“Africa” by Toto

This band carries a certain stigma just for being both popular Soft Rock hitmakers and a major part of the Corporate Rock movement in the Seventies, but none of the scorn they receive is really justified by their actual music. For one thing, they’re pretty gutsy for Soft Rock, about on the same level of intensity as Phil Collins-era Genesis; for another, they were extremely strong songwriters. Their other two signature hits, the driving “Hold the Line” and the snappy “Rosanna”, are both fine songs, but this has to be one of the greatest Soft Rock songs of all time. It’s breathtakingly rhapsodic, full of memorable melody from introductory vamp to verse to chorus, and displays an elegant perfection of construction that neither of Toto’s other big hits even approach.

Verdict: Quite possibly one of the greatest Soft Rock hits of any era.

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