For 55 years, Tower of Power has delivered the best in funk and soul music. “We were a Soul band called The Motowns.” recalls Emilio Castillo. “Rocco was the bass player, I was there, and my brother was the drummer. I met “Doc” Kupka back in 1968 and gave him an audition. He joined the band, and we eventually changed our name to the Tower of Power.” The name change reflected their ambition and a clear goal for the band’s future.
Their debut album, East Bay Grease defined their sound and led to a deal with Warner Brothers. Bump City, their 1972 release, hit both the Billboard 200 and R&B Albums charts and produced the classics “You’re Still a Young Man” and “Down to the Nightclub.” The 70s brought more radio favorites, including “So Very Hard to Go” and “What Is Hip?,” as the band continued to tour and record, driven by the same passion for the stage that began in 1968.
In 2018, Tower of Power celebrated their 50th anniversary in Oakland with the release of 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater, a fitting tribute to their enduring energy and spirit. Over the decades, the band has toured the world, earned hit singles and performed alongside legendary artists such as Otis Redding, Elton John, Santana, the Grateful Dead, John Lee Hooker, Aerosmith and Bonnie Raitt.
Today, Tower of Power continues to bring their unmistakable “Oakland soul” sound to audiences around the globe. The band remains vigorous, dynamic and filled with the groove that fans know and love.
