff Porcaro
Jeffrey Thomas "Jeff" Porcaro was an American session drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award winning band Toto. Porcaro was one of the most recorded drummers in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions...
, the band's drummer, gave a definition for the song:
"'Hold the Line' was a perfect example of what people will describe as your heavy metal chord guitar licks, your great triplet A-notes on the piano, your 'Sly'-hot-fun-in-the-summertime groove, all mishmashed together with a boy from New Orleans singing... and it really crossed over a lot of lines.".
Background and writing
David Paich about writing the song:"It started out with the piano riff that is in the intro. I started playing this riff and I just couldn't stop playing it. I played it for days, and I started singing, "Hold the line, love isn't always on time." It was a phrase that just came into my head. . . . it was a blessing. (The words) came to me in the night, and then I went to the verse. I wrote it in 2 hours. Sometimes songs come quickly like that, and sometimes I spend 2 years trying to finish a song."
Jeff Porcaro on "Hold the Line", in a 1988 interview with Modern Drummer:
"That was me trying to play like Sly Stone's original drummer, Greg Errico, who played drums on "Hot Fun In The Summertime." The hi-hat is doing triplets, the snare drum is playing 2 and 4 backbeats, and the bass drum is on 1 and the & of 2. That 8th note on the second beat is an 8th-note triplet feel, pushed. When we did the tune, I said, "Gee, this is going to be a heavy four-on-the-floor rocker, but we want a Sly groove." The triplet groove of the tune was David's writing. It was taking the Sly groove and meshing it with a harder rock caveman approach."
Several of the band members recall hearing "Hold the Line" for the first time on the radio:
"I flipped the first time I heard myself on the radio. My mom called me up and said, "Turn on KLOS
KLOS
KLOS is an FM rock music radio station based in Los Angeles, California, that debuted in 1969. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It is home to the nationally broadcast Mark & Brian radio show, and Off The Record host Uncle Joe Benson.-History:...
." It was the song "Hold the Line," and I started running around the house in my underwear, screaming, "I'm on the radio!" My wife was cracking up. It was just a thrill." (Steve Lukather
Steve Lukather
Steve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...
, Guitar Player magazine, April 1984)
Bobby Kimball
Bobby Kimball
Robert Troy "Bobby" Kimball is an American singer, best known as the longtime frontman of the rock band Toto.- Early life:...
had a similar experience when he heard Toto for the very first time on the radio:
"I was asleep, I had my alarm clock set for noon because we were gonna do something in the studio, some promo and when the alarm came on there was the radio and "Hold The Line" was playing. And my room was totally black and I was looking for the telephone and I called Paich and I heard him scream, he was living over there with his girlfriend and he was screaming around and falling over trying to get to the radio." Toto99.com
Charts
| Charts (1978-1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report | 8 |
| Belgian VRT Top 30 | 22 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 5 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 25 |
| Euro Hit 50 | 21 |
| French Singles Chart | 84 |
| German Singles Chart | 23 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 24 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 19 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 11 |
| South African Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 3 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
5 |
Year-End Chart
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| South African Singles Chart | 7 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 44 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 62 |
| Australian Kent Music Report | 66 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 91 |
In Pop Culture
The song was featured on the 2004 game Grand Theft Auto: San AndreasGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
on the fictional classic rock radio station K-DST, and was included in the 2006 Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
comedy Click.
In the 6th season of the hit television show The 70's Show in the 3rd episode titled Magic Bus, Fez
Fez
Fez may refer to:*Fez , a brimless felt hat, once widespread in the Ottoman Empire*Fes, a city in Morocco**FEZ, the IATA code of Fes-Saïss Airport*Free Economic Zone*Fez , a painting by an American artist...
, one of the main characters, sings the song to Eric in regards to him trying to get over his girlfriend Donna
Donna
-Fictional characters:*Donna Duck, character from the 1937 Disney short Don Donald*Donna Freedman, character from Neighbours*Donna Hayward, character from Twin Peaks*Donna Martin, character from Beverly Hills 90210...
going away to college.
In the Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
show Regular Show
Regular Show
Regular Show is an American animated television series created by J. G. Quintel...
, the intro of the song is played by the band "Fist Pump", but stripped of the piano riff.
The song was also featured in the new Tron movie as Flint is walking into his fathers video game store.
Several main characters in Questionable Content
Questionable Content
Questionable Content is a slice-of-life webcomic written and drawn by Jeph Jacques. It was launched on August 1, 2003. Jacques currently makes his living exclusively from QC merchandising and advertising, making him one of the few professional webcomic artists...
discuss which Toto song is their favourite. (However, the only songs they discuss are the top hits: Hold the Line, Rosanna, and Africa.)