William Royce “Boz” Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from the United States. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he launched his solo career in 1969, yet he lacked a significant hit until his 1976 album Silk Degrees climbed at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and spawned the hit songs “Lido Shuffle” and “Lowdown”. Scaggs released two additional platinum-certified albums Down Two Then Left and Middle Man, the latter of which generated two top-40 songs “Breakdown Dead Ahead” and “Jojo”. After taking a break for most of the 1980s, he returned to recording and touring in 1988, joining The New York Rock and Soul Revue and opening Slim’s, a prominent San Francisco music venue that remained operational until 2020. Throughout the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, he continued to record and tour, with his most recent album, Out of the Blues, released in 2018.
Scaggs is credited with assisting in the formation of Toto. He hand-picked musicians for his 1976 album Silk Degrees after receiving suggestions from various people. David Paich, David Hungate, and Jeff Porcaro were the musicians. The three were already acquaintances and had appeared on several albums together, including Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic. Going on tour with Boz Scaggs cemented the idea of forming a band. Columbia picked up on this skill by handing the new group a contract “without audition”. This was “a record deal thrown in our laps,” according to Steve Porcaro. “I’m not sure if Toto would have occurred as quickly or in the same way without Silk Degrees,” Paich said. Their friendship has endured throughout the years, as seen by the several projects and concerts they have performed together. Paich worked with Scaggs again on his 2001 album Dig, contributing to six of the eleven songs.