Stevens joined the band in 1969 and sang lead on the group’s first two albums, including on the hit songs “Sparkling in the Sand” and “You’re Still a Young Man.”īut Stevens was convicted of murder for killing three people in 1976 during a drug deal gone wrong. KTVU-TV reported that Stevens died Tuesday after a short battle with cancer. Rick Stevens, the former lead singer of Oakland’s Tower of Power rhythm and blues band who spent 36 years in prison, has died. Even after complaining to the Sound Man, their only solution was to turn volume up louder.OAKLAND, Calif. Its an acoustic cesspool, where the sound is worse as you get closer the stage! I moved to several open seats to try to find a place where I could hear all the players in the band, and not surprisingly, the only halfway decent sound was right next to the Sound Mixer booth in the back of the theatre, duh! In my seats on the first row, all you could hear was the painfully loud thud of the bass drum and the back-wash of muddy echo coming from the back wall of the theatre. If you want to go to a concert where you get to stand and dance in the aisles, Tower of Power should be at the top of your list! But don't waste your money going to the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. Not a weak moment in the show, and even with an encore, they left us wanting more.
To be in the presence of them is just incredible.īand is Fantastic! Venue sound SUX! After 47 years, Tower of Power still brings the funk and the energy to every performance. They have featured on so many pop records working with artists such as The Monkees, Grateful Dead, Huey Lewis and the News, Toto and Aerosmith. I have to quickly just give a mention to their horn section, which to hear live is quite simply a force to be reckoned with. Lenny Williams is such a good front man, keeping everyone happy throughout, making sure everyone is on their feet, singing along throughout the set. This of course is no surprise with the huge audience reaction, which they receive throughout the whole set. The disco troupe open with “So Very Hard to Go” which reached number 17 in 1973. The singles that they have produced are second to none with such a fantastic vibe accompanying them every song fills a dance floor. I cannot wait to have a boogie with my notepad and pencil. This audience cannot wait for what they perform tonight, myself included. Definitely pioneers of a very memorable sound. They have one of the most defining horn sections four to the floor drum beats and syncopated bass lines. Tower of Power is arguably one of the biggest names in soul, funk and R&B. They’re an indispensable part of music’s history, and every true music fan would do well to see them as soon as possible. The band still tour to this day and have still got it in spades. However, what made Tower of Power stand out was their horn section, and they went on to work with the likes of Aerosmith, Heart, Grateful Dead and John Lee Hooker in their own right while the band were still at the top of their game. However it wasn’t until 1972 and a new lead vocalist in the form of Rick Stevens, that the band started getting honest to goodness hits in the form of “So Very Hard To Go” and “What Is Hip?”. They signed to Billy Graham’s San Francisco Records in 1970 and released their debut record “East Bay Grease” soon afterwards. With the new name in place and a solid line up found, the band were finally on their way. A name literally picked from a list of weird band names because he thought it described them the best.
However, after Castillo realized he would never get his band headlining San Francisco’s iconic Fillmore Auditorium with that name, they soon switched it to Tower Of Power. The band were originally put together under the name The Motowns. They were formed out of a chance meeting between Emilio Castillo and Stephen “Doc” Kupka, the future tenor and baritone saxophonists of the band, respectively.
Tower of Power might be responsible for some of the most fantastic sounds in soul, R&B and rock music, while never quite getting the recognition they deserve for that.
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