A band that has been together for over five decades is coming to Bellingham.
Tower of Power was founded in 1968 in Oakland with Emilio Castillo generally credited as the creator of the group. At the time Castillo, who plays tenor sax, met Stephen “Doc” Krupa, a baritone sax player, and hired him for the new band. Within a few months, the group was gigging around Berkeley and Oakland, when they were known as The Motowns. To appear at the Fillmore Auditorium, they had to change their name. They picked Tower of Power, and it stuck.
Tower of Power is a horn section and funk band, and has had numerous frontmen, the most well-known of whom is Lenny Williams. He fronted the ground from 1973 to 1974, when they were most successful. Tower of Power has appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 eight times, and their hits include “Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream),” and “You’re Still a Young Man.”
In 1972, they dropped “East Bay Grease,” their debut album, which solidified their sound and won them a Warner Brothers contract. They have released 21 studio albums and shared the stage with stars such as Aerosmith and The Grateful Dead.
Tower of Power will perform at the Mount Baker Theatre on September 11. When they book concerts like this, organizers can use poster printing to create advertising for them.
