The Evolution of Funk in the Bay Area

Back in May, Kirk joined pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin of the You'll Hear It podcast  to talk about what makes Tower of Power great. It was a very fun conversation, so he asked if he could run their episode in the Strong Songs feed. And here we are!

Listen to You'll Hear It anywhere you find podcasts, and find both Adam and Peter (and many others) teaching jazz lessons at OpenStudio.com.

ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES
May 19, 2025

We hand the mic to Kirk Hamilton from the Strong Songs podcast to help us break down the groovy 1973 self-titled release: Tower of Power. We unpack what makes this Oakland funk outfit a generational institution – from David Garibaldi’s precision drum fills and Rocco Prestia’s machine-gun bass lines to what may be the tightest horn section of all time. We dig into standout tracks like “What Is Hip?” and “Soul Vaccination,” spotlight Lenny Pickett’s wild ascent from TOP to SNL, and detail some funny production quirks (like why the drums are panned hard left). It’s a full-course tour through funk, soul, and brass brilliance – with a healthy side of stank face.

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