Tower of Power

Tower of Power

Tower of Power is an Oakland, United States-based R&B horn section and band that has been active since 1967. Its core style sits around funk, jazz-funk, pop soul and soul, with a sound built on brass-driven arrangements and a large, changing line-up.

Formation and early years

The group begins in the mid-1960s with tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo, who moves from Detroit to Fremont, California as a teenager and starts a soul band called the Motowns. In 1967, Castillo teams up with baritone saxophonist Stephen Kupka, and the project develops into Tower of Power after the move to Oakland. The band begins writing original material and plays regularly in the Bay Area. One of the early songs written by Castillo and Kupka is You're Still a Young Man.

Recording career

Tower of Power signs to Bill Graham's San Francisco Records in 1970 and releases its debut album, East Bay Grease, that year. The group follows with Bump City in 1972 and a self-titled album in 1973, both of which help establish its reputation. The 1973 release includes What Is Hip?, one of the band's best-known songs, and also introduces vocalist Lenny Williams. Later albums mentioned in the group's history include Back to Oakland, Urban Renewal, In the Slot, We Came to Play, Back on the Streets, Power, The Great American Soulbook and Hipper Than Hip: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow. The band also launches its own TOP Records label in 2009.

Members and personnel

Emilio Castillo is the long-standing leader of the group. Stephen "Doc" Kupka is an early collaborator and key member, and Mic Gillette is also part of the original Oakland-era line-up. Other notable musicians associated with the band include Greg Adams, Lenny Pickett, David Garibaldi, Rocco Prestia, Rufus Miller, Lenny Williams, Rick Stevens, Bruce Conte and Victor Conte. The band has had a large revolving cast over the years, with at least 60 musicians performing, touring or recording with it.

Rick Stevens serves as one of the early lead singers, and after his imprisonment, Lenny Williams takes over lead vocals for several years. Rufus Miller handles most of the lead vocals on East Bay Grease.

Live work and collaborations

Tower of Power remains a regular touring band across the decades and also becomes widely known for its horn section as a backing unit for other artists. Its players appear on recordings by the Monkees, Santana, Elton John, John Lee Hooker, Rod Stewart, Jefferson Starship, Heart, Huey Lewis and the News, Lyle Lovett, Poison, Phish, Pharoahe Monch, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat, David Sanborn, Michelle Shocked, Paula Abdul, Aaron Neville and Public Image Ltd.

Later years

The band marks its fourth decade with a concert at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium in 2007, later issued as 40th Anniversary. It continues releasing and performing into the 21st century, and remains an active live act with a history rooted in Bay Area soul and funk.