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Tower of Power Discography

Tower of Power started out, as the Motowns, in Oakland in 1968. This group included Emilio Castillo and Stephen Kupka who have remained the core members of the group throughout the 40 year career though the line-up of the group has changed many times over this period.

The group name was changed to Tower of Power in 1969. They signed to Bill Graham's San Francisco label and released their first LP in 1970. The group then signed with Warner Brothers for whom they released 6 albums between 1972 and 1976. Subsequent releases in the later 1970's were on Columbia. Much of the 1980's saw the group without a record deal but they signed with Epic in 1990 and have continued to perform and records since then.

The Tower of Power horn section have contributed to many other recordings from the early 1970 to the present. A section summarising these recordings may be added at a later date.

Additions, corrections and comments are welcome


album cover

Albums
Compilations
Singles
Various artists comps

Tower of Power albums

info East Bay Grease, Tower of Power, 1970
info Bump City, Tower of Power, 1972
info Tower Of Power, Tower of Power, 1973
info Back To Oakland, Tower of Power, 1974
info Urban Renewal, Tower of Power, 1974
info In The Slot, Tower of Power, 1975
info Live and in Living Color, Tower of Power, 1976
info Ain't Nothin' Stoppin Us Now, Tower of Power, 1976
info We Came to Play, Tower of Power, 1978
info Back on the Streets, Tower of Power, 1979
info Direct, Tower of Power, 1981
info TOP, Tower of Power, 1986
info Power, Tower of Power, 1987
info Monster on a Leash, Tower of Power, 1991
info T.O.P. , Tower of Power, 1993
info Souled Out, Tower of Power, 1995
info Rhythm and Business, Tower of Power, 1997
info Direct Plus! , Tower of Power, 1997
info Soul Vaccination: Tower of Power : Live, Tower of Power, 1999
info Dinosaur Tracks, Tower of Power, 1999
info Oakland's Own, In the Oakland Zone, Tower of Power, 2003
info The East Bay Archive, Vol. 1, Tower Of Power, 2008
info Great American Soulbook, Tower Of Power, 2009

Tower of Power compilations

info What Is Hip?, Tower of Power, 1986
info Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now/Back on the Streets, Tower Of Power, 1998
info What Is Hip?: Tower of Power Anthology, Tower of Power, 1999
info The Very Best Of Tower of Power: The Warner Years, Tower of Power, 2001
info Soul With A Capital "S", Tower of Power, 2002
info Havin' Fun, Tower of Power, 2003
info What Is Hip? & Other Hits, Tower of Power, 2003
info T.O.P./Monster on a Leash/Souled Out, Tower Of Power, 2003
info Rhino Hi Five, Tower Of Power, 2005
info What Is Hip?, Tower of Power, 2006
info Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now/We Came to Play/Back on the Streets, Tower Of Power, 2008

Tower of Power singles

This section is incomplete.

no info Sparkling In The Sand / Back On The Streets Again, 1970, San Francisco 64
no info You're Still A Young Man / Skating On Thin Ice, 1972, Warner Brothers 7612
no info Down To The Nightclub / What Happened To The World That Day, 1972, Warner Brothers 7635
no info So Very Hard To Go / Clean Slate, 1973, Warner Brothers 7687
no info This Time It's Real / Soul Vaccination, 1973, Warner Brothers 7733
no info What Is Hip? / Clever Girl, 1973, Warner Brothers 7748
no info Time Will Tell / Oakland Stroke, 1974, Warner Brothers 7796
no info Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream) / I Got The Chop, 1974, Warner Brothers 7828
no info Only So Much Oil In the Ground / Give Me The Proof, 1974, Warner Brothers 8055?
no info Walkin' Up Hip Street / Willing to Learn, 1975, Warner Brothers 8083
no info You're So Wonderful, So Marvelous / Stroke '75, 1975, Warner Brothers 8121
no info The Soul Of A Child / Treat Me Like Your Man, 1975, Warner Brothers 8151
no info Drop It In The Slot / ?, 1975, Warner Brothers
no info You Ought To Be Havin' Fun / While We Went To The Moon, 1976, Columbia 10409
no info Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now / Because I Think The World Of You, 1977, Columbia 10461
no info Lovin' You Is Gonna See Me Through / Am I A Fool, 1978, Columbia 10718
no info We Came To Play / Love Bug, 1979, Columbia 10780
no info Rock Baby / Heaven Must Have Sent You, 1981, Columbia 11012
no info In Due Time / And You Know It, 1981, Columbia 11157
no info Credit / ? , 1987, Cypress 0007
no info Baby's Got The Power / Some Days Were Meant For Rain, 1987, Cypress 0014

Various artists compilations with Tower of Power tracks

This section is not intended to be comprehensive.

