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Please check out a Steve Miller tune called Shabadu Ma Ma Ma Ma from the album The Joker. It is the funkiest thing you'll ever hear. The bassist is a monster. And PLEASE do the studio version.
I’m here for Rocco! He’s my uncle and he passed this morning. One of the greatest to touch a bass and an amazing man. Thanks for reacting to TOP. I love the love!!
Sorry for your loss, Ibreakboxes2. Uncles are the greatest. Especially when they are legendary funk-masters on bass. I'm 3 years younger than your uncle and as a young man, I played my bass to my TOP record collection trying to emulate that impeccable staccato groove that he laid down. What a talent!
My condolences man. Rocco was a bass giant and the reigning King of 16th note funk! Speaking as a bass player; you are moved when you hear him play. Rest in peace our funky brother.
ibreakboxes2 So sorry for your loss. Saw TOP many times when they came to Toronto area. When Rocco was not able to play a few years ago Emilio Castillo still mentioned him during introductions. You could tell Emilio loved the guy.
Just surfing around and came upon this. I'm always interested on how people react to TOP. Rocco played that bass like it was a drum. No one like him. It'll be a long time before another band like this comes around. Maybe never. One in a lifetime.
And the tightest brass too. There are some songs of theirs I compare to a machine. All the intricate instruments moving together, in and out, back and forth weaving their sounds to make one great sound. Like a fine watchs mechanism ticking away.
This 1977 version is not the original band lineup. What is Hip came out in 1973 and the original vocalist (Lenny Williams) left the group in 1975. This is one of those instances where I believe it is better to listen to the original version of a song first BEFORE you listen to a live version, for context. My opinion only is that you need to hear a song how it was originally released first, because it helps you appreciate how great a live version is; and live versions are usually altered to some degree from the original anyway. JMHO, but the single version of this is so much funkier.
TOP!!!!!! Ya baby’. These guys are so funky badass. I grew up in Fremont CA, about 15 minutes from Oakland where these guys are from. My mother loved them. She would go all around the East Bay to see them live. I got to meet them in Sandpoint ID about ten years ago. Quality people.
This gentleman singing isn't Lenny Williams, the lead singer for T.O.P. who made this song famous. Check out the studio version, or better yet, the performance of this on Soul Train.
Yes, absolutely, But Lenny Williams does have a live version where the audience joins in. There is a better version than this out there. One of my all time favorite bands. Sings What Is Hip live.. in this concert. th-cam.com/video/Qy2NssFhs64/w-d-xo.html
TOP has so many great songs. You're Still a Young Man. Down to the Nightclub/Bump City (particularly from the Live and in Living Color album). Soul Vaccination. Squib Cakes. You Ought to be Having Fun. From their 40th anniversary concert, there's a song by one of their former saxophonists called Boys from the Bay that is a fantastic instrumental.
I saw these guys live about 15 yrs ago with Average White Band (pick up the pieces), and holy cow they can rip. Me and my buddies used to play their songs whenever we could (I play the big Sax). Sooooooo good. Also the tenor player with the Afro is Lenny Picket from the Saturday night live band.
Unity! You got that right, brother! The great Tower of Power had white, black, and brown all on the same page speaking that same language of music...and getting the audience into it, too!
I met him before a show at Toad's Place in New Haven, Ct. many years ago. I told him he killed it on bass, and cited the songs Monster On A Leash and Funk The Dumb Stuff. He was very cool and had a beer with my brother and I. I didn't know he passed away. Sad. RIP Rocco, and peace to you brother. ✌
My friend Vincent says that when he was a kid, he used to sometimes hang out on San Pablo Avenue in Oakland where Tower of Power's practice space was just to get to hear them play.
"He came out doing the Prince" -You realize that it was probably this performance that Prince saw as a young lad that inspired his moves. ;) Tower of Power was a progressive jazz-rock-pop band with horns much like Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, War, and Earth Wind & Fire in the late 1960s and 70s.
RIP Rocco Prestia. So sad the way TOP had to end (small gigs in lousy clubs) an equally as sad is the recent passing of Rocco, one of the GREAT bass players. He DROVE that band!
As a former DJ, you always knew the best shit came from multiracial bands (Doobie Brothers, Tower Of Power, The Specials, Rage Against The Machine, Sly And The Family Stone etc.)
I was working in a parking lot in Oakland, CA installing vinyl decals for AT&T. Everyone was crabby cause it was late and we had been working out A$$'s off all day, when I hear this sound coming from across the parking lot and had never heard it before. I dropped everything and went to find where it was coming from. The man told me who they were and that they were based out of that very place and then gave me the CD! I was so excited to get turned onto something new that was old! Still have it.
