99 (song)

"99" is a song by the American rock band Toto. The song appeared on the Hydra album in 1979. As a single, it reached number 26 on the Billboard charts. In Canada, the song peaked at number 17 on the RPM singles chart. The full album version of the song includes a gentle piano-driven ride out, while the single edit fades the song out before that part.

Development
The song was written as a tribute to George Lucas's film THX 1138, and the music video resembles a scene in the movie.

In the video, as in the movie scene where the main character (named "THX 1138" and nicknamed "Thex") is imprisoned, the room is completely white and all wear white jumpsuits. Toto Legend, the former official International Toto Fan Club newsletter, reviewed the video: "'99' was predominantly a performance video, though the set design was rather conceptual. Following David Paich's intention regarding the lyrics, about a sterile society in which names are forgotten and love forbidden, the set was sterile white, with various sized sculptured 99's hanging and standing about, and the band was clad in futuristic white jumpsuits. There were some notable shots in this one – keyboard close-ups and an artistic view of Jeff through a transparent drum head, a technique that several popular videos have copied since."

Reception
Record World praised Lukather's vocal and said that "Slick production wraps the  keyboard-laden love song in a perfect AOR-pop package."

Toto

 * Bobby Kimball – backing vocals
 * Steve Lukather – guitars, lead and backing vocals
 * Steve Porcaro – keyboards
 * David Paich – keyboards, piano, backing vocals
 * David Hungate – bass
 * Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion