B-side "Change of Heart" Genre New wave Producer(s) Toto | Released 1984 Label Columbia | |
Writer(s) David Paich, Jeff Porcaro | ||
"Stranger in Town" is a hit song by American rock band Toto from their 1984 album Isolation.
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It was the first single released from that album, reaching the Top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1984. The song was the band's highest-ever charting Mainstream Rock track, eventually peaking at number 7. It was also a Top 40 single in Australia, where it remains the fourth highest charting single by Toto, behind only "Hold the Line", "Rosanna", and "Africa". The song was written by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro, and features Paich on lead vocals. Though Bobby Kimball is officially credited as a guest musician on the album, having been fired from Toto, "Stranger in Town" was recorded while he was still a member of the group.
The music video (directed by Steve Barron) and lyrics to the song are based on the film Whistle Down The Wind, about an escaped convict who runs into a group of children that mistake him for Jesus. Actor Brad Dourif plays the convict, and new member Fergie Frederiksen appears as a murder victim. Dourif and Toto would also work on the movie Dune that same year.
The video was nominated at the 1985 MTV Music Video Awards for Best Direction.
The band appears briefly in the music video at the 2 minute 30 second mark of the song. It is the only time in the video that they appear.