Six to seven months since our last chat, Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips had the pleasure of speaking again with ‘Kite on a String: The Bobby Kimball Story’ producer John Zaika to get an update on the making of the movie about Toto’s legendary singer.
Bobby Kimball is the acclaimed rock vocalist who sang on many of Toto greatest hits such as “Africa”, “Rosanna” and “Hold The Line”, to name a few. His incredible vocal strength and perfect pitch helped the band sell over forty million records worldwide. In a chequered relationship with Toto, Kimball has been in and out of the band and when not recording or performing with them, he worked on several solo projects as well as session work with rock ‘n’ roll and pop greats including Joe Cocker, Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Al Jarreau, Barbara Streisand, Richard Marx, Chicago, Edgar Winter, Michael McDonald (Doobie Brothers), Spencer Davis and more.
In recent years Bobby Kimball was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and his health has been diminishing ever since. Long-time friend and producer of Bobby’s solo albums, John Zaika has stood by the mercurial Kimball through thick and thin and has been driven to document Bobby’s life in a new upcoming film Kite on a Sting; The Bobby Kimball Story. The documentary looks at Bobby’s early life, playing in band as a child, through to the Toto golden days and his solo career but ultimately it’s a story about friendship, told through John Zaika’s eyes.
There’s a Kickstarter campaign currently in place to assist John in completing the film. Toto and Bobby Kimball fans can donate at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/twosoulsproductions/kite-on-a-string-the-bobby-kimball-story-final-push
There will also be a 21 song double album soundtrack which will be released with the film featuring classic Toto tracks as well as unreleased Bobby Kimball material which has never been heard before.
Bobby Kimball (official website): https://www.bobbykimball.com
John Zaika (official website): https://johnzaikamusic.com
