Rock Band Toto's Bassist Dies Of ALS At 59

Mike Porcaro, the long-time bassist for Grammy Award-winning US rock band Toto, has died aged 59.

The band said in February 2010 that Porcaro had been diagnosed with ALS - Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. It said it planned to tour to generate funds for his care and raise awareness about the disease.

"Our brother Mike passed away peacefully in his sleep at 12.04am last night at home surrounded by his family," Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro wrote on Facebook.

"Rest in peace, my brother."

Toto, which formed in California in the late 1970s, is best known for such hits as Hold The Line, Rosanna and Africa.

The band won a Grammy for best album in 1982 for Toto IV, after which Porcaro toured for that album, replacing bassist Mike Hungate.

Porcaro left the band in 2007.

"My brother Mike Porcaro is now at peace. I will miss him more than I could ever put into words," Toto guitarist Steve Lukather wrote on Twitter.

"My deepest love to the family."

In 1992, Jeff Porcaro, Toto's original drummer and a world-famous session musician, died in 1992, aged 38, from a heart attack.