This is an incredibly difficult song to play properly on bass. The bassist, Rocco P. is one of the unsung great bassists around, and this is such a classic bass line.
Jamel, Thanks for this reaction to "What Is Hip" by Tower of Power one of the best funk/jazz bands ever. Glad you enjoyed it. One of my favorite bands. Peace Out from Phil from Massachusetts
Thankyou really great watching/hearing this, with your infectious enthusiasm & on the day i learn Rocco has passed away too! You made me smile and feel privileged to have this band's music in my life, absolutely wonderful stuff.
Saw T of P in 1974 and you're so right Jamel, amazing stage presence! Lenny Williams vocals and moves as well as Lenny Picketts (sax) dancing feet and wild tuxedos. A joy for the ears and eyes.
i remember when this came out great song words are deep prince wasn't alive when this was recorded prince was doing the Tower of Power listen to the Jazz licks in there
The composers of this are musical, rythmic geniuses. And this take is so damned FAST!! TIGHT!! The brass arrangement and trumpet solo is out of this world. Superhuman performance all around. No one but Tower of Power can pull this off so perfectly. And to think that they actually performed at this level for decades is truly a gift from the gods.
Check out the band that started jazz-blues-R&B-rock fusion with horns: The Electric Flag, featuring Buddy Miles on drums and the amazing Mike Bloomfield on guitar. Songs: "Killin' Floor" and "You Don't Realize" with Buddy singing lead at the drums.
Was this a PBS concert? I heard Santana queing up right after the song. If it is the same show I saw many moons ago I remember Tower of Power and Santana were both on this show. Santana also did songs from they're "Festival" album which had just come out, and I raced out and bought. "Festival" is a magical album. Less I digress Tower of Power is golden "So Very Hard To Go" is a classic along with "Your Still A Young Man". Boogie on!💃🕺
For those who are not TOP fans you should know that TOP is still playing in 2020. I have been a TOP fan since the early 1970’s. In my humble opinion they are still the benchmark for Funky Soul Horn Bands. No matter what is hip Tower Of Power is always tight and laying it down right.
@@ValkyrieZiege - He's gotta hear "Low Rider" and "Spill the Wine" with Eric Burdon. And the long version of "Time Has Come Today" by the Chambers Brothers... "my soul has been psychedelicized!" Double back to Lydia Pence and Cold Blood "I Just Wanna Make Love to You" at the Fillmore 1970?
Loved these concerts! Everyone was dancing and knew all the words to all the songs. Lol Please review T.O.P.’s songs: “Going to the Nightclub” and “You’re Still a Young Man” Always put on a great show!
There's yer time travel right there. Perform in the 70's, and you're still getting applause over 40 years later 😁. There were several bands in the late 60's and 70's with great horn sections such as Blood Sweat & Tears, Chicago, and Earth Wind & Fire, among others. But none were better known as a separate entity above and beyond the band that they were part of, than these guys here. The Tower of Power Horn Section, with numerous different musicians participating over the course of decades of performance, even appeared as guests on other artists' albums as well, and were sometimes even credited as such. Your clapping showed that you enjoyed this, so for their next cut I'd suggest "You're Still a Young Man", for some great horn and vocal performances.
I saw Tower of Power live in 1974 as they opened for Santana in NYC. I saw them again in a smaller club in Greenwich Village called the Bottom Line. Years later at the Roxy on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Love, Love, Love, TOP...
Jamel, if you've seen the musical director for Saturday Night Live, out in the front of the band, that is the dancing sax player (monster sax player), Lenny Pickett.
Also a professor of jazz saxophone at New York University. No one knows his real height because of the three inches added by both his hair and his platform shoes.
Jamel, Please do not stop exploring Tower of Power- you will NEVER be disappointed!! They were and still are the ultimate musician's band. Doesn't matter what era or what lineup, they are always tight and funky!!
Tower of Power Horns used to tour with Huey Lewis and The News in the 80's and they were just as funky!! Speaking of 80's...I HIGHLY suggested you check out The Robert Cray Band....Blues, Blues, and more Blues. 🎧 Smokin Gun 🎧 I Guess I Showed Her 🎧 Right Next Door I promise...you won't be disappointed. Thank you once again for keeping great music alive✌❤🎶
Jamel, if you want some funk try Squib Cakes by these guys. One of the best live shows you'll ever see. Over fifty years on the road. Saw them quite a few times when they came to Toronto area. Best horn section ever assembled.
