Tower of Power

Tower of Power might be responsible for some of the most fantastic sounds in soul, R&B and rock music, while never quite getting the recognition they deserve for that. They were formed out of a chance meeting between Emilio Castillo and Stephen “Doc” Kupka, the future tenor and baritone saxophonists of the band, respectively.

The band were originally put together under the name The Motowns. However, after Castillo realized he would never get his band headlining San Francisco’s iconic Fillmore Auditorium with that name, they soon switched it to Tower Of Power. A name literally picked from a list of weird band names because he thought it described them the best.

With the new name in place and a solid line up found, the band were finally on their way. They signed to Billy Graham’s San Francisco Records in 1970 and released their debut record “East Bay Grease” soon afterwards. However it wasn’t until 1972 and a new lead vocalist in the form of Rick Stevens, that the band started getting honest to goodness hits in the form of “So Very Hard To Go” and “What Is Hip?”.

However, what made Tower of Power stand out was their horn section, and they went on to work with the likes of Aerosmith, Heart, Grateful Dead and John Lee Hooker in their own right while the band were still at the top of their game. The band still tour to this day and have still got it in spades. They’re an indispensable part of music’s history, and every true music fan would do well to see them as soon as possible.

Originally from Philadelphia, singer-songwriter, producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Frankie Beverly, formed Raw Soul in 1970. The group recorded a number of singles with limited success and subsequently moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1981, where the group was introduced to Marvin Gaye. Before long Raw Soul became a huge success, were invited to tour in support of Gaye, and at his recommendation changed their name to Maze in 1976.

The same year, thanks to Mr. Gaye’s persuasion with the label, Maze signed with Capitol Records and released their debut album “Maze featuring Frankie Beverly” in 1977. The album was certified gold and earned the group a considerable fan base, aided by the singles “Happy Feelin’s”, “While I’m Alone” and “Lady of Magic”. At this time singer and rhythm guitarist Beverly was joined by lead guitarist Wayne Thomas, keyboard player Sam Porter, percussionist and backing vocalists Ronald “Roame” Loary and McKinley “Bug” Williams, and drummer Billy “Shoes” Johnson.

Maze’s sophomore album “Golden Time of Day” featuring the No. 9 R&B hit “Workin’ Together” was followed by “Inspiration” in 1979. Both these albums and all subsequent releases have been certified gold, and reached similar positions in U.S. Billboard 200 and U.S. R&B charts, which speaks volumes to the band’s consistency and devoted following. “Joy and Pain” was released in 1980, followed by “We Are One” in 1983, which marked Maze’s introduction into the UK charts reaching No. 38 and selling-out eight shows at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, UK.

Maze’s subsequent album “Can’t Stop the Love” in 1985 was the band first chart-topping U.S. R&B album, led by the singles “Back In Stride” and “Too Many Games”. In 1989 the band moved to Warner Bros. and released the album “Silky Soul”, which also found its way to the top of the R&B chart. Around this time the group proved popular with rappers who sampled a number Maze’s songs. “Back to Basics” was released in 1993, which the group supported with an extensive tour schedule.