August 29 Vallejo/Vacaville Arts and Entertainment Source: At 81, Lenny Williams, of Tower of Power fame, still nurtures his voice

At age 81, Suisun Valley resident Lenny Williams, the legendary former lead singer for Tower of Power, still performs some 30 shows a year. One of them is the Mare Island Dock of Bay Festival Sept. 7 in Vallejo.

It makes no difference now that he has long qualified for the senior discount of all kinds. Williams keeps going, singing a repertoire that suits his voice, which he still nurtures. By his account, there is no need to retire full time.

Not just yet.

“I can’t do much else,” he said during a telephone interview on Sunday. “For the last three or four years, I said I was going to slow down, but I don’t know how to say no. I was just in Philadelphia last weekend.”

A talented, emotive singer with a sweet tenor that easily hits the high notes, Williams joined Tower of Power, the integrated Oakland-based R&B band that emerged from the Bay Area’s club scene, in the early 1970s.

Known for their wall-of-sound horn section, their albums include “East Bay Grease,” released on the San Francisco Records label in 1971, followed by “Bump City” on the Warner Bros. label in 1972, which included the single “You’re Still a Young Man,” becoming one of the group’s signature songs.

The “Tower of Power” LP was released in 1973, when Williams, a Little Rock, Ark., native, joined the band. He continued singing on the “Back to Oakland” and “Urban Renewal” LPs, as the band reached a peak, releasing singles such as “So Very Hard to Go,” “What Is Hip?” and “Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream). Other hits include “Bump City” and “Down to the Nightclub.”

“I sing all the old songs” during concerts, he said, adding that his voice has not darkened appreciably in his six-decade career and still cultivates a slow groove, a burning urn of rhythm, backed by a drum beat, his high-pitched vocals floating above it all.

But he also sings, said Williams, R&B tunes by Johnny Taylor, Bobby Rush, Bobby “Blue” Bland, B.B. King, Curtis Mayfield and James Moore, aka Slim Harpo, singing a rendition of the Louisiana soul legend’s “Rock Me Baby.”

Given to wearing suits or tuxedos in concert, Williams, whose career has taken him on tours to Europe, Africa and Japan, said his portion of the festival will last “at least a good hour.”

And his time onstage may not only be all about the old hits but also include more recent tunes, among them “She Took My Drawers,” with the line “She took my drawers and gonna put it on Instagam”; “Sorry I Didn’t Know It was Your Mama”; “Because I Love You”; “This Is For the One That Got Away”; “Still”; “Southern Girl”; and “Suga Daddy.”

A father of six, a grandfather and a great-grandfather, Williams recalled making his first record, “Lisa’s Gone,” on the Fantasy and Galaxy labels.

While at the Fantasy Records studio, then headquartered in San Francisco, Williams met John Fogerty, whose band then was called The Golliwogs and worked in the company’s stock room before forming Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Williams worked at the Ford Motor Company plant in Fremont, placing passenger trim on Mustangs, from 1966 to 1972, before joining Tower of Power, replacing lead singer Rick Stevens.

But while visiting the Fantasy studio from time to time, later relocated to Berkeley, he watched several performers lay down tracks, including The Whispers, Creedence, and Clover (which included a singer and harmonica player named Huey Lewis).

“I was just hanging out with everyone and being in the midst,” Williams remembered.

To keep his voice limber, he visits an ear, nose and throat doctor “a couple times a year,” as a check-up on the state of his vocal chords, he said, then added, “The doctor looked at them and said, ‘They’re gorgeous.’”

Williams exercises his voice every day and practices breathing exercises. He doesn’t smoke, drink “or talk over loud noise,” he said.

Williams’ backing unit includes Luca Fredericksen, music director and keyboards; Fred White, bass; a guitarist and drummer from Monterey County; and a horn section.

“It’s going to be a great show,” he said.

Note: General admission attendees can bring portable seating or enjoy an upgraded experience in the VIP area with specialty drinks, culinary treats, access to inside restrooms, and waterfront seating near the stage. The premium VIPs have a chance to meet the headlining act, The Average White Band, backstage and win a Gold Vinyl set of their greatest hits, Kevin Frazier, festival co-promoter with Jeff Trager, said in a press statement.

Additionally, there will be tables and chairs in the food court area by the Unity Stage and along the waterfront for all to share. The Main Stage will have a large video wall, state-of-the-art lighting, he added in the news release.

The festival, which includes The Commodores and Heat Wave as co-headliners, will sell out, according to Frazier, who recommended buying tickets early for a show of Old School Funk and memorable R&B, musical styles that can put listeners, young and old, in a pleasant, laid-back groove.

Staged by Frazier Trager Presents, the 2024 Dock of Bay Festival promises plenty of funk, a style of aggressive urban dance music driven by hard, syncopated bass lines and drumbeats, accented by a variety of instruments, especially horns. There also will be an array of food choices paired with regional wines, microbrews, and specialty cocktails. Add waterfront views of the Napa River along the entire festival grounds, too, said Frazier.

The  festival is sponsored by Mare Island Company, Wente Vineyards, Suite Treatments, Larson Family Winery, Phillips 66, The Fireside, Touro University, Skyview Memorial, and Moreno Inc.

IF YOU GO

• What: Mare Island Dock of Bay Festival
• When: 1 to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 7 (Gates open at 12:30 p.m.)
• Where: Mare Island, 860 Nimitz Ave., Vallejo
• Tickets: $120 general admission; $187 VIP; $265 Premium VIP, and all include free parking
• Online: dockofbay.com