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 |
Albums
Compilations
Singles
Various artists comps |
Tower of Power albums
East Bay Grease, Tower of Power, 1970
Bump City, Tower of Power, 1972
Tower Of Power, Tower of Power, 1973
Back To Oakland, Tower of Power, 1974
Urban Renewal, Tower of Power, 1974
In The Slot, Tower of Power, 1975
Live and in Living Color, Tower of Power, 1976
Ain't Nothin' Stoppin Us Now, Tower of Power, 1976
We Came to Play, Tower of Power, 1978
Back on the Streets, Tower of Power, 1979
Direct, Tower of Power, 1981
TOP, Tower of Power, 1986
Power, Tower of Power, 1987
Monster on a Leash, Tower of Power, 1991
T.O.P. , Tower of Power, 1993
Souled Out, Tower of Power, 1995
Rhythm and Business, Tower of Power, 1997
Direct Plus! , Tower of Power, 1997
Soul Vaccination: Tower of Power : Live, Tower of Power, 1999
Dinosaur Tracks, Tower of Power, 1999
Oakland's Own, In the Oakland Zone, Tower of Power, 2003
The East Bay Archive, Vol. 1, Tower Of Power, 2008
Great American Soulbook, Tower Of Power, 2009
Tower of Power compilations
What Is Hip?, Tower of Power, 1986
Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now/Back on the Streets, Tower Of Power, 1998
What Is Hip?: Tower of Power Anthology, Tower of Power, 1999
The Very Best Of Tower of Power: The Warner Years, Tower of Power, 2001
Soul With A Capital "S", Tower of Power, 2002
Havin' Fun, Tower of Power, 2003
What Is Hip? & Other Hits, Tower of Power, 2003
T.O.P./Monster on a Leash/Souled Out, Tower Of Power, 2003
Rhino Hi Five, Tower Of Power, 2005
What Is Hip?, Tower of Power, 2006
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.
Sparkling In The Sand / Back On The Streets Again, 1970, San Francisco 64
You're Still A Young Man / Skating On Thin Ice, 1972, Warner Brothers 7612
Down To The Nightclub / What Happened To The World That Day, 1972, Warner Brothers 7635
So Very Hard To Go / Clean Slate, 1973, Warner Brothers 7687
This Time It's Real / Soul Vaccination, 1973, Warner Brothers 7733
What Is Hip? / Clever Girl, 1973, Warner Brothers 7748
Time Will Tell / Oakland Stroke, 1974, Warner Brothers 7796
Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream) / I Got The Chop, 1974, Warner Brothers 7828
Only So Much Oil In the Ground / Give Me The Proof, 1974, Warner Brothers 8055?
Walkin' Up Hip Street / Willing to Learn, 1975, Warner Brothers 8083
You're So Wonderful, So Marvelous / Stroke '75, 1975, Warner Brothers 8121
The Soul Of A Child / Treat Me Like Your Man, 1975, Warner Brothers 8151
Drop It In The Slot / ?, 1975, Warner Brothers
You Ought To Be Havin' Fun / While We Went To The Moon, 1976, Columbia 10409
Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now / Because I Think The World Of You, 1977, Columbia 10461
Lovin' You Is Gonna See Me Through / Am I A Fool, 1978, Columbia 10718
We Came To Play / Love Bug, 1979, Columbia 10780
Rock Baby / Heaven Must Have Sent You, 1981, Columbia 11012
In Due Time / And You Know It, 1981, Columbia 11157
Credit / ? , 1987, Cypress 0007
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.
San Francisco Sampler, Fall 1970, Various Artists, 1970
Fillmore : The Last Days, Various Artists, 1972
Lights Out: San Francisco: Voco Presents the Soul of the Bay Area, Various Artists, 1972
Burbank, Various Artists, 1972
Warner/Reprise Display Case, Vol. 6, Various Artists, 1972
Burbank's Greatest Hits, Various Artists, 1973
The Force, Various Artists, 1975
The Works, Various Artists, 1975
Superstars of the 70's, Volume 4: Silver Bullets, Various Artists, 1975
Crème De La Crème, Various Artists, 1984?
