Hungate, David (5th August 1948-Present)

He is a bass player and guitarist born in Texas who has been a much sought after session musician since the late 1960s/early 1970s when he was performing with Sonny & Cher among many others.

In 1975/6 he worked with Bozz Scaggs on the album Silk Degrees and his bassline can be heard on the hit singles “Lido Shuffle”, “Lowdown” and “What Can I Say” as well as the songs “Harbor Lights” and “We’re All Alone”.

From 1977 he became a founder member of the successful rock group Toto and appeared on many of their hit singles such as “Hold the Line”, “Rosanna” and “Africa” and several albums including the acclaimed Toto IV which received several Grammy awards. This would the last album he performed on with them, with Mike Porcaro taking his place and appearing on the videos from Toto IV, although he has appeared with them off and on ever since.

He had decided to spread his wings and move on to Nashville to work as a session musician and this led his career getting even busier in the studio, sometimes acting as a producer. Not totally staying away from working with groups though, he was a member of the group Mecca, which was led by two other ex-members of Toto.

Working with countless acts that number into the hundreds over the years, he has worked with Alabama, The Bellamy Brothers, Colin Blunstone, Glen Campbell, Kim Carnes, Rosanne Cash, Cerrone, The Chieftains, Joe Cocker, Richie Cole, Kiki Dee, Donovan, David Foster, Crystal Gayle, Nanci Griffith, Olivia Newton John, Bert Jansch, John Jarvis, George Jones, Toby Keith, Greg Lake, Nicolette Larson, Nils Lofgren, Lyle Lovett, Loretta Lynn, Melissa Manchester, The Manhattan Transfer, The Mavericks, Mac McAnally, Marilyn McCoo, Reba McEntire, Bette Midler, Roger Miller, Ronnie Milsap, Mickey Newbury, Juice Newton, Maxine Nightingale, Mark OConnor, Michael Omartian, Dolly Parton, The Pointer Sisters, Billy Preston, Charley Pride, Peter Pringle, Eddie Rabbitt, Lou Rawls, Jerry Reid, The Righteous Brothers, Minnie Riperton, Johnny Rivers, Kenny Rogers, Linda Ronstadt, Carole Bayer Sager, Earl Scruggs, Seals & Crofts, John Sebastian, Neil Sedaka, Ricky Skaggs, The Statler Brothers, George Strait, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Randy Travis, Tanya Tucker, Conway Twitty and Frankie Valli to name a very few.

The sheer amount of albums he has featured on are countless, and far too many to mention here, but a few of them include his own Souvenir as well as Bryan Adams by Bryan Adams, Stay Tuned by Chet Atkins, Bish by Stephen Bishop, Show Me Your Way by Glen Campbell, Best of the Casablanca Years by Cher, Hard Times for Lovers by Judy Collins, Very Best Of… by Christopher Cross, Beautiful Noise by Neil Diamond, I Hear Music by England Dan & John Ford Coley, Never Alone by Amy Grant, Don’t You Love Me Anybody by Engelbert Humperdinck, Miss Gladys Knight by Gladys Knight, One Voice by Barry Manilow, Baby, Thats What Friends Are For by Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams, Totally Hot by Olivia Newton John, Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind by Linda Ronstadt, It’s Me by Diana Ross, Endless Flight by Leo Sayer, Down Two Then Left by Boz Scaggs, Home By Dawn by J.D. Souther, Songbird by Barbra Streisand, RCA Legends by Sylvia, He Who Rides the Tiger by Bernie Taupin, Hydra, Toto, Toto XX and Turn Back by Toto, Woman in Me by Shania Twain, Songs of the Beatles by Sarah Vaughan and Strong Stuff by Hank Williams Jr.

In 2014 he went back to Toto as a touring musician and announced his retirement from touring in 2015. He also performed on the album Toto XIV.

The Manhattan Transfer Recordings
Body and Soul (Edward Heyman/Johnny Green/Robert Sour/Frank Eyton)
Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone (Marius Constant/Jay Graydon/Alan Paul)

Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams recordings
Emotion (Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb)
S CBS 6164B (UK 45)

Here he is on bass with Toto performing “Africa”…

Sources:

Hungate, David (5th August 1948-Present)

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