Rocco Prestia

• Name — Rocco Prestia • Background — non_vocal_instrumentalist • Birth Name — Francis Rocco Prestia Jr. • Born — 7 March 1951 • Birthplace — Sonora, California, U.S. • Died — 29 September 2020 • Place of death — Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. • Instrument — Electric bass • Genre — Smooth jazz, jazz-funk, funk, rhythm and blues • Occupation — Musician • Years Active — 1970–2020 • Past Member Of — Tower of Power Francis Rocco Prestia Jr. (March 7, 1951 – September 29, 2020) was an American bassist, best known for his contributions with the funk band Tower of Power.

Born in Sonora, California, Prestia started playing electric guitar as an adolescent. When he auditioned for Emilio Castillo's band, Tower of Power, Castillo persuaded him to switch to electric bass. Prestia contributed to the band for the next three decades, before he became seriously ill in 2001. His fans and friends created a foundation in order to help pay the artist's medical costs. On December 5, 2014, Prestia underwent successful liver transplant surgery. Rocco is survived by the loves of his life, Julian Francis Rocco Prestia and Alicia-Lyn JoAnn Prestia.

Prestia's primary instruments were his Fender Precision basses (a purple transparent American Deluxe and a natural ash-bodied short-lived signature model with a reverse split pickup and a 2-band EQ). He later maintained an association with the Conklin company that provided him a custom built four-string instrument, one of the few in the company's catalog. In January 2013, ESP Guitars announced that Prestia had joined their roster of endorsing artists. The company made reference to the introduction of their LTD RB series on May 22, 2014.

Prestia died on September 29, 2020, at age 69, in a Las Vegas hospice.

• Everybody on the Bus! (1999)

• East Bay Grease (1970) • Bump City (1972) • Tower of Power (1973) • Back to Oakland (1974) • Urban Renewal (1975) • In The Slot (1975) • Live and in Living Color (1976) • Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now (1976) • Power (1987) • Monster on a Leash (1991) • T.O.P. (1993) • Souled Out (1995) • Rhythm & Business (1997) • Direct Plus (1997) • Soul Vaccination Live (1999) • Dinosaur Tracks (2000) • Oakland Zone (2003) • The Great American Soul Book (2009) • Soul Side of Town (2018) • Step Up (2020)

• Carmen Grillo, Both Sides Of The Coin (1996) • Bruce Conte, Right From My Heart (1997) (bass on "Thump") • Yoichi Murata, Hook Up (1999) (bass on "Positive Sign", "When You Leave (And I...)", "Carry On") • Gov't Mule, The Deep End, Volume 2 (2002) (bass on "What Is Hip?")

• Fingerstyle Funk (1993) • Francis Rocco Prestia: Live at Bass Day (1998)