So much good stuff on their Bump City album: 'Down to the Nightclub' 'You Got to Funkifize', 'Skating on Thin Ice', 'You're Still a Young Man' and more.
That's the spirit of music freeing their souls! The love that you send is the love that ye shall receive! Thank you so much for sharing your love. You are a bright, shining beacon of love and music in a very dark time in our history. God Bless You! NAMASTE.
Since the first Celtic Woman concert 15 years ago ( and they were only going to do one concert for PBS)they have covered Enya to Celine Dions My heart will go on. ENYA IS AWESOME and paved the way for the Celtic Woman greatness.
Don’t sweat the audio glitches because the energy of this live performance is worth it! Damn! I grew up during these times but this song slipped under my radar - thanks for bringing it back!
My first big concert was at the Inglewood Forum, CCR. The opening act was Tower of Power, so, technically, they were the first band I saw in an arena setting. And still playing, I think.
Thank you, miss those days so much and hoping with all my heart that we find our way back again. We are all a lot closer than we realize. Light the flame and let's hang together so that we do not ever hang separately.
I had never heard of this band. Thanks! Guess I've got my playlist sorted for today. Also, the man in the black suit with the awesome afro... is that Duck Gunn? He looks like the guy I remember from the Blues Brothers movie...
East bay grease, baby [Straight outta Oaktowns 'n' whutnot! 😜] T.O.P. were bad-asses and, although, they seemed to disappear for over a decade, during that time they were, still the hottest, most in-demand horn section, maybe in all of music. [In the '80s.]. From 1970-around 1976, though?? they could DO no wrong! 🤘🤘 Founded by Emilio Castillo and Stephen "Doc" Kupka the band were an R&B/Funk/Soul groove powerhouse (and Lenny Williams could sing him some ballads too, Y'uh-huh!!!) They never were as good with any other vocalist, (besides Rick Stevens [the original lead-vocalist] or Lenny Williams) but, even in the latter years, they were pretty monstrous!| The horn section could: bake a loaf of bread, slice it, make you a sandwich and shoot mayo & mustard into it while playing a solo. : "Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream)" "Squib Cakes" "You Got To Funkifize" "Down To The Nightclub" "Soul Vaccination" "Knock Yourself Out" "The Price" "Below Us, All The City Lights" "Back On The Streets, Again" "Walkin' Up Hip Street" "It Can Never Be The Same" ...are, I think, all necessary listens. ...Back To Oakland is a LEGENDARY drum album! 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🔥🔥🔥🔥🧡♠ and, I think, Bump City may be the finest album they ever created, other than that. ...but, the first 5 or so albums are, all, the tops! ...Radically good!
Saw these guys in 1990 at the opening of the Portland Convention Center, and they were just as electrifying in 1990 as they were in 1977. Tons of fun. EVERYONE was dancing throughout their entire set - even my parents.
This song was utilized by my high school's marching band, the Centerville Jazz Band/CJB in their competition show for 1992, which was entitled "Tower Of Power". "What Is Hip?" was the closer song of their show. Every year they perform at the Bands of America Grand National Championships as a 4A/Open Class competition marching band. In 1992, they were the Grand National Champions. It was a great year for the small suburban town of Centerville, Ohio, and for the CJB.
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I have my THROWBACKNESS shirt (in grey). Perfect for this song.
Try govt mules version it’s great🇨🇦✌🏻🇨🇦
You want a good one with TOP and Sam Moore for a twofer? Ck this out. th-cam.com/video/flWfhmQVyCE/w-d-xo.html
Please check out a Steve Miller tune called Shabadu Ma Ma Ma Ma from the album The Joker. It is the funkiest thing you'll ever hear. The bassist is a monster. And PLEASE do the studio version.
You should try "Soul with a Capital S"
I’m here for Rocco! He’s my uncle and he passed this morning. One of the greatest to touch a bass and an amazing man. Thanks for reacting to TOP. I love the love!!
Sorry for your loss, Ibreakboxes2. Uncles are the greatest. Especially when they are legendary funk-masters on bass. I'm 3 years younger than your uncle and as a young man, I played my bass to my TOP record collection trying to emulate that impeccable staccato groove that he laid down. What a talent!
My condolences man. Rocco was a bass giant and the reigning King of 16th note funk! Speaking as a bass player; you are moved when you hear him play. Rest in peace our funky brother.