Arthur 2: On The Rocks Soundtrack, Various Artists, 1988
Endless Beach, Various Artists, 1990
Art Laboe's Memories of El Monte, Various Artists, 1991
Sounds of the Seventies: Rock 'n' Soul, Various Artists, 1991
Art Laboe's 60 Killer Oldies, Various Artists, 1993
In Yo' Face: The History of Funk, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 1993
Slow Jams: The 70's, Vol. 3, Various Artists, 1994
Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind!, Vol. 16, Various Artists, 1995
Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind!, Vol. 17, Various Artists, 1995
Smooth Grooves: A Sensual Collection, Vol. 3, Various Artists, 1995
Funky Sounds of the Soul 70's, Various Artists, 1995
Old School Love Songs, Various Artists, 1995
Horn Rock Bands, Various Artists, 1996
Deep Soul, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 1996
Summer Jam 2: Sinbad's 2nd Annual Summer Jam, Various Artists, 1996
Smooth Grooves, Vols. 1-4, Various Artists, 1996
Rock On 1973: Diamond Girl, Various Artists, 1996
Soul Motion, Various Artists, 1996
Smooth Grooves: A Sensual Collection, Vol. 9, Various Artists, 1996
Old School Love Songs: Bricks, Various Artists, 1996
Classic Mellow, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 1996
Movin' to the Grooves, Various Artists, 1996
The Sheffield Pop Experience, Various Artists, 1996
70's Greatest Rock Hits, Vol. 2: Rock & Soul, Various Artists, 1997
70's Soul Revue, Various Artists, 1997
Funk Ballads, Various Artists, 1997
Funky Milestones, Various Artists, 1997
Best of Summer Jam from Sinbad's Soul Music Festival, Various Artists, 1997
Ay Califas: Raza Rock of the 70's & 80's, Various Artists, 1998
Funk Jam! The History of Funk Box Set, Various Artists, 1998
Funk Box, Various Artists, 1998
Millennium Party: Funk, Various Artists, 1998
Old School Jams, Various Artists, 1998
Music from the Drew Carey Show: Cleveland Rocks, Various Artists, 1998
O.G. Funk, Vol. 1: Locking, Various Artists, 1998
Millennium Party, Various Artists, 1999
Free Soul: Voice, Various Artists, 1999
That 70's Show: Jammin', Various Artists, 1999
Twelve Sounds of December, Vol. II: Jazziz: December 1999, Various Artists, 1999
New Millennium Party, Various Artists, 2000
Soul Hits Of The 80's, Various Artists, 2000
Essential Mix: François K, Various Artists, 2000
Can You Dig It? The '70s Soul Experience, Various Artists, 2001
Funk Drops, Various Artists, 2001
New Millennium Funk Party, Various Artists, 2001
Pure Soul Power, Various Artists, 2001
Old School Love Songs Box Set, Various Artists, 2001
Live Concert Rock Classics, Various Artists, 2001
Funk Drops 2, Various Artists, 2002
The Very Best of Jazz FM, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 2002
Get Down Tonight: The Best of Disco, Various Artists, 2002
Soul Hits of the 70's, Various Artists, 2002
Ultimate Soul, Various Artists, 2003
Super Rock Festival, Various Artists, 2003
Live And Loud, Various Artists, 2003
Oldies But Goodies: 70's Funk, Vol. 1, Various Artists, 2004
You Better Believe It!, Various Artists, 2004
From Burbank To The Bay Area, Various Artists, 2005
Classic Rhythm & Blues, Vol. 1 (DVD), Various Artists, 2005
Ultimate 16 Originals: Ultimate Soul, Various Artists, 2005
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Funk, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 2006
Music in the Zoo, Vol. 2: Please Don't Feed the Musicians, Various Artists, 2006
Classic Rhythm & Blues, Vol. 4 (DVD), Various Artists, 2006
Black Magic Soundtrack, Various Artists, 2008
Revolutions In Sound: Warner Bros. Records: The First Fifty Years (10 CD), Various Artists, 2008
Revolutions In Sound: Warner Bros. Records: The First Fifty Years (USB), Various Artists, 2008
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