info San Francisco Sampler, Fall 1970, Various Artists, 1970
info Fillmore : The Last Days, Various Artists, 1972
info Lights Out: San Francisco: Voco Presents the Soul of the Bay Area, Various Artists, 1972
info Burbank, Various Artists, 1972
info Warner/Reprise Display Case, Vol. 6, Various Artists, 1972
info Burbank's Greatest Hits, Various Artists, 1973
info The Force, Various Artists, 1975
info The Works, Various Artists, 1975
info Superstars of the 70's, Volume 4: Silver Bullets, Various Artists, 1975
info Crème De La Crème, Various Artists, 1984?
info Arthur 2: On The Rocks Soundtrack, Various Artists, 1988
info Endless Beach, Various Artists, 1990
info Art Laboe's Memories of El Monte, Various Artists, 1991
info Sounds of the Seventies: Rock 'n' Soul, Various Artists, 1991
info Art Laboe's 60 Killer Oldies, Various Artists, 1993
info In Yo' Face: The History of Funk, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 1993
info Slow Jams: The 70's, Vol. 3, Various Artists, 1994
info Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind!, Vol. 16, Various Artists, 1995
info Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind!, Vol. 17, Various Artists, 1995
info Smooth Grooves: A Sensual Collection, Vol. 3, Various Artists, 1995
info Funky Sounds of the Soul 70's, Various Artists, 1995
info Old School Love Songs, Various Artists, 1995
info Horn Rock Bands, Various Artists, 1996
info Deep Soul, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 1996
info Summer Jam 2: Sinbad's 2nd Annual Summer Jam, Various Artists, 1996
info Smooth Grooves, Vols. 1-4, Various Artists, 1996
info Rock On 1973: Diamond Girl, Various Artists, 1996
info Soul Motion, Various Artists, 1996
info Smooth Grooves: A Sensual Collection, Vol. 9, Various Artists, 1996
info Old School Love Songs: Bricks, Various Artists, 1996
info Classic Mellow, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 1996
info Movin' to the Grooves, Various Artists, 1996
info The Sheffield Pop Experience, Various Artists, 1996
info 70's Greatest Rock Hits, Vol. 2: Rock & Soul, Various Artists, 1997
info 70's Soul Revue, Various Artists, 1997
info Funk Ballads, Various Artists, 1997
info Funky Milestones, Various Artists, 1997
info Best of Summer Jam from Sinbad's Soul Music Festival, Various Artists, 1997
info Ay Califas: Raza Rock of the 70's & 80's, Various Artists, 1998
info Funk Jam! The History of Funk Box Set, Various Artists, 1998
info Funk Box, Various Artists, 1998
info Millennium Party: Funk, Various Artists, 1998
info Old School Jams, Various Artists, 1998
info Music from the Drew Carey Show: Cleveland Rocks, Various Artists, 1998
info O.G. Funk, Vol. 1: Locking, Various Artists, 1998
info Millennium Party, Various Artists, 1999
info Free Soul: Voice, Various Artists, 1999
info That 70's Show: Jammin', Various Artists, 1999
info Twelve Sounds of December, Vol. II: Jazziz: December 1999, Various Artists, 1999
info New Millennium Party, Various Artists, 2000
info Soul Hits Of The 80's, Various Artists, 2000
info Essential Mix: François K, Various Artists, 2000
info Can You Dig It? The '70s Soul Experience, Various Artists, 2001
info Funk Drops, Various Artists, 2001
info New Millennium Funk Party, Various Artists, 2001
info Pure Soul Power, Various Artists, 2001
info Old School Love Songs Box Set, Various Artists, 2001
info Live Concert Rock Classics, Various Artists, 2001
info Funk Drops 2, Various Artists, 2002
info The Very Best of Jazz FM, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 2002
info Get Down Tonight: The Best of Disco, Various Artists, 2002
info Soul Hits of the 70's, Various Artists, 2002
info Ultimate Soul, Various Artists, 2003
info Super Rock Festival, Various Artists, 2003
info Live And Loud, Various Artists, 2003
info Oldies But Goodies: 70's Funk, Vol. 1, Various Artists, 2004
info You Better Believe It!, Various Artists, 2004
info From Burbank To The Bay Area, Various Artists, 2005
info Classic Rhythm & Blues, Vol. 1 (DVD), Various Artists, 2005
info Ultimate 16 Originals: Ultimate Soul, Various Artists, 2005
info 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Funk, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 2006
info Music in the Zoo, Vol. 2: Please Don't Feed the Musicians, Various Artists, 2006
info Classic Rhythm & Blues, Vol. 4 (DVD), Various Artists, 2006
info Black Magic Soundtrack, Various Artists, 2008
info Revolutions In Sound: Warner Bros. Records: The First Fifty Years (10 CD), Various Artists, 2008
info Revolutions In Sound: Warner Bros. Records: The First Fifty Years (USB), Various Artists, 2008


Last updated July 2010