Steve Porcaro returns with new solo album

The Very Day will be available this fall

Toto co-founder Steve Porcaro returns this fall with The Very Day, his first solo album since 2016. Out October 3rd on Green Hill Music, the album begins its reveal with the release of the radiant new single “Miss Jane Sinclair,” a breezy piano-driven track written in collaboration with author and longtime friend David Kamp.

A platinum-selling songwriter best known for penning songs like Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” and shaping the sonic landscape of ‘80s pop with his signature synth textures, Porcaro has spent a lifetime in the studio crafting songs for others. His role as a behind-the-scenes architect of that sound was recently spotlighted in the HBO documentary Yacht Rock, which revisited the smooth pop era he helped define. With The Very Day, he turns inward, finishing a deeply personal collection of tracks decades in the making.

“I found myself in this fortunate position where the coast was clear,” says Porcaro. “After years of spinning plates and making a living in music, I finally had the space to do what I love: be in the studio and finish my songs. This album is the start of a new chapter for me—no touring, no compromises, just making music on my own terms.”

Porcaro wrote and recorded the songs with a carefully chosen cast of friends and collaborators, including Michael McDonald, Jude Cole, Gardner Cole, and Jason Scheff. With a producer’s ear and a composer’s sensibility, Porcaro approached each track like casting a film—inviting voices and musicians who best served the story of the song. Though he’s never considered himself a lead vocalist, he sings several songs on the album, including “Miss Jane Sinclair.”

“I’ve always had a soft spot for a great hook, but I also grew up loving music that pushed the envelope—Steely Dan, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Yes,” he says. “Now I get to follow that instinct and be true to myself. These songs come from that place.”

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn