
Tower Of Power é uma banda americana de Soul / Funk / R&B / Jazz e Jazz-Funk com seção de metais, originária de Oakland, Califórnia, ativa desde 1968. A banda teve vários vocalistas principais, sendo o mais conhecido Lenny Williams, que liderou a banda entre o início de 1973 e o final de 1974, período de seu maior sucesso comercial. Eles tiveram oito músicas na Billboard Hot 100, suas músicas de maior sucesso incluem: You're Still a Young Man, "So Very Hard to Go, What Is Hip? e Don't Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream).
No verão de 1968, o saxofonista tenor e vocalista Emilio Castillo conheceu Stephen "Doc" Kupka, que tocava saxofone barítono. Castillo havia tocado em várias bandas e contratou Kupka após uma audição em casa, por conselho de seu pai. Em poucos meses o grupo então conhecido como The Motowns, começou a fazer vários shows em Oakland e Berkeley, atraindo público de comunidades minoritárias e da contracultura.
Para tocar no Fillmore Auditorium de Bill Graham em São Francisco, a banda mudou seu nome para Tower Of Power, que acabou ficando.
Em 1970, a banda renomeada, agora incluindo o trompetista e arranjador Greg Adams, o primeiro trompete Mic Gillette, o primeiro saxofonista Skip Mesquite, Francis "Rocco" Prestia no baixo, Willie Fulton na guitarra e o baterista David Garibaldi. Assinaram um contrato de gravação com a San Francisco Records de Bill Graham e lançaram seu primeiro álbum, East Bay Grease. Rufus Miller interpretou a maioria dos vocais principais nesse álbum de estreia. O grupo foi apresentado pela primeira vez a área da Baía de São Francisco pela estação de rádio KSAN, que tocava uma variedade de artistas como Cold Blood, Eric Mercury e Marvin Gaye.
Com a adição do percussionista Brent Byars, o Tower Of Power foi liberado de seu contrato com a gravadora de São Francisco e assinou com a Warner Bros Records. Rick Stevens substituiu Rufus Miller como vocalista principal em Bump City de 1972, que deu a banda sua primeira exposição nacional. Esse álbum incluía o single de sucesso, You're Still a Young Man, que alcançou o 29º lugar na Billboard Hot 100 e foi o ápice da performance vocal de Stevens antes de deixar a banda. Emilio Castillo, que co-escreveu a música com Stephen Kupka, disse ao Songfacts que a canção foi baseada em uma história real sobre ele e uma ex-namorada que era seis anos mais velha que ele.
Tower Of Power, lançado na primavera de 1973, foi o terceiro álbum da banda. Contou com o cantor de soul Lenny Williams nos vocais principais e Lenny Pickett no saxofone tenor principal. Bruce Conte substituiu o guitarrista Willie Fulton e o tecladista Chester D. Thompson também se juntou a banda durante a gravação do álbum. O álbum gerou seu single de maior sucesso, So Very Hard to Go. Embora o single tenha alcançado o 17º lugar na Billboard Hot 100, ele foi incluído no Top 10 nas paradas de muitas estações de rádio Top 40 da Costa Oeste, chegando ao 1º lugar em várias delas. O álbum também emplacou outros dois singles na Billboard Hot 100, This Time It's Real e What Is Hip?.
O álbum Back To Oakland de 1974, gerou o single de sucesso Don't Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream), que alcançou o 26º lugar na Billboard Hot 100 e Time Will Tell, que chegou ao 69º lugar. O instrumental funk-jazz Squib Cakes também veio deste álbum.
Em Urban Renewal de 1974, a banda se aproximou mais do funk do que do soul. No entanto, eles continuaram gravando baladas também. Williams deixou a banda no final de 1974 e foi substituído como vocalista por Hubert Tubbs. A execução da banda nas rádios comerciais diminuiu. No final da década de 1970, eles tentaram brevemente gravar material com sonoridade disco.
Em 12 de janeiro de 2017, o baterista de longa data David Garibaldi e o baixista Marc Van Wageningen foram atingidos por um trem da Amtrak, que havia sido encoberto por outro trem que estava passando enquanto atravessavam os trilhos embutidos no meio da Embarcadero Street, antes de uma apresentação no bairro de Jack London Square, em Oakland. Ambos sobreviveram ao acidente, provavelmente devido ao fato de o trem estar viajando a apenas cerca de 24 km/h. De acordo com seu empresário, Jeremy Westby, ambos estavam conscientes e sendo tratados em um hospital local. Eles se recuperaram completamente e retornaram para formação ativa da banda ainda naquele ano.
A seção de metais do Tower Of Power apareceu em gravações de vários outros artistas, incluindo Otis Redding, Aaron Neville, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, David Sanborn, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Labelle, Huey Lewis, Little Feat, Heart, Michelle Shocked, Paula Abdul, Santana, Masayoshi Takanaka e Stevie Nicks.
A seção de metais também gravou com o baixista Larry Graham 's Graham Central Station, Grateful Dead Carlos Santana, Journey, Elkie Brooks, Cat Stevens (em sua Foreigner Suite ), Luis Miguel, Linda Lewis, RAD (Rose Ann Dimalanta), Jermaine Jackson, John Lee Hooker, Helen Reddy, Rufus, Rod Stewart, Jefferson Starship, Mickey Hart, Heart, Damn Yankees, Frankie Valli, Spyro Gyra, KMFDM, Lyle Lovett, Poison, Phish (duas músicas em seu álbum Hoist ), Toto, Pharoahe Monch, Ned Doheny e The Brothers Johnson, entre muitos outros artistas.
A música "So Very Hard To Go" foi apresentada nas trilhas sonoras do filme Cidade de Deus de 2002 e do filme Semi-Pro de Will Ferrell de 2008. Fonte: Wikipédia. Site Oficial.
East Bay Grease (1970)01. Knock Yourself Out (7:12)
02. Social Lubrication
(7:24)
03. The Price (6:10)
04. Back On The Streets Again (5:51)
05.
The Skunk, The Goose, And The Fly (5:51)
06. Sparkling In The Sand
(9:02)
Bump City (1972)01. You Got To Funkifize (4:33)
02. What Happened To The
World That Day? (4:14)
03. Flash In The Pan (3:37)
04. Gone (In Memory Of
Jacqueline Mesquite) (3:44)
05. You May Strike My Main Nerve (2:55)
06.
Down To The Nightclub (2:46)
07. You're Still A Young Man (5:38)
08.
Skating On Thin Ice (3:51)
09. Of The Earth (4:30)
Tower Of Power (1973)01. What Is Hip? (5:08)
02. Clever Girl (2:56)
03. This
Time It's Real (2:54)
04. Will I Ever Find A Love? (3:51)
05. Get Yo' Feet
Back On The Ground (4:52)
06. So Very Hard To Go (3:41)
07. Soul
Vaccination (5:13)
08. Both Sorry Over Nothin' (3:25)
09. Clean Slate
(3:22)
10. Just Another Day (4:34)
Back To Oakland (1974)01. Oakland Stroke... (0:52)
02. Don't Change Horses (In The
Middle Of A Stream) (4:45)
03. Just When We Start Makin' It (6:21)
04.
