Luther Burbank Center for the Arts presents Tower of Power

For 58 years, Tower of Power has delivered the best in funk and soul music. East Bay Grease defined their sound and landed them with Warner Brothers. Bump City, their 1972 debut for the label, was a hit on both the Billboard 200 and the R&B Albums. The 70s were a boom period with radio classics like “So Very Hard to Go” and “What Is Hip,” and the band continued to tour and record over the years. Fifty years later, in 2018, they returned to Oakland to celebrate their landmark 50th anniversary. Tower’s window-rattling grooves and raucous party spirit had been a balm for the soul throughout their half-century existence.

The band has traveled the world, enjoying hit singles on their own and backing legendary artists, including Otis Redding, Elton John, Santana, the Grateful Dead, John Lee Hooker, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, and countless others. In the process they’ve defined an “Oakland soul” sound as instantly recognizable as those from Castillo’s hometown, Detroit, as well as inspirations like Memphis and Philadelphia.