Thirty - five years ago , Los Angeles - based rock band Toto scored their first — and only — number one Billboard hit with the cheesy - but - beloved pop music anthem “ Africa . ” But the song regained its chart - topping condition earlier this class when Weezer released their own version of the ‘ 80s classic , which end up becoming the alt - rock stria ’s biggest collision in a ten .
They ’ve been performing the strain live in the months since , but Rivers Cuomo and company just upped the “ Africa ” ante by inviting “ Weird Al ” Yankovic and his fabled accordion skill to shred alongside them as they cover the song on Wednesday Nox at The Forum in Los Angeles . you could watch the execution below . ( The whole video is deserving a look , but “ Weird Al ” come in around the 2:42 mark . )
In the decades since Toto first publish “ Africa , ” everyone from Ninja Sex Party to Wiz Khalifa has either taste or covered the yacht rock tune . It ’s also been act at countless weddings and featured on the soundtracks of dozens of movies and television series . But it took pop up onStranger Thingsfor Weezer to bring their version to the table . Inspired by its cellular inclusion in Netflix ’s ode - to - everything-‘80s , a teenage fan of the serial — and Weezer — started a # WeezerCoverAfricaTwitter campaignthat take in some serious traction . Now , the tune has become part of the band ’s regular repertory .
Amazingly , “ Africa ” is a strain that almost never was . In a recent consultation with Yahoo ! Entertainment , Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaroadmittedthat the tune “ almost did n’t make the record album [ Toto IV ] . If you attend , it was entirely buried [ on the tracklisting ] . It ’s the last call — on the vinyl , the last cutting of side two . You do n’t put youronlyNo . 1 single on thelastcut of sidetwo ! So it ’s been this eldritch anomaly to begin with . ”
Porcaro also had some thoughts on how Weezer might have painted themselves into a musical corner with their covering fire . “ peradventure it was just my imagination , but I thought maybe on Rivers Cuomo ’s face , there was an grammatical construction like , ‘ Oh s * * * , I might have to play this the residual of my living , ’ ” he told Yahoo ! Entertainment .
In July , Toto — who are in the midst of a 40th anniversary tour — showed their appreciation to Weezer by extend up a covering fire of “ Hash Pipe . ” As certain as Kilimanjaro go up like Olympus above the Serengeti , it ’s spot - on .
