Tower of Power Ring in the Holiday Spirit With First Holiday Album

East Bay funk, soul, and R&B legends Tower of Power have announced the release of It’s Christmas, their first-ever full-length Christmas album of their 56-year career available on all digital streaming platforms & CD on September 27th with vinyl released on October 25th. To celebrate, the group will embark on a 15-date Holidays and Hits tour in December.

The Holidays and Hits tour will usher in the holiday season with festive repertoire on the 11-track album blended with celebrated hits extending the band’s robust catalog including “What is Hip?” “You’re Still a Young Man,” and more. Fans new and old can expect an unforgettable spirited live performance driven by the band’s signature horn-powered melodies and infectious vocals.

Speaking to the anticipation surrounding the band’s holiday activities, founder & bandleader Emilio Castilo shares, “Preparing the It's Christmas album and the corresponding Holidays and Hits Tour was truly a labor of love. Beginning with Joe Vannelli’s super creative take on some of the greatest Christmas and Holiday hits ever to Dave Eskridge's Towerific arrangements to the artwork within the albums themselves and the theaters in which we'll be performing this winter, every step of this project was meticulously thought through with the Tower of Power universe in mind. The title track is a ToP Christmas original written by Kupka/Castillo back in the early 70’s. It’s our great pleasure to bring Christmas and holiday music - with a Tower of Power spin - into our fans' homes for generations to come."

HOLIDAYS & HITS TOUR DATES

December 3: Plymouth Memorial Hall, Plymouth, MA

December 4: Infinity Music Hall, Hartford, CT

December 6: Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, Niagara Falls, NY

December 7: Golden Nugget, Atlantic City, NJ

December 8: Sony Hall, New York, NY

December 10: Midland Theatre, Newark, OH

December 11: Rialto Square, Joliet, OH

December 13: Capitol Theater, Davenport, IA

December 14: Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Prior Lake, MN

December 15: The Astro, La Vista, NE

December 17: Lensic Performing Arts, Santa FE, NM

December 18: The Fox, Tucson, AZ

December 20: TBD

December 21: The Fox, Oakland, CA

December 22: TBD 

IT’S CHRISTMAS TRACK LIST

1. The Christmas Song

2. This Christmas

3. A Very Special Christmas

4. Hark the Herald Angels Sing

5. It’s Christmas (A Long Way From Home)

6. Silver Bells

7. O Holy Night

8. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

9. Mary, Did You Know?

10. Maoz Tzur

11. Christmas Medley (O Christmas Tree, Christmas Time Is Here, What Child Is This)

ABOUT TOWER OF POWER

For over 55 years, Tower of Power has delivered the best in funk and soul music.“We were a Soul band called The Motowns.” recalls Emilio Castillo. “Rocco was the bass player, I was there, and my brother was the drummer. I met “Doc” Kupka back in 1968, and gave him an audition. He came in the band, and we eventually changed our name to the Tower of Power.” The reason for the band name change was that they had a specific goal in mind.

East Bay Grease defined their sound and landed them with Warner Brothers. Bump City, their 1972 debut for the label, was a hit on both the Billboard 200 and the R&B Albums chart, and netted them the hits “You’re Still A Young Man” and “Down to The Nightclub.” The 70s were a boom period with radio classics like “So Very Hard to Go” and “What Is Hip?,” and the band continued to tour and record over the years. Castillo says their love of the stage is the same today as it was back in 1968.

50 years later, in 2018, they returned to Oakland to celebrate their landmark 50th anniversary. Tower’s window-rattling grooves and raucous party spirit has been a balm for the soul throughout their half-century existence, but the release of 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

The band has long since surpassed Castillo’s modest aspirations, traveling the world, enjoying hit singles on their own and backing legendary artists including Otis Redding, Elton John, Santana, the Grateful Dead, John Lee Hooker, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, and countless others. In the process they’ve defined an “Oakland soul” sound as instantly recognizable as those from Castillo’s hometown, Detroit, as well as inspirations like Memphis and Philadelphia.

The future of Tower of Power is set out to be vigorous and dynamic, and will prove to be just that for fans around the world starved for the band’s groove just the way Tower of Power likes it!

Photo by Jon R. Luini

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