Can't You See (You Doin' Me Wrong) (2:55)
05. Squib Cakes (7:42)
06. Time
Will Tell (3:10)
07. Man From The Past (3:58)
08. Love's Been Gone So Long
(4:44)
09. I Got The Chop (2:57)
10. Below Us, All The City Lights
(4:15)
11. ...Oakland Stroke (1:05)
Urban Renewal (1975)01. Only So Much Oil In The Ground (3:47)
02. Come Back, Baby
(3:22)
03. It's Not The Crime (1:47)
04. I Won't Leave Unless You Want Me
To (3:31)
05. Maybe It'll Rub Off (3:16)
06. (To Say The Least) You're The
Most (2:29)
07. Willing To Learn (4:36)
08. Give Me The Proof
(2:35)
09. It Can Never Be The Same (4:44)
10. I Believe In Myself
(2:03)
11. Walkin' Up Hip Street (5:50)
In The Slot (1975)01. Just Enough And Too Much (3:25)
02. Treat Me Like Your
Man (3:08)
03. If I Play My Cards Right (3:13)
04. As Surely As I Stand
Here (5:14)
05. Fanfare: Matanuska (0:16)
06. On The Serious Side
(2:53)
07. Ebony Jam (6:44)
08. You're So Wonderful, So Marvelous
(3:11)
09. Vuela Por Noche (1:33)
10. Essence Of Innocence (0:35)
11.
The Soul Of A Child (4:57)
12. Drop It In The Slot (3:11)
Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now (1976)01. Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now (3:58)
02. By Your Side
(4:30)
03. Make Someone Happy (2:47)
04. Doin' Alright (4:48)
05.
Because I Think The World Of You (3:00)
06. You Ought To Be Havin' Fun
(3:06)
07. Can't Stand To See The Slaughter (2:47)
08. It's So Nice
(5:39)
09. Deal With It (3:20)
10. While We Went To The Moon
(4:24)
Live And In Living Color (1976)01. Down To The Nightclub (Bump City) (2:25)
02. You're Still
A Young Man (5:15)
03. What Is Hip? (6:35)
04. Sparkling In The Sand
(8:12)
05. Knock Yourself Out (23:03)
We Came To Play! (1978)01. We Came To Play (3:36)
02. Lovin' You Is Gonna See Me
Thru (6:04)
03. Let Me Touch You (4:35)
04. Yin-Yang Thang (4:22)
05.
Share My Life (3:56)
06. Bittersweet Soul Music (3:28)
07. Am I A Fool
(3:58)
08. Love Bug (4:01)
09. Somewhere Down The Road (4:38)
Back On The Streets (1979)01. Rock Baby (4:48)
02. Our Love (3:34)
03. Heaven Must
Have Made You (3:33)
04. And You Know It (3:02)
05. Nowhere To Run
(4:35)
06. Something Calls Me (4:24)
07. It Takes Two (To Make It Happen)
(3:37)
08. In Due Time (4:11)
09. Just Make A Move (And Be Yourself)
(5:10)
Power (1987)01. Baby's Got The Power (3:09)
02. Credit (4:07)
03. Some
Days Were Meant For Rain (4:55)
04. Boys Night Out (5:51)
05. Ball And
Chain (3:16)
06. Through Lover's Eyes (3:41)
07. Count On Me (3:29)
08.
On The One (4:04)
09. Up Against Yourself (3:19)
Monster On A Leash (1991)01. A Little Knowledge (Is A Dangerous Thing) (4:25)
02. How
Could This Happen To Me (4:10)
03. Who Do You Think You Are (4:22)
04.
Attitude Dance (5:35)
05. You Can't Fall Up (You Just Fall Down)
(4:55)
06. Funk The Dumb Stuff (5:28)
07. Believe It (4:35)
08.
Personal Possessions (5:06)
09. Miss Trouble (Got A Lot Of Nerve)
(4:45)
10. Keep Your Monster On A Leash (4:34)
11. Someone New
(4:29)
12. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (5:26)
T.O.P. (1993)01. Soul With A Capitol "S" (4:59)
02. It All Comes Back
(3:55)
03. Please Come Back (To Stay) (5:29)
04. The Real Deal
(4:30)
05. Come To A Decision (5:32)
06. Cruise Control (5:03)
07. The
Educated Bump (Part I) (0:54)
08. Mama Lied (3:37)
09. Quiet Scream
(4:21)
10. I Like Your Style (4:19)
11. You (4:30)
12. South Of The
Boulevard (5:59)
13. Come On With It (4:51)
14. The Educated Bump (Part II)
(1:02)
Souled Out (1995)01. Souled Out (3:49)
02. Taxed To The Max (4:18)
03. Keep
Comin' Back (3:47)
04. Soothe You (3:51)
05. Do You Wanna (Make Love To
Me) (3:51)
06. Lovin' You Forever (4:15)
07. Gotta Make A Change
(3:38)
08. Diggin' On James Brown (4:39)
09. Sexy Soul (4:43)
10. Just
Like You (4:27)
11. Once You Get A Taste (4:01)
12. Undercurrent
(5:01)
Rhythm & Business (1997)01. So I Got To Groove (5:44)
02. Crazy For You (4:37)
03.
East Bay Way (4:48)
04. Unconditional Love (6:59)
05. You Do The Math
(4:48)
06. The More You Know (5:49)
07. Recapture The Magic (5:33)
08.
What's Your Trip (5:41)
09. Rhythm And Business (4:08)
10. Don't Knock Me
Down (3:41)
11. That Was Then And This Is Now (4:36)
12. It Really Doesn't
Matter (4:35)
13. Spank-A-Dang (5:42)
Direct Plus! (1997)01. Fanfare / You Know It (2:49)
02. You're Gonna Need Me
(4:08)
03. Squibcakes (7:55)
04. That's Why I Sing (5:02)
05. What Is
Hip (4:46)
06. Never Let Go Of Love (4:18)
07. Fanfare / You Know It
(Plus!) (3:27)
08. Squibcakes (Plus!) (7:38)
09. That's Why I Sing (Plus!)
(5:01)
10. What Is Hip (Plus!) (4:45)
Dinosaur Tracks, 1980-1983 (1999)01. Credit (4:06)
02. You're Something Special (4:56)
03.
Why Do You Do My Heart Like That (3:37)
04. Simple As That (4:37)
05. Your
Love Is Like A Little Rain (5:01)
06. Move You Lose (4:23)
07. I Think
You'll Like It (4:58)
08. Never Let Go Of Love (3:51)
09. Got To Have Your
Lovin' (3:33)
10. I Want To Love You More (Than Words Will Ever Say)
(5:13)
11. Can't You Feel It? (4:49)
12. You Took The "L" Out Of Love
(4:32)
13. You Tought Me To Love (4:16)
14. That's Why I Sing
(4:58)
Soul Vaccination: Live (1999)01. Soul With A Captial "S" (5:05)
02. I Like Your Style
(3:42)
03. Soul Vaccination (4:56)
04. Down To The Night Club (Bump City)
(3:14)
05. Willin' To Learn (6:06)
06. Souled Out (4:58)
07. Diggin' On
James Brown (4:53)
08. To Say The Least You're The Most (4:33)
09. You
Strike My Main Nerve (3:55)
10. Can't You See (You Doin' Me Wrong)
(3:26)
11. You Got To Funkifize (4:46)
12. So Very Hard To Go
(3:49)
13. What Is Hip? (6:01)
14. You're Still A Young Man (5:59)
15.
So I Got To Groove (6:08)
Soul With A Capital "S": The Best Of Tower Of Power (Coletânea
2002)01. Attitude Dance (5:35)
02. Soul With A Capital "S"
(4:56)
03. Souled Out (3:47)
04. So I Got To Groove (5:39)
05. Diggin'
On James Brown (4:39)
06. Funk The Dumb Stuff (5:27)
07. I Love That Girl
So Much (Previously Unreleased) (5:06)
08. You Ought To Be Havin' Fun
(3:06)
09. And You Know It (3:00)
10. Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now
(3:55)
11. We Came To Play (3:32)
Live.
12. So Very Hard To Go
(3:51)
13. You're Still A Young Man (5:45)
14. What Is Hip?
(5:57)
Oakland Zone (2003)01. Eastside... (0:53)
02. Give Me Your Love (4:42)
03.
