Tower of Power, So Very Hard To Go | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

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In the 54^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “So Very Hard To Go” by Tower of Power.

“Iknew the time would come / I’d have to pay for my mistake / I can’t blame you for what you’re doin’ to me girl / Even though my heart aches…” The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez ! Throwback Vibez is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past. The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils ! All genres of music are welcome. In the 54^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “So Very Hard To Go”, performed by Tower of Power.

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“Ain’t nothin’ I can say / Nothin’ I can do / I feel so bad, yeah / I feel so blue.” When Lenny Williams was the lead singer for Tower of Power (1973 – 1974), it was a special time – an understatement! Williams has an incredible voice – heaven-sent by all means. His tenor delivers the heat on “So Very Hard To Go”, a highlight from the collective’s self-titled, 1973 album. Not only is “So Very Hard to Go” the song to beat on Tower of Power, it is the most successful song of the R&B collective’s career. “So Very Hard To Go” peaked at no. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it a pop hit. Impressive.

classic “‘Cause I could never make you unhappy / No, I couldn’t do that, girl,” Williams asserts in the chorus, continuing, “Only wish I didn’t love you so / Makes it so, so very hard to go.” Indeed, indeed! Besides illustrating how difficult love is, particularly “stepping aside” from it, the music is marvelous. Williams says it best: “It ain’t easy to walk away when a man loves somebody.” FACTS! Besides that, soul oozes from the band, including a tight rhythm section and bright, biting horns. All of these brilliant musical attributes make “So Very Hard To Go”, which was written by Stephen Kupka and Emilio Castillo, utterly stupendous, fifty years after its release.