– Tower Of Power – Live At Calderone Hall, Hempstead New York – April 11, 1975 – WLIR-FM –
The legendary Tower Of Power this morning. Recorded live at Calderone Hall by WLIR-FM in New York, Spring of 1975.
With a string of hits to their credit, Tower Of Power proved, once again, that they were one of the truly unique horn-based bands to come along in a long time. The 70s were formative years for the band, particularly the 1973-1974 period when chief vocal duties were handled by Lenny Williams. Many of their most memorable hits came from this period and this was when they had the biggest commercial success and were staples in the diets of many radio stations across the country.
Tower of Power, released in the spring of 1973, was the third album for the band. It featured soul singer Lenny Williams on lead vocals and Lenny Pickett on lead tenor saxophone. Bruce Conte replaced guitarist Willie Fulton and keyboardist Chester D.Thompson also joined the band during the recording of the album. The album spawned their most-successful single “So Very Hard to Go”. Although the single peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was included in the Top 10 in the surveys of many West Coast Top 40 radio stations, placed #1 on several of them. The album also charted two other singles on the Billboard Hot 100, “This Time It’s Real” and “What Is Hip?”[3]
1974’s Back to Oakland spawned the hit single “Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)”, which reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Time Will Tell”, which charted at #69. The funk-jazz instrumental “Squib Cakes” also came from this album.
On Urban Renewal (1974), the band moved more toward funk than soul; however, they continued recording ballads as well. Williams left the band in late 1974, and was replaced as vocalist by Hubert Tubbs. The band’s airplay on chart radio declined. During the late 1970s they briefly tried recording disco-sounding material.
On January 12, 2017, long-time drummer David Garibaldi and bassist Marc Van Wageningen were hit by a train as they walked across tracks before a performance in Oakland. They both survived the accident. According to their manager, Jeremy Westby, they were both “responsive and being treated at a local hospital”. They fully recovered and returned to the active lineup later that year.
Over the years they have boasted some 60 musicians coming in and out of the band, but they are still active and touring today.
If you missed them the first time around, here’s a great opportunity to catch them during their one of their most successful periods – a time when they were household names to millions of people.
Crank it up and get funky!
