Tower of Power clip: Live Soul Train!

[tsull1]

Oh yeah, this is one of my favorites ... damn, Lenny is great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgHLgPpbpNM

[MotownSteve]

One of mine too. And the first comment says more than most politicians and commentators say in week: NO COLOR, NO RACE, NO POLITICS OR RELIGION, JUST MUSIC, AWESOME!!!!

[sunshineonacloudyday]

Hey all TOP fans...Their 40th Anniversary DVD & CD has just been released, which can be ordered at their website--both for under 20 bucks!!

http://www.towerofpower.com/

The DVD includes the historical 40th anniversary concert at the Fillmore San Francisco on Oct 18, 2008, which I was lucky to attend, and will never forget. Tower of Power was in TOP form--the stage was FULL of current members and TOP alumni, sounding better than ever. The highlight of the night for me was the surprise guest, Sam Moore, who was simply INCREDIBLE, and looked like he was having the time of his life. "I Thank You" sounded just as good if not better than the recorded version from 40 yrs earlier! I can't wait to see the DVD.

And yes, the ol' boys still go down on their knees, horns and all during "You're Still A Young Man." They are also still touring, so if you haven't seen them yet, you still have a chance--sadly, there's not too many horn bands left these days...

[timmyfunk]

This clip is featured on the recent Soul Train DVD set. And of course, the video quality is sparkling. It features this clip, as well as "What Is Hip?".

[Kamasu_Jr]

Hey all TOP fans...Their 40th Anniversary DVD & CD has just been released, which can be ordered at their website--both for under 20 bucks!!

http://www.towerofpower.com/

The DVD includes the historical 40th anniversary concert at the Fillmore San Francisco on Oct 18, 2008, which I was lucky to attend, and will never forget. Tower of Power was in TOP form--the stage was FULL of current members and TOP alumni, sounding better than ever. The highlight of the night for me was the surprise guest, Sam Moore, who was simply INCREDIBLE, and looked like he was having the time of his life. "I Thank You" sounded just as good if not better than the recorded version from 40 yrs earlier! I can't wait to see the DVD.

And yes, the ol' boys still go down on their knees, horns and all during "You're Still A Young Man." They are also still touring, so if you haven't seen them yet, you still have a chance--sadly, there's not too many horn bands left these days...

Who was the original lead singer on You're Still A Young Man?
I thought Lenny Williams was an excellent frontman for TOP. But I understand he was only temporary? I wonder why TOP has had so many lead singers. Probably because the band's real focus are the powerful horns.

[tsull1]

Great website, glad TOP updates their tour dates, many groups do not do that. Glad they perform heavily on the west coast, which helps me. Awesome, legendary group, would've loved to have been at that 40th anniversary party. Thanks for the link!

[arrr&bee]

Great clip from a great band!

[sunshineonacloudyday]

@Kamasu_Jr...Rick Stevens sung lead on "You're Still A Young Man". Not long after recording YSAYM, he left TOP and fell into drugs, was convicted of murder and sent to prison where he remains today. [[Reportedly, Rick Stevens is Ivory Joe Hunter's nephew)

Lenny Williams was arguably the best among TOPs lead singers, recorded on my 3 favorite TOP albums; TOWER OF POWER, URBAN RENEWAL, and BACK TO OAKLAND. Lenny is still recording and touring as a solo artist [[he updates on Facebook)

After 40+ years together, the many personel changes in such a large band aren't really surprising I guess...musicians have come and gone [[and some have come back again.) IMHO, Larry Braggs, TOPs current lead singer, is perfect--he has the talent and energy needed for TOPs big funky sound.

[sunshineonacloudyday]

tsull1, Thank you for starting the thread with the Soul Train clip. I wanted to mention the news about the 40th Anniversary release of their DVD/CD.

[tsull1]

I'm excited that it appears I might be able to catch this legendary group in concert.

Good news on Mr. Braggs as quality lead singers are hard to find. This group has a zillion great songs, an impressive musical catalog and history.

[Kamasu_Jr]

THANKS SUNSHINE...I never knew Rick Stevens' name, love the song.

[sunshineonacloudyday]

You're welcome, Kamasu. And tsull1 is right about their impressive music catalog. In addition, their fanbase stretches around the planet, they continue to play to sold out crowds worldwide...you'd think they would qualify for a Grammy recognition?!

[glencro]

great clip...thanx for sharing

[MIKEW-UK]

Ellis Hall was another singer with TOP

So very Hard To Go - Tower of Power with Ellis Hall as lead singer. Very talented singer and multi-instrumentalist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNSl7rqwG6A

[tsull1]

Tower of Power is a living example of the "talent rules all" theory. Get the best horn players around, put a great lead singer in the front and you have excellent music. It's an old theory that is tossed out today amidst hype and electronics. But pure, good ol' talent still rules.

Motown picked up the best jazz musicians in Detroit for the funk brothers, Philly Soul grabbed the top jazz and symphonic musicians in the city of brotherly love.

Talent in the end dominates music, it's long everlasting. Electronics, auto-tune, gimmicks, fakes? Here today and gone tomorrow. Talent rules ... thanks Tower of Power.