E M I L I O  C A S T I L L O

FOUNDER

of

Legendary soul/funk/R&B/jazz/group 

T O W E R  O F  P O W E R

EXCLUSIVE ZOOM INTERVIEW

with RAY SHASHO

on INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

When sax player Emilio Castillo put together the band that would evolve into Tower of Power in 1968, he had no grand expectations. “We were hoping to get good enough to play the Fillmore,” Castillo said. “I started the band in Fremont, at John F. Kennedy High, with my brother Jack, who was the original drummer. The band moved up to Oakland and took off, packing clubs with their horn-driven sound. “Oakland is our sound,” Castillo said. “I always say, ‘You can take the boy out of Oakland, but you can’t take Oakland out of the boy.’ Looking back on the band’s history, Castillo said he’s satisfied with what they’ve accomplished. “We’re not a band that reinvents itself every time we go into the studio. We sound like Tower of Power and there’s nothing we can do about it. At first, I thought it was a curse but, as we kept evolving, I realized it was a blessing. We kept chipping away at the sculpture we were creating. The aim is to arrive at a masterpiece. You have to tell us if we’ve succeeded.” 

The groups latest release is TOWER OF POWER 50TH ANNIVERSARY 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater captures Tower of Power’s storied career with no-holds-barred victory lap concerts in Oakland, CA on June 1 & 2, 2018, performing their full spectrum of life-affirming funk and soul hits.

Available as a 3-LP set, 2-CD/1-DVD package, standalone DVD and digital audio configuration, these historic performances include special guests Lenny Pickett (musical director of the Saturday Night Live band); keyboardist Chester Thompson (Santana); guitarist Bruce Conte and former vocalist Ray Greene, who shows off his trombone prowess. TOWER OF POWER 50TH ANNIVERSARY is available now at amazon.com.

Purchase

TOWER OF POWER 50TH ANNIVERSARY

OUT NOW!

50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater captures Tower of Power’s storied career with no-holds-barred victory lap concerts in Oakland, CA on June 1 & 2, 2018, performing their full spectrum of life-affirming funk and soul hits.

Available as a 3-LP set, 2-CD/1-DVD package, standalone DVD and digital audio configuration, these historic performances include special guests Chester Thompson, Lenny Pickett, Francis ‘Rocco’ Prestia, Bruce Conte and Ray Greene.

Available at amazon.com

Here’s the full track listing for the live album:

1. Stroke ‘75
2. Ain’t Nothing Stopping Us Now
3. You Ought to be Having Fun
4. Soul with a Capital “S”
5. Stop
6. You’re So Wonderful, So Marvelous
7. On the Serious Side
8. Just When We Start Makin’ It
9. Soul Vaccination
10. What is Hip? / Soul Power
11. Do You Like That?
12. Drop It in the Slot

1. Can’t You See (You Doin Me Wrong)?
2. Maybe It’ll Rub Off
3. Don’t Change Horses
4. Squib Cakes
5. On the Soul Side of Town
6. Diggin’ on James Brown (Medley)
7. So Very Hard to Go
8. Knock Yourself Out
9. You’re Still a Young Man
10. Souled Out

For more information

about

Emilio Castillo

and

TOWER OF POWER

Visit

www.towerofpower.com

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