Jeff Porcaro’s Isolated Drum Track From Toto’s “Rosanna” Remains the Gold Standard of the Half-Time Shuffle

“Rosanna” stands as the definitive opening track of the 1982 masterpiece ‘Toto IV’, winning Record of the Year at the 1983 Grammys for its peerless production and technical brilliance. The song is world-renowned for the “Rosanna shuffle,” a complex half-time groove developed by legendary studio ace Jeff Porcaro that fused the Bernard Purdie shuffle with the “Fool in the Rain” beat. Reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100, this premium slice of jazz-rock remains a staple of musical education and a testament to the band’s sophisticated songwriting and rhythmic mastery.