Get What You Want (5:04)
04. Could've Done It Better (5:17)
05. This Type
Of Funk (5:21)
06. Pocketful Of Soul (3:29)
07. Remember Love
(4:54)
08. Oakland Zone (4:49)
09. Life Is What You Make It (4:51)
10.
Happy 'Bout That (4:54)
11. Stranger In My Own House (5:21)
12. Back In
The Day (4:34)
13. Page One (5:42)
14. ...Eastside (1:32)
Great American Soulbook (2009)01. You Met Your Match (4:38)
02. I Thank You (3:31)
03.
Loveland (3:25)
04. It Takes Two (4:36)
05. Me & Mrs. Jones
(5:36)
06. Star Time (Tribute To James Brown) (6:43)
07. Mr. Pitiful
(2:48)
08. Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel (4:46)
09. Since You've Been
Gone (Baby, Baby, Sweet Baby) (4:11)
10. (Heaven Must Have Sent) Your
Precious Love (3:41)
11. 634-5789 (4:01)
12. Who Is He (And What Is He To
You)? (5:21)
40th Anniversary (Live 2011)01. We Came To Play (2:19)
02. Soul With A Capital "S"
(5:07)
03. Can’t Stand To See The Slaughter (4:20)
04. Down To The
Nightclub (1:57)
05. It’s Not The Crime (2:55)
06. You Got To Funkifize
(4:31)
07. As Surely As I Stand Here (6:46)
08. I Got To Groove
(6:04)
09. This Time It’s Real (4:03)
10. Souled Out (4:30)
11. Time
Will Tell (4:47)
12. Only So Much Oil In The Ground (3:48)
13. Credit
(4:22)
14. A Little Knowledge (Is A Dangerous Thing) (4:44)
15. What Is
Hip? (4:28)
16. You’re Still A Young Man (5:58)
17. Knock Yourself Out
(5:37)
Hipper Than Hip: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow, Live 1974
(2013)CD 1.
01. Intro (0:30)
02. Oakland Stroke (1:56)
03. Squib Cakes
(9:45)
04. This Time It's Real (4:01)
05. Soul Vaccination (5:22)
06.
You're Still A Young Man (5:29)
07. Clean Slate (6:10)
08. So Very Hard To
Go (5:11)
09. Get Your Feet Back On The Ground (5:11)
CD 2.
01. Intro (0:20)
02. Time Will Tell (3:30)
03. Man From
The Past (4:22)
04. Down To The Nightclub (2:38)
05. Just When We Start
Makin' It (7:59)
06. Knock Yourself Out (18:51)
07. What Is Hip?
(6:22)
Soul Side Of Town (2018)01. East Bay! All Day! (0:56)
02. Hangin' With My Baby
(5:27)
03. Do You Like That? (4:37)
04. On The Soul Side Of Town
(6:39)
05. Do It With Soul (3:53)
06. Love Must Be Patient And Kind
(4:40)
07. Butter Fried (5:27)
08. Selah (4:48)
09. Let It Go
(4:22)
10. Stop (4:24)
11. When Love Takes Control (4:11)
12. After
Hours (3:33)
13. Can't Stop Thinking About You (4:54)
14. East Bay!
Oakland Style! (1:14)
Step Up (2020)01. East Bay! All Day! (0:54)
02. Hangin' With My Baby (5:10)
03. The Story Of You And I (4:48)
04. Who Would Have Thought? (3:58)
05. Addicted To You (4:45)
06. Look In My Eyes (3:45)
07. You Da One (4:23)
08. Sleeping With You Baby (5:43)
09. If It’s Tea Give Me Coffee (3:16)
10. Beyond My Wildest Dreams (3:22)
11. Any Excuse Will Do (4:43)
12. If You Wanna Be A Winner (3:22)
13. Let’s Celebrate Our Love (4:36)
14. East Bay! Oaktown All The Way! (1:08)
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