“Jimi Hendrix scared me. Learning about the Hendrix E chord was amazing… I figured out where to put my fingers and kinda eked it out on my own”: Steve Lukather names the 12 guitarists who shaped his sound
From George Harrison and Jeff Beck to David Gilmour and Eddie Van Halen, the Toto veteran has befriended many of his heroes – and it's thanks to them that he still loves to sit at home playing
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Preparing to hit the road playing the songs that made him famous with Toto, the joy on Steve Lukather’s face is vivid. “Nobody laughs harder than me,” he says. “I’ve enjoyed the ride, and man, what a ride it’s been.”
Back in ’78, when Luke was a fresh-faced 20-year-old kid out of California’s San Fernando Valley, he couldn’t have imagined the wonders that awaited. When he peeled off the solo from Hold the Line, sure, his love for guitar was evident, but did that signal what lay ahead?
“I never thought in a million years that I’d be playing this when I was a 66-year-old adult,” he says. “But there’s still an audience for it – not just people rolling in wheelchairs and iron lungs, but a lot of young people, too.”
Some wonder what keeps Toto’s flame burning, but Lukather thinks he has it figured out. “It started with the demented success of Africa. That went crazy. And people still love it. It still baffles me, but it was a wonderful gift as it puts butts in the seats!”
The band’s continued success isn’t just about live shows, either. “I know a lot of guys complain about streaming, but not me,” the guitarist says. “It’s really helped us, even though people are pissing and moaning.
“When I first took over the management stuff, I made a great deal with Sony for streaming. We get a lot of streams, and over the last eight or nine years, we’ve gotten billions of people listening to the music. So even though I’m an old bastard, I have no complaints.”
When he talks about the songs he’s lived with for decades, it comes down to gratitude. “This is my whole life laid out via music,” he says. “It’s like smelling grandma’s apple pie, you know?
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“The smell of that pie does something to your brain, and these songs do that for me. They’re pleasant memories. Grandma might not be around anymore, and you miss that, and I think that’s what these songs are in that I miss them.”
He continues: “I was a teenager when I started, and now here I am, pension age. I gotta laugh at myself; I’m the luckiest motherfucker in the world, man. All I ever wanted was a long career – and I got it. I’m still doing it. So I’m the luckiest guy on planet Earth. I’m slapping myself most days to believe it.”
Yet Lukather’s impact and relevance loom large; not just as a player, but as a positive force in a world that’s often stifling for creatives. “The world is unhappy. I get it, believe me,” he says. “I got kids who have to live through this, but I still find ways to push that aside.
“Just before you called, you know what I was doing? Playing my guitar. I was sitting here, thinking to myself, ‘I really love playing this thing. This old piece of wood sure has been good to me.’ That’s all it takes. I can sit here and find joy in picking up this instrument and still being able to play. All of this is a blessing. If I can do it, so can anyone my age. I still love the guitar. Man, that’s the truth.”
Just before Toto hit the road, Lukather dialed in with Guitar World to reveal – in no particular order – the 12 guitarists who shaped his sound.
1. George Harrison
“I’m starting off this list spontaneously because if I don’t, it won’t work, and it’ll be impossible. I have to start with George Harrison. In the early days, George was my number-one guitar hero. He’s the reason why I play.
“The wonderful sounds he made on The Ed Sullivan Show did it for me. Then there were the first Beatles records, which were like the on-switch for my life. George was where it started for me. Without him, none of this would have started for me.”
“Jeff changed it all. From being a fan as a kid, to working with him and getting to know him in the studio, to playing live shows and seeing how he did what he did – man, I would have to shake my head. I would think, ‘Man, this cat’s an alien.’
“The things he did were not the things normal human beings did on guitar. Wherever he was from, man, it was somewhere else. What more can I say? Losing Jeff hit hard because he was one of the greatest of all time.”
“Gilmour’s whole thing, with his sound, how his touch affects those sounds and makes them sound huge, is incredible. I really wanted to get that sound when I was a kid – what he did on Dark Side of the Moon, which got me into him.
“I heard that, started going backward, and went forward in real time. I’m honored to call him a friend, as he’s one of my all-time heroes. David makes one note sound huge, like it’s banging off the wall – boom! It’s fantastic. He’s a really nice man, too.”
“I’ll go with Larry because his performance on Steely Dan’s The Royal Scam was life-changing for me. After that, I listened to everything he did, going backward and then forward.
“And then I got to work with him, and we won a Grammy together. I’ve been very fortunate to work with many of my childhood heroes; I’m deeply thankful for that honor.”
“Michael has been one of my best friends since we were 12, and he’s an incredible musician. He’s always raised the bar higher over the years and made me a better player because we grew up together. I was like, ‘Fucking Landau, man, he’s great.’
“Honestly, we’ve played in a million bands together, done sessions together, and he’s just one of the finest ever to pick up the guitar. He’s unique and very special, and he’s always made me better. That’s the truth.”
“You gotta understand that, as a kid in the ‘60s, I grew up seeing this guy do what he did in real time. When his first album came out, it was like aliens had landed. It was like watching The Exorcist – it was shocking. When I was so young, hearing Hendrix, it scared the shit outta me. It changed the whole standard.
“Learning about the Hendrix E chord was amazing. I figured out where to put my fingers and kinda eked it out on my own. But again, it was scary – and it sounds funny to say – but seeing and hearing it in real time was much different than listening to it now.”
“My bro, Eddie, changed the world. Like Hendrix, watching what Eddie did in real time was wild. I got to know him very well, and he was a very special human being. The places Eddie’s musical head were coming from, man, he didn’t think like a regular person.
“His riffs, where he felt them from, the timing, and how he dressed them up were so unique. It was like, ‘Wow. I never woulda thought to do that.’ That was Eddie’s whole style – I never would think to do that. I don’t know where guitar would be without him, but he spawned a whole lot.”
8/9. Al Di Meola / John McLaughlin
Al Di Meola Race With The Devil On a Spanish Highway 1977 - YouTube
“I’m gonna have to have these two together – even though it might piss them off! They’re both friends of mine, and I’m honored to say that; but I don’t think there’s a lot of love between them at this point.
“That’s hard for me to rationalize because they’re two of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life. But anyway, both guys smacked me in the face as far as sound and style. They’re incredible players.”
10. Steve Hackett
Genesis - Firth Of Fifth (Official Audio) - YouTube
“Again, I watched this guy in real time. I wore Selling England by the Pound out, and Steve’s unique way of playing was striking. He wasn’t just a guy in a band looking to take a solo – he was integral to the composition with his beautiful legato playing.
“And he was one of the first tapper guys, which was crazy to hear. He’d do these riffs, and they were hard to replicate. I never tried to play like Steve, but I love how he plays. He’s an astounding player, and he’s still out there doing it.”
11/12. Jimmy Page / Eric Clapton
Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven (Official Audio) - YouTube
“This is where it gets so hard, man. As far as directly influencing me, I’m gonna say Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton not only because of their playing but their compositions. I remember dropping the needle on those Led Zeppelin and Cream records and trying to learn the solos. I put hours into doing that.
“I wanted to know where that was coming from. I wanted to play like the guys on those records. I spent a lot of time listening to Stairway to Heaven and Crossroads, which have perfect solos and made me feel like they were in the room with me.”
Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving journalist from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing writer for Guitar World, scribes for Rock Candy, Bass Player, Total Guitar, and Classic Rock History. Andrew has interviewed favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm player), Keith Richards, continues to elude him.
