Tower of Power is an American soul and funk based horn section and band, originating from Oakland, California that has been performing for over 40 years.
In the mid-1960s, 17-year-old tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo moved from Detroit, Michigan to Fremont, California. He started a band called 'The Gotham City Crime Fighters' which evolved into 'The Motowns', specializing in soul music covers. During 1968, Castillo teamed up with baritone saxoph...
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Tower of Power is an American soul and funk based horn section and band, originating from Oakland, California that has been performing for over 40 years.
In the mid-1960s, 17-year-old tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo moved from Detroit, Michigan to Fremont, California. He started a band called 'The Gotham City Crime Fighters' which evolved into 'The Motowns', specializing in soul music covers. During 1968, Castillo teamed up with baritone saxophonist Stephen Kupka (later dubbed 'The Funky Doctor'), bassist Francis 'Rocco' Prestia and trumpet/trombone player Mic Gillette. They moved to Oakland, and together they began writing and performing original material. One of their early influences was soul artist James Brown. They changed the band's name to 'Tower of Power' and began playing frequently in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 1970, Tower of Power (by then including trumpeter/arranger Greg Adams, and drummer David Garibaldi) signed a recording contract with Bill Graham's San Francisco...
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