East Bay Grease

1970 studio album by Tower of Power

East Bay Grease

Studio album by

Tower of Power

Released| 1970
Studio| Mercury Recording Studios, San Francisco
Genre| Soul, R&B
Length| 41:35
Label| San Francisco/Atlantic
Producer| David Rubinson
Tower of Power chronology
|  | East Bay Grease
(1970)  | Bump City
(1972)

|
|

Singles from  East Bay Grease

1. "Back on the Streets Again/Sparkling in the Sand"
Released: 1970

East Bay Grease is the debut album by the soul and funk group Tower of Power, released in 1970.[1] The band was one of the early music groups to be signed by Bill Graham's Fillmore Records, which released the LP.[2][3]

The album shows the band at an early stage of development, trying out several lead singers including Rick Stevens who soon left the band (1972) because of heavy drug abuse.[4] In a retrospective review, music historian Rickey Vincent said the album contained "sloppy and raggedy horn-heavy R&B."[5] Drummer David Garibaldi later said that his playing style was undisciplined during this time, that the album showed his "rough edges". He began private drum lessons with a Bay Area drum teacher named Chuck Brown, and polished his technique in time for the improvements to be heard on 1973's Tower of Power album.[6]

The album was released on CD in 1992 by Rhino Records.

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic|  [7]

## Track listing

[edit]

All selections written by Emilio Castillo and Stephen Kupka, except "Sparkling in the Sand" by Emilio Castillo, Stephen Kupka and Lawrence Lopez.[8]

1. "Knock Yourself Out" - 7:08
2. "Social Lubrication" - 7:28
3. "The Price" - 6:09
4. "Back on the Streets Again" - 5:50
5. "The Skunk, the Goose, and the Fly" - 5:55
6. "Sparkling in the Sand" - 9:06

## Personnel

[edit]

Production credit [9]

* Rufus Miller - lead vocals (except "Sparkling in the Sand")
* Emilio Castillo \- alto saxophone, vocals, extra greasy vocal on "The Skunk, the Goose, and the Fly"
* David Garibaldi \- drums, vibes, background vocals
* Greg Adams - first trumpet
* Stephen "The Funky Doctor" Kupka - baritone saxophone, background vocals
* Skip Mesquite - tenor saxophone, flute, vocals
* David Padron - second trumpet
* Frank Rocco Prestia \- bass
* Rick Stevens - lead vocal on "Sparkling in the Sand", background vocals
* Willie James Fulton - guitar, background vocals
* Mic Gillette \- trumpet, trombone, flugelhorn with solo on "Sparkling in the Sand"[3]
* Ken Balzell - trumpet

Technical

* Bruce Steinberg - cover and liner design, artwork, photography

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Godbey, Matthew (October 26, 2016). "Stage & Screen: "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" a not-so-lovely plot". Post and Courier. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
2. ^ Hall, J.T. (November 16, 2016). "Tower of Power Gets Funky In Verona". Syracuse New Times. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
3. ^ a b "Tower of Power Founder and Trumpeter Mic Gillette Dead at 64". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
4. ^ Lentz III, Harris M. (2018). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2017. McFarland. pp. 375–376\. ISBN 9781476633183.
5. ^ Vincent, Rickey (2014). Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 333\. ISBN 9781466884526.
6. ^ Payne, Jim (2010). The Great Drummers R&B Funk & Soul. Mel Bay Publications. p. 214\. ISBN 9781609745820.
7. ^ Wynn, Ron. East Bay Grease at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
8. ^ Wynn, Ron. "East Bay Grease - Tower of Power - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
9. ^ "East Bay Grease - Tower of Power - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Tower of Power - website discography Archived 2011-10-19 at the Wayback Machine
* East Bay Grease at Discogs (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

Tower of Power

* Emilio Castillo
* Stephen 'Doc' Kupka
* Roger Smith
* Adolfo Acosta
* Tom E. Politzer
* Jerry Cortez
* Marc van Wageningen
* Dave Richards
* Pete Antunes
* Jordan John

Studio albums|

* East Bay Grease (1970)
* Bump City (1972)
* Tower of Power (1973)
* Back to Oakland (1974)
* Urban Renewal (1975)
* In the Slot (1975)
* Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now (1977)
* We Came to Play! (1978)
* Back on the Streets (1979)
* Power (1987)
* Monster on a Leash (1991)
* T.O.P. (1993)
* Souled Out (1995)
* Rhythm & Business (1997)
* Step Up (2020)

Notable singles|

* "So Very Hard to Go"

Live albums|

* Live and in Living Color (1976)
* Direct (1981)
* Soul Vaccination: Live (1999)

Former members|

* Greg Adams
* Rocco Prestia
* David Garibaldi
* Lenny Williams
* Herman Matthews
* Lenny Pickett
* Mic Gillette
* Bruce Conte
* Michael Jeffries
* Victor Conte
* Richard Elliot
* Hubert Tubbs
* Euge Groove
* Brandon Fields
* Harry Kim

Related articles|

* Members

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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