Who sang the lead vocal on Toto's Hold the Line?

The lead vocal on Toto's Hold the Line was sung by Bobby Kimball, the band's original lead singer. Hold the Line was Toto's debut single, released in 1978 on their self-titled first album Toto, and it became their first major hit, reaching number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bobby Kimball, born Robert Troy Kimball in 1947, was recruited in 1977 to be the dedicated lead vocalist for the group of highly successful Los Angeles session musicians who formed Toto. His powerful, soaring high tenor voice with a strong vibrato became the signature sound of early Toto. David Paich, who wrote Hold the Line, has said he wrote the song with Kimball's vocal range in mind, and Kimball's performance with its gritty yet melodic delivery helped define the song's anthemic quality. While Toto is known for having multiple singers, with Steve Lukather and David Paich also singing lead on other songs, Hold the Line is definitively Kimball's showcase. The song's famous chorus, Hold the line, love isn't always on time, is sung entirely by Kimball with backing harmonies from Lukather, Paich, and the Porcaro brothers. Kimball remained the band's primary lead singer until 1984 and later rejoined from 1998 to 2008.