Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Hold The Line" (Toto)
Greetings!!!
Hello!!! You've made it to the right place! Yep! This is just where
you are supposed to be! Welcome to Tuesday and Tuesday's Musical
Notes!!! (insert elaborate herald trumpet fanfare, like this: Herald Trumpet - "Royal Entrance Fanfare")
Thank
you for joining us each week from all over the world! While the vast
majority of "hits" to The Notes occurs from the good 'ol USA, we are
grateful that Tuesday's Musical Notes is read around the world in places
like Russia ("Во вторник музыкальные ноты"), Germany ("Dienstag's
Noten"), and France ("Notes de musique de mardi"). So regardless of where you may be, let's get started already!!!
"I
have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore..." Nope, Just like
Tuesday's Musical Notes, they are still listened to all over the world.
After 37 years and 17 albums, they will tour Europe and Japan with the
band Yes ("Owner Of A Lonely Heart", "Roundabout") in support of their
newest album Toto XIV next year. Here is the hit that propelled
them to a Grammy nomination for "Best New Artist" and brought the band
Toto into everyone's radio:
Toto - "Hold The Line" from their 1978 self titled debut album
Three
of the band's five current roster are original members. They have had a
revolving door of musicians that have played on tour and on their
records in their 37 year history. They have also loaned their
individual talents to some of the biggest records in history. Ever
heard of a struggling little album called Thriller? (sarcasm
inferred) Unlike other bands from their time period like Chicago (23
studio albums, 3 live albums, and 10 compilation albums) or The Rolling
Stones (29
studio albums, 13 live albums, 24 compilation albums), the band members
of Toto remain so busy with studio musician contracts and solo projects,
that they have had limited time to focus on their own band. Typically,
you see Toto release an album, tour in support of that album and then
wait several years before putting out their next round of music. This
method has seemed to work as they continue to entertain audiences world
wide.
The story is told by original bassist, David Hungate,
that the name Toto came from a label that was placed on the band's demo
tapes to identify their music from other "masters" at the recording studio.
He later explained that the phrase "in Toto" was Latin for "all
encompassing". Due to the fact that all of the band members had played
on so many other artists albums they decided to adopt the name for the
release of their eponymous debut album in 1978. No Dorothy, the band is
not named after your dog...
Their greatest moment came in 1982 in the form of Toto IV
("Africa", "Roseanna", and "I Won't Hold You Back"). Chances are, you
probably have the vinyl, cassette or perhaps a cd of this album tucked
away in a corner or out in your garage. In more modern terms you more than likely have one of Toto IV's hit singles in your playlist. But with out today's smash from the late '70s it is doubtful that you would have ever heard
of the band Toto.
From
its piano heavy intro to its trademark guitar licks, "Hold The Line"
continues to be one of Toto's top requested songs. Keyboardist and
principle song writer for the band, David Paich, claimed that it only
took a couple of hours to write, once he got the initial piano triplet
pattern out of his head. It was the bands first hit as it peaked at #5
in the top of Billboard's Hot 100 in 1978. "Hold The Line" would wind up at #44 in the end of the year countdown for 1979.
"Hold
The Line", "Stop the Presses", and "Hold Your Horses", are phrases
that express the need to immediately halt what you are doing so
consideration may be made for a pressing decision. The "line" in our
feature songs title is talking about a telephone line where someone
would be waiting for more information, or be asked to wait until the
other end of the conversation can rejoin. This choice of words
encourages the parties involved to pull back from a situation and
evaluate all the available information before pursuing their current
direction. They speak of squelching the impetuousness of an emotional
outburst when a "heat of the moment" decision can cause more harm than
good. Have you ever made a decision in impulse that you regretted
later?
Many
Biblical characters have had moments of regret due to the fact they
didn't "hold the line" and think their decisions through completely.
Abram's wife, Sarai, loses hope that she will have children, even after
God had promised Abram that he would be the father of many descendants (Genesis 13:14-17 New American Standard Bible/ The Message paraphrase parallel).
So Sarai take matters into her own hands and offers her handmaiden,
Hagar, to Abram to take as a 2nd wife. Just like Adam in the garden of
Eden when Eve asked him to eat of the forbidden fruit, Abram should have
had a "hold the line" moment, yet he didn't. Many believe that the
conflicts that have been constant and will continue to be constant in
the Middle East have come from the results of Abram's poor decision with
Hagar.
A
later story about a bowl of soup and family hierarchy also shows that
sometimes you should "stop the presses" and get more information. Later
on in Genesis we see the story about 2 brothers, Jacob and Esau. Like
many cultures today, the eldest son would receive the bulk of the estate
upon the father's death. He would also maintain the family heritage
and be the leader of the extended tribe or clan that lived around him.
However, in Esau's case, he let his intense appetite, subvert his
thinking process. He traded away something very precious for something
extremely common, due to the fact that he thought he just could not
wait. Read the results of Abrams decision as well as Jacob and Esau's
meal encounter here: Genesis 25 Common English Version/ The Message paraphrase parallel. The point being that instant decisions have long lasting effects.
It
is incumbent upon us as followers of Jesus, to occasionally have a
"Hold The Line" moment. The song suggests that the relationship in
question is unbalanced, that the person being sung to is much more
serious about the relationship than the singer. They are at different
stages of the relationship and the singer is saying, "wait a minute, I'm
not sure I feel as strongly about you as you do for me. Our timing is
off". There are times in our "walk" that we will feel out of step with
Jesus. This is due to our nature as sinful creatures. As a part of fallen humanity, we will sin.
Repentance is the only way to restore that lockstep with Christ. Yes,
even believers need to repent of the sin that they commit, because the
Bible reminds us..."There is none righteous, no not one" Romans 3:10 New International Version/ The Message paraphrase parallel. But we also have the promise from Isaiah that through repentance our sins will be washed as white as snow. Isaiah 1 NIV/The Message parallel
As
you go through life, realize that occasionally you may need to "slam on
the brakes", "stop the presses", or "hold the line" before you make a
decision. Chances are, when you do, God will show you exactly the way
to go...
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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