Jeff Porcaro Session Tracks

JEFF PORCARO
SESSION TRACKS
-- a continuing project

A-G - H-R - S-Z

Jeff Porcaro's work in the studio was prodigious and wide-ranging. From his first recorded appearance on Jack Daugherty and the Class of Nineteen Hundred and Seventy One to his tragic death in 1992 he played on hundreds of recordings of an amazing variety. He played with legends like Sarah Vaughan and Ray Charles as well as contemporary pop icons like Michael Jackson and Madonna. He played country with Dolly Parton and Rodney Crowell, rhythm and blues with Etta James and the Four Tops, folk with Dirk Hamilton and Severin Browne, contemporary Christian with Sandi Patti and Russ Taff, jazz with Stan Getz and Stanley Turrentine, and fusion with Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour. He played with pop groups from the melodic Bee Gees to the maniacal B-52s. He played with artists from around the world, including Ricardo Silveira (Brazil), Henry Kapono (Hawaii), Janne Schaffer (Sweden), Amii Ozaki (Japan), Mory Kante (West Africa), Ricky Gianco (Italy), Emile Wandelmer (France). And always he played to enhance the music, from the soft brush strokes of Carlton's "My favorite things/We three kings" to the frenzied drive of Peter Frampton's "Friday on my mind".

The list goes on and on. That is what this web site is about--an attempt to list every released track that Jeff was involved with. It's a difficult task because there were so many and because many of the recordings do not have track specific credits. I'm sure I will never hold in my hand every recording that Jeff played on, so I hope that others who collect his sessions will help build this into a resource that will keep his legacy alive for generations to come.

If you have an album in your collection that is not in this list, it would be great if you would e-mail me with the artist, title, label, date and the details of Jeff's involvement. Also send my way any additions or corrections to the information here.

About the arrangement of this list: Under artist albums are arranged by release date. Soundtracks are listed under the title of the film or program.

Anyone may use the information on this web site for their own personal use and links to the site are welcomed, but please do not reproduce this list elsewhere without permission. There is no intention on my part to publish this information in any other format. It is my hope that it will always remain freely accessible to everyone on the web.

Credits: It began with Terry Hounsome's NEW ROCK RECORD (1987 ed.) and a discography published in the THE TOTO LEGEND. It continued with the help of many friends, including Andy Dworschak, Noriko Koshikawa, Magnus Liljeqwist, Denis Olivier, Marten Larsson, Petra Regemann, Frederic Huybens, Melissa Pearson, Kathrin Hackler, Mikael Hagstrom, Jon Reidar Furulund, Gary Ogan, Matt Belanger, Giuseppe Soldano, Jesper Ekberg, Sarah Cleworth, Dave Ehnstrom, Manabu Hirano, Tomas Ekholm, Henk-Jan Paalman, Dolly Mohr, Peter Durdevic, Julia Ehnstorm, Renzo Gutierrez, James Laspesa, Xavier Verschaffel, Naoki Okamoto, Takumi Sugiuchi, B.J. Moncivais, Jim Ljungh, Max Zape, Ian Braun, Bill Carter, Theresa Mcclusky, Matías Devit, Simon Beyer, Tony Flynn, Nick R. Thomas, Bill Torrico, Ian Rivera, Dan Nguyen-Duy, Jamie Pugh, Paul H. Rozario, Jennie Lucas, Jukka Ritari, Kaare Skare Lystad, Rainer Smetan, Robert Shearer, Christopher Bodkin, Kate Hayes. My heartfelt thanks to all of you!

The photograph of Jeff that appears above is by Luis Lizarraga, who has kindly given his permission to use it on this site.

The background of this page is an image I made based on a sketch by Chris Lesbines which appeared in HITMEN VOL. 1: STUDIO DRUMMERS (Sam Y. Bradley Publicatons, 1982). It is the basic groove idea from Steely Dan's "Black Friday" which appeared on the album Katy Lied.