Tower of Power (1967 - )
Group - United States US R&B-based horn section & band
Releases (41)
Official
Album
- East Bay Grease 1970
- Bump City 1972
- Tower of Power 1973
- Back to Oakland 1974
- In the Slot 1975
- Urban Renewal 1975
- Ain’t Nothin’ Stoppin’ Us Now 1976 (as Tower Of Power)
- We Came to Play 1978
- Back on the Streets 1979
- Direct 1981
- Power 1987
- Monster on a Leash 1991
- T.O.P. 1993
- Souled Out 1995
- Rhythm & Business 1997
- Oakland Zone 22 Apr 2003
- Great American Soulbook 2009
- Soul Side of Town 01 Jun 2018
- Step Up 20 Mar 2020
Album - Live
- Live and in Living Color 1976
- Soul Vaccination: Live 18 Aug 1999
- The East Bay Archive, Volume 1 2008
- 40th Anniversary: The Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco 2011
- Hipper Than Hip 25 Nov 2013
- 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater – Oakland 25 Feb 2021
Album - Compilation
- Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now / Back on the Streets 1998
- What Is Hip?: The Tower of Power Anthology 14 Sep 1999
- Dinosaur Tracks 1999
- The Very Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years 2001
- Soul With a Capital "S" 2002
- Havin' Fun 2003
- What Is Hip? 27 Jun 2006
- Original Album Classics 24 Jan 2011
- Original Album Series 04 Feb 2013
- You Ought to Be Havin' Fun: The Columbia/Epic Anthology 30 Nov 2018
Single
- What Is Hip? / Clever Girl 1973
- You 1993
EP
- It's Christmas Nov 2023
Relationships (27)
Subgroups
Members
- Willie James Fulton original
- Rocco Prestia (1965 - 2001) bass guitar
- Hubert Tubbs (1975 - 1976) lead vocals
- Ron E. Beck (1976 - 1978)
- Tom Politzer (Feb 2002)
- Jerry Cortez (Jan 2010) lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- Jeff Tamelier ( - 2006) guitar
- Michael Bogart
- Stephen Kupka
- Richard Elliot saxophone
- David Padron ( - 1970) trumpet
- Mic Gillette brass
- Ken Balzell ( - 1970) trumpet
- Emilio Castillo tenor saxophone
- Chester Thompson keyboard
- Skip Mesquite
- Ellis Hall lead vocals, keyboard
- Carmen Grillo guitar
- Lee Thornburg
- Larry Braggs
- Greg Adams trumpet
- Rufus Miller ( - 1970) lead vocals
- Lenny Williams lead vocals
- Rick Stevens
- David Garibaldi drums (drum set)
Supporting By
- Stevie Roseman keyboard
Recordings by (321)
- Knock Yourself Out 7:11 (1970)
- Social Lubrication 7:24 (1970)
- The Price 6:10 (1970)
- Back on the Streets Again 5:51 (1970)
- The Skunk, The Goose, And The Fly 5:51 (1970)
- Sparkling in the Sand 9:03 (1970)
- You’re Still a Young Man 5:37 (1972)
- You Got to Funkifize 4:33 (1972)
- What Happened to the World That Day? 4:14 (1972)
- Flash in the Pan 3:37 (1972)
- Gone (In Memory of Jacqueline Mesquite) 3:43 (1972)
- You Strike My Main Nerve 2:55 (1972)
- Skating on Thin Ice 3:51 (1972)
- Of the Earth 4:30 (1972)
- Down to the Nightclub 2:43 (1972)
- Mahdi (The Expected One) 6:29 (1972)
- Cleo's Back 4:48 (1972)
- Loves to Do It 4:22 (1972)
- Dead 7:11 (1972)
- What Is Hip? 3:25 (1973)
- Clever Girl 2:56 (1973)
- This Time It's Real 2:54 (1973)
- Will I Ever Find a Love? 3:51 (1973)
- Get Yo' Feet Back on the Ground 4:52 (1973)
- So Very Hard to Go 3:40 (1973)
- Soul Vaccination 5:13 (1973)
- Both Sorry Over Nothin' 3:25 (1973)
- Clean Slate 3:22 (1973)
- Just Another Day 4:33 (1973)
- Oakland Stroke... 0:52 (1974)
- Don't Change Horses (In the Middle of a Stream) 4:44 (1974)
- Just When We Start Makin’ It 6:21 (1974)
- Can't You See (You Doin' Me Wrong) 2:55 (1974)
- Squib Cakes 7:42 (1974)
- Time Will Tell 3:10 (1974)
- Man From the Past 3:58 (1974)
- Love's Been Gone So Long 4:44 (1974)
- I Got the Chop 2:57 (1974)
- Below Us, All the City Lights 4:15 (1974)
- ... Oakland Stroke 1:05 (1974)
- Only So Much Oil in the Ground 2:58 (1974)
- On the Serious Side 2:50 (1975)
- Come Back, Baby 3:22 (1975)
- It's Not the Crime 1:47 (1975)
- I Won't Leave Unless You Want Me To 3:31 (1975)
- Maybe It'll Rub Off 3:16 (1975)
- (To Say the Least) You're the Most 2:29 (1975)
- Willing to Learn 4:36 (1975)
- Give Me the Proof 2:35 (1975)
- It Can Never Be the Same 4:44 (1975)
On Recordings (10)
Instruments
- Till You Take My Love 3:42 Harvey Mason (12 Dec 1977) horn
- Tropical Love 5:58 Angela Bofill (28 Oct 1981) brass
- Something About You 4:04 Angela Bofill (28 Oct 1981) brass
- Stop Look Listen 4:30 Angela Bofill (28 Oct 1981) brass
- I Do Love You 4:34 Angela Bofill (28 Oct 1981) brass
- On and On 3:22 Angela Bofill (28 Oct 1981) brass
- Dirty Dog 4:53 Damn Yankees (25 Sep 1992) horn
- C-Room 8:08 Benji Candelario (2000) brass
- Push 2:52 Pharoahe Monch feat. Showtyme, MeLa Machinko & Tower of Power (13 Nov 2006) horn
Vocals
- Only So Much Oil in the Ground 3:27 Stefanie Heinzmann feat. Tower of Power (07 Mar 2008) guest
Credited as (14)
- Tower of Power
- Pharoahe Monch feat. Showtyme, MeLa Machinko & Tower of Power
- Stefanie Heinzmann feat. Tower of Power
- Roger Smith feat. Tower of Power
- Tower Of Power
- Tower of Power / T-Connection
- Manzel / Tower of Power / Parliament
- Tower of Power arr. Danny Seidenberg
- Irene Cara feat. Hot Caramel & Brent Carter of Tower of Power
- Grateful Dead with Etta James and Tower of Power
- Grateful Dead with Etta James, Tower of Power, and Matt Kelly
- Michelle Shocked with Tower of Power
- 朱里エイコ feat. Tower of Power
- Mountain of Power
Works (1)
Dedicated Works
Events (6)
Main Performer At
- Later Live... with Jools Holland: Series 52, Episode 1
- Later… with Jools Holland: Series 52, Episode 1
- Tower of Power at Alaska State Fair 2019
- Fuji Rock Festival 2013, day 1: Orange Court
- War and Tower of Power at LA County Fair
- Festival d'été de Québec 2012, day 2: La scène Loto-Québec