Tower of Power Founding Bassist in Hospice

-



Tower of Power Official Facebook posted on their page today that bassist, Rocco Prestia is very ill. Stating; "Our brother and original Tower bassist, Rocco Prestia, needs our love, prayer and good vibrations more than ever before, as he is now resting and comfortable in hospice."

It was not said what he is ill with but it's for those who have been longtime fans of ToP, Rocco has had several major health issues, including a liver transplant, which was successful.

Rocco has recorded 22 albums with ToP. Those albums are the soundtrack of my life. Their songs are totally intertwined with my childhood. Like; "What Is Hip?," "You're Still A Young Man," "You Got to Funkifize," "Clever Girl," and soooo many others!!!  

His unique "Fingerstyle Funk" of playing on the bass is so iconic and different than how a bass was played back then. To watch him in person was magical. Truly a talent. But as always, Rocco like to stick to the back, hardly seen but you knew he was there. 


As I get older, I hate to think of those who I've admired in music having to leave this world. I know most of my friends and fans feel as I do in that we will hold on to our memories and spin those Tower of Power tunes that take us back to a simpler time.


As said earlier, I got to see this man play live with ToP. I will always treasure those shows. Meeting him was a huge plus after their shows and also at NAMM. And what a kind and nice person he was every time. Very quiet and reserved. Praying the Lord's comfort for him and his loved ones. Losing him will be too soon.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Son of Famed Drummer of Toto Passes Away

-
Image
Miles Porcaro, the son of the late famed drummer; Jeff Porcaro of the band Toto, has passed away at the age of 31. Sharing these photos, Miles' mother, Susan Porcaro Goings took to Facebook this evening to post a beautiful public tribute to her son saying, "My heart is broken. I am devastated. My Miles is gone. He's now in heaven with his Daddy." No explanation was posted as to the cause of his death. Soon after the post, family and friends began to pour in, sharing their grief and condolences to Susan and her family. Unfortunately, the Porcaro family has had their share of grief with the loss of Miles' father, Jeff Porcaro, who passed away at the age of 38 from a heart attack in 1992. Jeff was not only a respected studio musician within the recording industry, but was a founding member of the 1980's rock band Toto, which continues to write, record and tour. Another sad loss within the Porcaro family was Jeff's younger brother and Mile...
Read more

LO'S PICK OF THE DAY - "São Paulo" by CHIC

-
Image
Talking about one of my favorite tracks by this wonderful group.  "São Paulo" is the B side of Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) from Chic's debut album. I loved this song so much that as a teen I wore down the vinyl - which by the way, I still have this 45!  1977 and everybody was into disco! And the top Disco hit was Chic's "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" This song was so different than what I had heard on my AM radio station, that I had to have the 45!! After playing "Dance, Dance, Dance" over and over, I wanted more of Chic. I hadn't bought the LP yet but wanted to find out what was on the other side, hoping for something similar.  So one night I decided to flip that 45 over and was just floored by what I was hearing! This song definitely turned my 16-year-old world upside down! It was so fine  - it was so funky, I couldn't believe how great this song was! From the moment that I heard those ocean waves and th...
Read more

George Harrison - Looking back on 33 1/3 with his friend; Alvin Taylor

-
Image
           Famed Drummer Shares Memories of Working with George Harrison It's been nearly 2 decades since the younger Beatles passed away. For myself, I’ve been a fan of The Beatles since I was 3 years old and that was a long time ago! I’ve also been a fan of them as individual artists. When John Lennon was tragically killed in 1980, I was devastated. Then to find out that George Harrison would later pass away from Cancer on this day; in 2001, cut me deep. Of course I never had the privilege of meeting any of these wonderful men, but I know someone who has. My friend; famed drummer, Alvin Taylor.  Inside cover of 33 1/3 Alvin's skills as a drummer can be heard on one of my personal favorite LP’s. George Harrison's 1976 release of   33 1/ॐ   which included, Billy Preston, David Foster, Emil Richards, Gary Wright, Richard Tee, Tom Scott and Willie Weeks.  The feedback on  33 1/ॐ was incredible with reviews better than George's "All Th...
Read more