Toto Clarifies That the Band ‘Never Did a Session With Rob Lowe’

Toto has responded to Rob Lowe’s claim that he cut a demo with the band in the ’80s.

On the Jan. 9 episode of his Literally podcast, the actor casually mentioned to Bill Simmons, executive producer of HBO’s Yacht Rock documentary, that he’d considered transitioning from acting to music.

“There was a minute in the ’80s where I was definitely doing too much Bolivian marching powder and just being a fucking lunatic,” Lowe recalled. “Coming at the time in a young actor’s career where they’re too old to play the roles they’ve been playing, but they’re too young to play the roles that will last you the rest of your life, which are really the great ones.”

“I love music so much,” he continued, “that I got it into my head that maybe I should think more about music. And I cut a demo with Toto.”

READ MORE: The ’80s Brat Pack: Where Are They Now?

Lowe’s comment caught people’s attention and had many fans wondering how his collaboration with Toto happened. When UCR reached out to the band for comment, Toto spokesperson Steve Karas offered some clarity.

‘The Reporting Is Not Accurate’

“Toto as a band never did as session with Rob Lowe,” he explained, adding that guitarist Steve Lukather was blindsided by the sudden attention surrounding Lowe’s story. “The reporting is not accurate.”

According to Toto’s spokesperson, Lowe spent one afternoon in the studio with just two of the band’s members – David Paich and Steve Porcaro. All of the Toto musicians have impressive resumes as session players, having worked with some of the biggest names in music. Paich and Porcaro were working on a project outside of the band when a producer suggested they try Lowe behind the mic. The endeavor proved fruitless and a true collaboration never took shape.

Though absent for all of this, Lukather did confirm he spent time with Lowe “once in 1985 in Japan and hasn’t seen him since.”