David Hungate

Hungate is the unsung anchor of early Toto, and anyone who really listens to those records knows it. His bass on tracks from the band's first era is precise without being clinical, locking in with the rhythm section in a way that made all those slick arrangements actually groove. I respect that he stepped back from the touring grind to focus on session work in Nashville rather than chasing the spotlight. That's a player who cared about the music more than the fame, and his fingerprints are on more hits than casual fans realize.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

David Hungate (born 1948) is an American retired bassist and musician, best known as the original bass player for the rock band Toto. He performed on the group's early hit albums, including their Grammy-winning Toto IV, before leaving the band's touring lineup. He has also worked extensively as a session musician, particularly in Nashville.

Name (English)

David Hungate

Name (Japanese)

デヴィッド・ハンゲイト

Reading

でゔぃっど・はんげいと

Born

August 5, 1948 (age 78)

Origin

Troy, Missouri, United States

Occupation

Bassist / Musician

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Leo / Rat

• Official sitehttp://www.toto99.com
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%20Hungate
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%87%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A3%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%83%8F%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B2%E3%82%A4%E3%83%88
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q960298

Tags

• From Missouri
• Bassist
• Musician

Last updated

November 2, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.