BASS PLAYER ROCCO PRESTIA (TOWER OF POWER) DIED

​Longtime Tower of Power bassist Francis Rocco Prestia Jr., better known by his stage name, Rocco Prestia, has died at the age of 69, the legendary funk outfit confirmed in a social media post on Wednesday morning. While the cause of death was not specifically stated, Prestia had battled serious health issues since 2001 and underwent liver transplant surgery in 2014.
Prestia initially auditioned for the band that would eventually become known as Tower of Power in the group’s early days as a guitarist, but was persuaded to switch to the bass. The decision to switch instruments proved to be prescient, as Prestia went on to become a renowned bass player and a pioneer of the “fingerstyle funk” approach, in which he would lightly mute the strings with his left hand to add a percussive feel to his playing while maintaining clear and accurate pitch. That characteristic sound helped put him at the forefront of an innovative period for electric bass players in the early 1970s.