You were lucky to have him for the time that starfire was here on this planet. Thank you for sharing. Bless
ibreakboxes2 So sorry for your loss. Saw TOP many times when they came to Toronto area. When Rocco was not able to play a few years ago Emilio Castillo still mentioned him during introductions. You could tell Emilio loved the guy.
Just surfing around and came upon this. I'm always interested on how people react to TOP. Rocco played that bass like it was a drum. No one like him. It'll be a long time before another band like this comes around. Maybe never. One in a lifetime.
With all respect to Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire, this is the baddest horn section on the face of God's green earth!! 👍🏻✌🏼💯
Could give that .... Chicago wasn't (or shouldn't be considered) a horn band first --- it was Kath's guitar and the drums that drove Chicago musically
And the tightest brass too. There are some songs of theirs I compare to a machine. All the intricate instruments moving together, in and out, back and forth weaving their sounds to make one great sound. Like a fine watchs mechanism ticking away.
Seawind Horns way up there to, if your hip to Seawind
Yes indeed it is.
...I think you mean:
"God's luscious, flat-green Earth!"
💯📀
This 1977 version is not the original band lineup. What is Hip came out in 1973 and the original vocalist (Lenny Williams) left the group in 1975. This is one of those instances where I believe it is better to listen to the original version of a song first BEFORE you listen to a live version, for context. My opinion only is that you need to hear a song how it was originally released first, because it helps you appreciate how great a live version is; and live versions are usually altered to some degree from the original anyway.
JMHO, but the single version of this is so much funkier.
Yes, should’ve done the original
Right on! The original is fantastic!
Gotta agree. Was bummed for J cause I feel like this doesn’t represent the song as well as it could
I agree the original had more funk. This one is faster and peppy like a party but the original has more stank. Lmao
Amen! This one is also missing David Garibaldi, one of the funkiest drummers ever. Not the best version to introduce Tower of Power
TOP!!!!!! Ya baby’. These guys are so funky badass. I grew up in Fremont CA, about 15 minutes from Oakland where these guys are from. My mother loved them. She would go all around the East Bay to see them live. I got to meet them in Sandpoint ID about ten years ago. Quality people.
This gentleman singing isn't Lenny Williams, the lead singer for T.O.P. who made this song famous. Check out the studio version, or better yet, the performance of this on Soul Train.
Lenny Williams was phenomenal.
I agree. I like Lenny Williams so much better just as the lead singer...
Peter O I believe Lenny is still alive.
@@yyyysguy Yep...aged 75...but Lenny is still kicking as of today.
Yes, absolutely, But Lenny Williams does have a live version where the audience joins in. There is a better version than this out there. One of my all time favorite bands. Sings What Is Hip live.. in this concert. th-cam.com/video/Qy2NssFhs64/w-d-xo.html
TOP has so many great songs. You're Still a Young Man. Down to the Nightclub/Bump City (particularly from the Live and in Living Color album). Soul Vaccination. Squib Cakes. You Ought to be Having Fun. From their 40th anniversary concert, there's a song by one of their former saxophonists called Boys from the Bay that is a fantastic instrumental.
If you look up "badass" in the dictionary, there is a picture of a Tower of Power album cover to illustrate it. Peace and Love always!
I saw these guys live about 15 yrs ago with Average White Band (pick up the pieces), and holy cow they can rip. Me and my buddies used to play their songs whenever we could (I play the big Sax). Sooooooo good. Also the tenor player with the Afro is Lenny Picket from the Saturday night live band.
" He's doing the Prince".... Actually Prince was doing the.. Tower Of Power!
Prince doing Lenny Williams!
the James Brown?
BUST that MOVE! It's the "TOWER OF POWER" baby.... this ain't R&B Jr. it's all O.G. Jamz yes!!
Any one paying attention to how impossibly fast Rocco Prestia is playing this bass line, fingerstyle?
It's playing at 2x speed at least.
And a groove so tight.
The baddest funk bassist to have played the instrument in my opinion. RIP Rocco 😢
@@21Danieltbs Agreed 👍.
Legendary T.O.P. bassist Rocco Prestia just passed on 9/30/2020🙏🏽
Unity! You got that right, brother! The great Tower of Power had white, black, and brown all on the same page speaking that same language of music...and getting the audience into it, too!
You should hear them with LITTLE FEAT on the Waiting for Columbus album. Song: Spanish Moon
My FAVE
I've been talking about LIttle Feat here for a few months now. He needs to get to Little Feat!
Actually, I like the version on the Join The Band CD a little better. The groove and improvisations are much stronger.
@@GrowingUpJersey Feats don't fail me now. great album.
yes
R.I.P. Rocco. His contribution will be remembered Forever.
I met him before a show at Toad's Place in New Haven, Ct. many years ago. I told him he killed it on bass, and cited the songs Monster On A Leash and Funk The Dumb Stuff. He was very cool and had a beer with my brother and I. I didn't know he passed away. Sad. RIP Rocco, and peace to you brother. ✌
My friend Vincent says that when he was a kid, he used to sometimes hang out on San Pablo Avenue in Oakland where Tower of Power's practice space was just to get to hear them play.
Throw your hands in the air and wave 'em like ya just don't care. Somebody say oh yeah...oh yeah. Love it 💃🏻🕺🏾
OH YEAAAAAHHH!!!!!!
They've been blowing the doors off for 50 yrs! They've always been cool. They're all classically trained musicians and they just plain rock!!
"He came out doing the Prince" -You realize that it was probably this performance that Prince saw as a young lad that inspired his moves. ;) Tower of Power was a progressive jazz-rock-pop band with horns much like Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, War, and Earth Wind & Fire in the late 1960s and 70s.
was? they still Are! they are hotter than ever, yo!
that all came from james brown.
They still are, not was.
RIP Rocco Prestia. So sad the way TOP had to end (small gigs in lousy clubs) an equally as sad is the recent passing of Rocco, one of the GREAT bass players. He DROVE that band!
As a former DJ, you always knew the best shit came from multiracial bands (Doobie Brothers, Tower Of Power, The Specials, Rage Against The Machine, Sly And The Family Stone etc.)
SANTANA
Half of those bands are from the Bay Area, including Santana. Truly a melting pot
Yeeee
Don't leave out War
LITTLE FEAT
Fusion music works. Mixing those backgrounds and introducing new angles to old music styles...love it.
The lead singer later went on to join a NYC street gang called The Warriors.
They liked his vest and they just let him in.
...But can they come out to play?
😂😂😂😂😂🌮🌯🇲🇽
Warriors are cool.
Can you dig it?
But then he got attacked by the Jets and the Sharks.
I was working in a parking lot in Oakland, CA installing vinyl decals for AT&T. Everyone was crabby cause it was late and we had been working out A$$'s off all day, when I hear this sound coming from across the parking lot and had never heard it before. I dropped everything and went to find where it was coming from. The man told me who they were and that they were based out of that very place and then gave me the CD! I was so excited to get turned onto something new that was old! Still have it.
Saw them In Nov. 2019. Still tight and funky.
Love Tower of Power! Nothing like that horn section! Check out "We Came to Play" and "You're Still a Young Man".
I saw T.O.P. back in 1976 - at the Paramount Theater in Portland. Nod to Tammy - my date that night - back when I was Still a Young Man.
CT. Chester Thompson on B3. brought it to CHUCH!!! He also played for Santana after he left TOP.
This is an incredibly difficult song to play properly on bass. The bassist, Rocco P. is one of the unsung great bassists around, and this is such a classic bass line.
Thightest band ever. These guys put on one hell of a concert!
I saw these guy in 2015 in Winterpark, Colorado. New singer, but the same band; all grey/ bald heads and perfect musicianship. Not so much dancing.
Amen
So many other artists used their horn section. They had some great ballads too: So Very Hard to Go, and You're Still a Young Man.
Santana picked up ToP's organist Chester Thompson
Two different singer for those 2' songs...
I saw this band in 1976. The horn section was the best.
Jamel, Thanks for this reaction to "What Is Hip" by Tower of Power one of the best funk/jazz bands ever. Glad you enjoyed it. One of my favorite bands. Peace Out from Phil from Massachusetts
Thankyou really great watching/hearing this, with your infectious enthusiasm & on the day i learn Rocco has passed away too! You made me smile and feel privileged to have this band's music in my life, absolutely wonderful stuff.
Saw T of P in 1974 and you're so right Jamel, amazing stage presence! Lenny Williams vocals and moves as well as Lenny Picketts (sax) dancing feet and wild tuxedos. A joy for the ears and eyes.
i remember when this came out great song words are deep prince wasn't alive when this was recorded prince was doing the Tower of Power listen to the Jazz licks in there
RIP (and groove) Rocco Prestia 🙏
That song! is HIP!! It was hip then it is hip now and will be hip always! In asking the question they have provided the answer
This is the first time I’ve ever heard Tower of Power... wow! I’m now a fan. Awesome horn section!
Oh, sugar. You have no idea. Get some East Bay Grease on ya! It won't hurt'cha. Feels so good.
So wright, they are something else, 52 years in business and still funkin it up!!
I got to celebrate be part of their 40th anniversary, just amazing!
@@joeday4293 Bump City, Oakland California!
Welcome!
East Bay Grease, Back to Oakland, Urban Renewal ... lots of funk awaits you! Enjoy!
The composers of this are musical, rythmic geniuses. And this take is so damned FAST!! TIGHT!! The brass arrangement and trumpet solo is out of this world. Superhuman performance all around. No one but Tower of Power can pull this off so perfectly. And to think that they actually performed at this level for decades is truly a gift from the gods.
Saw them live at a Free Yes, Free concert back in Connecticut! They jammed for two hours and tore the place down man!! What a show
Dude the bass player is Rocco Prestia . A master player wild w the 16th note grooves!!!!
RIP Rocco Prestia, absolute master of funk
You remember Little Feat... Dixie Chicken? Well, Tower of Power's horn section teams up with Little Feat for a number of songs - live and studio.
“So very hard to go” My favorite Tower of Power song ! And “ You’re still a young Man!❤️
Check out the band that started jazz-blues-R&B-rock fusion with horns: The Electric Flag, featuring Buddy Miles on drums and the amazing Mike Bloomfield on guitar. Songs: "Killin' Floor" and "You Don't Realize" with Buddy singing lead at the drums.
I second that suggestion. Also 'Texas' and 'Over-Loving You'.
I forgot how great these guys were. The tightest band ever.
Watching this 2 years later, love this song and Tower of Power. Would love a Throwbackness shirt and some Good Human slides but cannot afford.
On Sly and the Family Stone; EVERY DAY PEOPLE.
Keep it on the bay area groove!
😍
@@linnymaemullins3319 My first song on them. Was always one of the first songs as I was getting ready for school.
The Tower of Power horn section played on many albums for various artists that horn section was highly sought-after
And Joan Jett's version too!
Was this a PBS concert? I heard Santana queing up right after the song. If it is the same show I saw many moons ago I remember Tower of Power and Santana were both on this show.
Santana also did songs from they're "Festival" album which had just come out, and I raced out and bought. "Festival" is a magical album.
Less I digress Tower of Power is golden "So Very Hard To Go" is a classic along with "Your Still A Young Man". Boogie on!💃🕺
RIP Francis "Rocco" Prestia. A great loss :(
For those who are not TOP fans you should know that TOP is still playing in 2020. I have been a TOP fan since the early 1970’s. In my humble opinion they are still the benchmark for Funky Soul Horn Bands. No matter what is hip Tower Of Power is always tight and laying it down right.
Rocco Prestia, the bass player just passed away yesterday. May he rest in peace ❤️❤️
what I love about Jazz drummers is there not banging the drums there hands flow over them no hard pounding and there effects are more dynamic
You finally tried good soul-funk music, I hope one day you will react to "The World is a Ghetto'" by WAR.
A must, love WAR, still sounds good all these years later !
@@ValkyrieZiege - He's gotta hear "Low Rider" and "Spill the Wine" with Eric Burdon. And the long version of "Time Has Come Today" by the Chambers Brothers... "my soul has been psychedelicized!" Double back to Lydia Pence and Cold Blood "I Just Wanna Make Love to You" at the Fillmore 1970?
Playing bass on this song is an aerobic workout.
Loved these concerts! Everyone was dancing and knew all the words to all the songs. Lol
Please review T.O.P.’s songs: “Going to the Nightclub” and “You’re Still a Young Man”
Always put on a great show!
I think you mean "Down to the Nightclub' and yea, that's a banger for sure!
Down to the nightclub is the best!! I played it with my college buddies. Soooooo fun
Squib Cakes, is a Instrumental to go down in the Library of Congress Archives.
They were fantastic!!!!! More TOP please!
There's yer time travel right there. Perform in the 70's, and you're still getting applause over 40 years later 😁. There were several bands in the late 60's and 70's with great horn sections such as Blood Sweat & Tears, Chicago, and Earth Wind & Fire, among others. But none were better known as a separate entity above and beyond the band that they were part of, than these guys here. The Tower of Power Horn Section, with numerous different musicians participating over the course of decades of performance, even appeared as guests on other artists' albums as well, and were sometimes even credited as such. Your clapping showed that you enjoyed this, so for their next cut I'd suggest "You're Still a Young Man", for some great horn and vocal performances.
