Coming of age in the 1970’s, it was both strange and sad to see how music styles became so segregated. Just a decade earlier, styles blended on almost every level.

In many ways, I credit the music of the ‘60s as a driving force for civil rights in the 1960s. In the days before FM radio, AM almost exclusively played hits, and songs were played without prejudice. It was common to hear James Brown segue into the Beach Boys, or The Supremes played before or after the Rolling Stones. The mix was fabulous, and I really believe that it had a not-so-subtle effect on uniting the races. One of the most unfortunate effects of FM radio was that it caused once parallel styles to become stratified. By the mid-70s, it was no longer easy to keep track of the latest R&B/Soul sounds because ‘rock’ stations focused almost primarily on white twenty-something males. The few ‘soul’ stations that existed picked up the slack by playing music that the rock stations neglected. Rock and roll lost its connection to soul music, thus causing teenaged me to miss a LOT of awesome music.

Tower of Power was one of those bands that should have crossed over to the rock stations. As a horn section, they were featured on innumerable rock and roll albums, but as a band, the ‘rock’ radio stations virtually ignored them. As a kid, I heard of Tower of Power, but I never really heard their music. In retrospect, I feel as though I was ostracized. It was so bad that I can recall sitting in a restaurant with my wife Heidy circa 2010 and hearing some of the funkiest, coolest music imaginable, but I couldn’t guess who was playing over the P.A. system. Yes, it was Tower of Power. I was stunned by how great it was, while being simultaneously embarrassed by my ignorance. Later that week I rushed out and bought a few Tower of Power albums and immersed myself in their greatness, but I was about thirty years late.

In truth, I loved all the albums that I picked up, and any one of them could be included on anybody’s all-time ‘best of’ list, if only you could have heard them. It’s time to make things right, though. C’mon people, smile on your brother, everybody get together and try to love one another right now….

Feartured Tracks:

Only So Much Oil in the Ground

Come Back, Baby

It's Not the Crime

Won't Leave Unless You Want Me To

Maybe It'll Rub Off

(To Say the Least) You're the Most

Willing to Learn

Give Me the Proof

It Can Never Be the Same

I Believe in Myself

Walkin' Up Hip Street

January 1975 - Billboard Charted #22