Emilio Castillo (born September 24, 1950) is an American

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

player and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

, best known as the founder of the band

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 th ...

Background

In 1965, Emilio Castillo took to music after he and his brother Jack were caught stealing by his father who told him he could stay in his room until he thought of something to 'Keep him off the street'. Castillo and his brother chose music. Emilio chose saxophone and Jack chose drums. He took lessons in saxophone,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, and also took lessons in music theory from one-time

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

bass player

Norman Bates Norman Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch as the main antagonist in his 1959 thriller novel '' Psycho''. He has an alter, Mother, who takes from the form of his abusive mother, and later victim, Norma, wh ...

. His first musical endeavor was in Extension Five which later became The Gotham City Crime Fighters due to the Batman craze at the time. He played both organ and sax. The group also consisted of his brother Jack on drums, Jody Lopez on guitar Frank “Rocco’ Houghton on bass (later going by the name of

Francis Rocco Prestia Francis Rocco Prestia Jr. (March 7, 1951 – September 29, 2020) was an American bassist, best known for his work with the funk band Tower of Power. Biography Born in Sonora, California, Prestia started playing electric guitar as an adolescen ...

), and Dave Genthner on vocals. In March, 1966 they released the song "Who Stole The Batmobile" After seeing

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

soul band The Spyders, Castillo switched to saxophone and formed 'The Motowns' playing

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

covers. After meeting baritone sax player

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 t ...

Castillo switched, on Kupka's suggestion, to performing original material and the band changed its name to 'Tower of Power'. The band recorded their first album, ''East Bay Grease'', in 1970. Castillo has been with the band ever since, as leader and 2nd tenor saxophonist. He and Kupka are also responsible for writing many of the band's best-known songs.

Work with other artists

He contributed to the track "Shoo-Fly" which was on José Feliciano's ''For My Love...Mother Music'', released in 1974. Castillo and Stephen Kupka worked with Frankie B., producing both sides of the 1982 single "I'm A Midnight Mover" which was written by

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...

and

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bil ...

". He provided background vocals on "Who Do You Love" which was on Carlos Santana's 1983 album ''

Havana Moon ''Havana Moon'' is a 1983 album by Carlos Santana released as a solo project. It features covers of Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry songs and performances by Booker T & the MGs, Willie Nelson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and also Carlos' father ...

''. Along with Stephen Kupka, Castillo co-composed the music for the song "Que Nivel De Mujer" which appears on the '' Aries'' album by

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...

, released in 1993. He also played tenor saxophone on the track.Discogs
Luis Miguel – Aries
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References

External links

AllMusic: Emilio CastilloDiscogs: Emilio Castillo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Emilio Living people American funk saxophonists American male saxophonists Tower of Power members 1950 births American musicians of Mexican descent 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians