[Media Monday] Cheesy vintage video from Toto

Rosanna, a 1982 single by a collection of former studio musicians called Toto would not be here due to the overall cheesiness of the video, but for a few overwhelming facts:

  • The drum beat on the song, called a “half-time beat”, is a notoriously difficult one to play, but played gracefully by drummer Jeff Porcaro. It makes the whole song. It was called the “Purdie Shuffle” after the blues musician Bernard Purdie; and later got re-christened “The Rosanna Shuffle”.
  • The song is also unique in that it is one of the few that has two lead singers, but is still not what you would call a “duet”.
  • The dancers are played by Cynthia Rhodes and a bunch of other guys, one of whom is the late Patrick Swayze (1952-2009). If you recall, they both ended up in the film Dirty Dancing five years later.
  • The song won a Grammy in 1983.

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