''We Came to Play!'' is an album by

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...

released in 1978. It marked the debut of singer Michael Jeffries, who would stay with T.O.P. through the mid-1980s.

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Ot ...

(of Booker T. & the M.G.'s fame) produced this album. This album features

Victor Conte Victor Conte Jr. (born 1950 in Fresno, California) is a former bassist with Tower of Power and the founder and president of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), a sports nutrition center in California. He served time in prison in 2005 after pl ...

, the future founder of the controversial

BALCO The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) (1984–2003) was an American company led by founder and owner Victor Conte. In 2003, journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada investigated the company's role in a drug sports scandal later re ...

, on bass, and who is also the cousin of band guitarist

Bruce Conte Bruce Anthony Conte (March 3, 1950 – August 8, 2021) was an American R&B and jazz fusion guitarist, known primarily for his work with the band Tower of Power, of which he was a member from 1972 to 1979. He performed on seven albums, and rejo ...

. Drummer Ron Beck takes a lead vocal spot on "Love Bug", which features founding T.O.P. drummer David Garibaldi on second drums. Garibaldi would return to the band on the next album, but neither Conte, Bruce or Victor, would after this album.

Track listing

# "We Came To Play" (Emilio Castillo, Stephen "Doc" Kupka) - 3:38 # "Lovin' You Is Gonna See Me Thru" (Clifford Coulter) - 6:04 # "Let Me Touch You" (Victor Conte, Chester Thompson, S. Beck, Ron E. Beck, Edward McGee) - 4:33 # "Yin-Yang Thang" (Emilio Castillo, Stephen "Doc" Kupka) - 4:23 # "Share My Life" (Bruce Conte,

Hubert Tubbs Hubert Tubbs is an American vocalist, singer, and songwriter of soul, funk, and gospel and has cooperated with a number of music acts. His debut introduction was as a lead vocalist for the band Tower of Power (also known as TOP), an American R& ...

, Coleman Head) - 3:56 # "Bittersweet Soul Music" (Rob Moitoza) - 3:28 # "Am I a Fool" (

, Emilio Castillo, Stephen "Doc" Kupka) - 3:58 # "Love Bug" (Ron E. Beck, Steve Cropper, Victor Conte, Chester Thompson) - 4:01 # "Somewhere Down The Road" (Bruce Conte, Coleman Head) - 4:39

Personnel

Tower of Power * Michael Jeffries – lead vocals (1-7, 9) * Chester Thompson – acoustic piano, Yamaha electric grand piano,

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

ARP String Ensemble The Solina String Ensemble, also marketed as the ARP String Ensemble, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard, produced by Eminent BV (known for their ''Solina'' brand). It was distributed in the United States by ...

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

Polymoog The Polymoog is a hybrid polyphony (instrument), polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on Frequency divider, divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs an ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, backing vocals *

– guitars, backing vocals *

– bass * Ronnie Beck – drums, backing vocals, lead vocals (8) *

Lenny Pickett Lenny Pickett (born April 10, 1954) is an American saxophonist and musical director of the ''Saturday Night Live'' band. From 1973 to 1981 he was a member of Tower of Power. He is known for his skill in the altissimo register (executed by using ...

– alto saxophone, first tenor saxophone,

Lyricon The Lyricon is an electronic wind instrument, the first wind controller to be constructed. Invented by Bill Bernardi (and co-engineered by Roger Noble and with the late Lyricon performer Chuck GreenbergIngham (1998) p.184), filed for patent on ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

contrabass clarinet The contrabass clarinet (also pedal clarinet, after the pedals of pipe organs) and contra-alto clarinet are the two largest members of the clarinet family that are in common usage. Modern contrabass clarinets are transposing instruments pitched ...

alto flute The alto flute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, the second-highest member below the standard C flute after the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third most common member of its family after the standard C flute and the ...

bass flute The bass flute is a member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Despite its name, its playing range makes it the tenor member of the flute family. Because of the length of its tube (approximate ...

, E-mu synthesizer, synth solo (9) *

Stephen "Doc" Kupka Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the ...

– baritone saxophone *

Emilio Castillo Emilio Castillo (born September 24, 1950) is an American saxophone player and composer, best known as the founder of the band Tower of Power. Background In 1965, Emilio Castillo took to music after he and his brother Jack were caught stealing by ...

– second tenor saxophone, backing vocals *

Mic Gillette Mic Gillette (May 7, 1951 – January 17, 2016) was an American brass player, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay. He is best known for being a member of the bands; Tower of Power, Cold Blood, and The Sons of Champlin. He pl ...

– trombone,

bass trombone The bass trombone (german: Bassposaune, it, trombone basso) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to ...

, trumpet, flugelhorn, backing vocals * Greg Adams – trumpet, flugelhorn Additional musicians *

– additional guitars (2, 3, 6, 8, 9) * David Garibaldi – additional drums (8) * Gerald Vinci – concertmaster * Clifford Coulter – backing vocals (2) * Carol Rogers – backing vocals (5) * Brooks Hunnicutt – backing vocals (6) * Lisa Roberts – backing vocals (6) * Karen Wright – backing vocals (6) * Jim McCandless – bass backing vocals (8)

Production

* Steve Cropper – producer * Alan Chinowsky – engineer, mixing * Frank "Cheech" D'Amico – assistant engineer * Steve Fontano – assistant engineer * Alex Kashevaroff – assistant engineer * Rick Sanchez – assistant engineer * Vic Anesini – remastering at

Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. I ...

(New York City, New York) * Tower of Power – art direction * Bruce Steinberg – design, photography {{Authority control 1978 albums Tower of Power albums Albums produced by Steve Cropper Columbia Records albums