Cold Blood,too.
The funk meter just went past 10 and broke! Love it! Drummer killing it back there!
This song is banging. This is the music that I like best.
I saw Tower of Power live in 1974 as they opened for Santana in NYC. I saw them again in a smaller club in Greenwich Village called the Bottom Line. Years later at the Roxy on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Love, Love, Love, TOP...
Jamel, if you've seen the musical director for Saturday Night Live, out in the front of the band, that is the dancing sax player (monster sax player), Lenny Pickett.
Also a professor of jazz saxophone at New York University. No one knows his real height because of the three inches added by both his hair and his platform shoes.
Jamel, Please do not stop exploring Tower of Power- you will NEVER be disappointed!! They were and still are the ultimate musician's band. Doesn't matter what era or what lineup, they are always tight and funky!!
What is hip? Well, according to Huey Lewis it’s hip to be square (another great band/artist that would be fun to see reaction to).
Darryl Carden funny they were buddies with Huey! Played on Small World.
T of P supported Huey Lewis when I saw them at Wembley in the UK back in late 80s. They were so good
Paulonbass75 oh hell yes he is. Fantastic harp player.
The tightest hornline ever...
And personally I like Garibaldi on drums, but this is amazing... I hope you do more my man
Tower of Power Horns used to tour with Huey Lewis and The News in the 80's and they were just as funky!!
Speaking of 80's...I HIGHLY suggested you check out The Robert Cray Band....Blues, Blues, and more Blues.
🎧 Smokin Gun
🎧 I Guess I Showed Her
🎧 Right Next Door
I promise...you won't be disappointed.
Thank you once again for keeping great music alive✌❤🎶
Oh Hell to the Yeah on Robert Cray, and don't forget Robert Randolph and the Family Band!
By the way, the sax player in tails who is dancing is now the leader of the Saturday Night Live band.
I love their songs, You're Still Young Man and So very Hard.to Go
The National Anthems it is,along with Sparkling In The Sand.
In the early 70`s TOP opened for Santana, at the then new Cal expo [state fair in Sacramento Ca.] one of the best shows ever!! I miss those days!!
Tower of Power- Soul with a Capitol 'S' from Soul Vacation- Great music!
Vaccinate,get ready for the injection,cut down on the infection,soon you got Soul Perfection,Roll up your sleeves.
I love Tower of Power a big influence on my music taste in high school in 1974. Please do more of this group just a fantastic sound
I remember playing this in pep band during basketball games.
Yes! My sophomore year marching band show was all TOP. This song, so very hard to go, and attitude dance :) so much fun! I was a flag line gal
We did Hawaii Five-O theme.
Jamel, if you want some funk try Squib Cakes by these guys. One of the best live shows you'll ever see. Over fifty years on the road. Saw them quite a few times when they came to Toronto area. Best horn section ever assembled.
So much good stuff on their Bump City album: 'Down to the Nightclub' 'You Got to Funkifize', 'Skating on Thin Ice', 'You're Still a Young Man' and more.
What Happened To The World & Of The Earth,too.
That's the spirit of music freeing their souls! The love that you send is the love that ye shall receive! Thank you so much for sharing your love. You are a bright, shining beacon of love and music in a very dark time in our history. God Bless You! NAMASTE.
Francis "Rocco" Prestia. Bass. Ain't nothing more funk/greasier than Rocco!
J Russo RIP Rocco.
RIP Rocco
RIP ....
Rocco and Garibaldi!!! RIP Rocco 😢
How did I miss you reacting to TOP? Love this band. More TOP
I saw them 2 years ago and they still got it.
So did I,Super !
Since the first Celtic Woman concert 15 years ago ( and they were only going to do one concert for PBS)they have covered Enya to Celine Dions My heart will go on. ENYA IS AWESOME and paved the way for the Celtic Woman greatness.
YEEEEEESS! Did not know how much I needed this!
Don’t sweat the audio glitches because the energy of this live performance is worth it! Damn! I grew up during these times but this song slipped under my radar - thanks for bringing it back!
Throwback to 1972 for “Radar Love” by Golden Earring!
Look up their 40th anniversary video. Lots of original guys came out for it and the A/V quality is great. And they still funkifize.
I saw this band at least four times and they were on a double bill with The average White band what a hell of a show funky is all hell
antartic orb I saw that double Bill too!
@@BenNawrath I think I saw you there haha just joking but yet I might have!
Haha I saw them in Hartford CT.
Yup..AWB, TOP and Cold Blood
My first big concert was at the Inglewood Forum, CCR. The opening act was Tower of Power, so, technically, they were the first band I saw in an arena setting. And still playing, I think.
Michael Loveland, and so is John Fogerty.
Do their tune “There is only so much oil in the ground”. FANTASTIC.
th-cam.com/video/vGVrh-obV4M/w-d-xo.html
And after all these years, Doc on baritone sax and Emilio are still funking it up on tour and they are still one of the greatest live acts around
What is hip? We may never know. Great song and band.
@Bill McKay Well that's news to me.
It is the eternal question after all.
@@ryokinor6223 the opposite of being square... is to be "hip". Are you hip to the scene etc. But you knew that, didn't you
It ain't hip to be hep any more.
Smoking not only the best weed,but dropping Pep pills,too,etc.
Look at the good things that can happen when Black and White come together.
It's a Gray thing.
Thank you, miss those days so much and hoping with all my heart that we find our way back again.
We are all a lot closer than we realize. Light the flame and let's hang together so that we do not ever hang separately.
@@deepfreezevideo - nice touch, brother.
I had never heard of this band. Thanks! Guess I've got my playlist sorted for today.
Also, the man in the black suit with the awesome afro... is that Duck Gunn? He looks like the guy I remember from the Blues Brothers movie...
East bay grease, baby [Straight outta Oaktowns 'n' whutnot! 😜]
T.O.P. were bad-asses and, although, they seemed to disappear for over a decade, during that time they were, still the hottest, most in-demand horn section, maybe in all of music. [In the '80s.]. From 1970-around 1976, though?? they could DO no wrong! 🤘🤘
Founded by Emilio Castillo and Stephen "Doc" Kupka the band were an R&B/Funk/Soul groove powerhouse (and Lenny Williams could sing him some ballads too, Y'uh-huh!!!)
They never were as good with any other vocalist, (besides Rick Stevens [the original lead-vocalist] or Lenny Williams) but, even in the latter years, they were pretty monstrous!|
The horn section could: bake a loaf of bread, slice it, make you a sandwich and shoot mayo & mustard into it while playing a solo.
:
"Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream)"
"Squib Cakes"
"You Got To Funkifize"
"Down To The Nightclub"
"Soul Vaccination"
"Knock Yourself Out"
"The Price"
"Below Us, All The City Lights"
"Back On The Streets, Again"
"Walkin' Up Hip Street"
"It Can Never Be The Same"
...are, I think, all necessary listens.
...Back To Oakland is a LEGENDARY drum album! 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🔥🔥🔥🔥🧡♠
and, I think, Bump City may be the finest album they ever created, other than that. ...but, the first 5 or so albums are, all, the tops! ...Radically good!
Saw these guys at a jazz festival in DC about 11 years ago, and they did this. Seeing them live was awesome! I don't remember them from the 70s.
How's about a little of Sly and the Family Stone? SHOUT OUT!!
Tower of Power is still doing it! Celebrated 50 years in 2019 (with a tour)
Started in 2018 since they formed in '68... and I wasn't able to go. Did go to the 40th though at Filmore East in Oakland in 2008.
Saw these guys in 1990 at the opening of the Portland Convention Center, and they were just as electrifying in 1990 as they were in 1977. Tons of fun. EVERYONE was dancing throughout their entire set - even my parents.
Have you heard, friends? Iconic bassist Rocco Prestia died today.
Oh no...
This song was utilized by my high school's marching band, the Centerville Jazz Band/CJB in their competition show for 1992, which was entitled "Tower Of Power". "What Is Hip?" was the closer song of their show. Every year they perform at the Bands of America Grand National Championships as a 4A/Open Class competition marching band. In 1992, they were the Grand National Champions. It was a great year for the small suburban town of Centerville, Ohio, and for the CJB.
Check out the Chambers Brother's, Time has come today.
If you love that song the you should love... Its Time for Me to Love You by Eric Mercury his other album The Electric Black man is out of this world.
If you haven't heard it flash forward a few decades and check out "Diggin' on James Brown".
This version was a horrible idea. Check the original recording
I agree...listen to the original!
Yeah, this version is way too fast and the lead singer sounds like comedian Chris Tucker.
1973 Studio Version Style The late great Ed McGee was sure something Onstage way back in the day.
I have to agree, too much cocaine here maybe and it's too fast
@@NeutronDance was about to say the exact same thing