Francis Rocco Prestia Jr. March 7, 1951 – September 29, 2020

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. 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 was a master of fingerstyle funk, a technique in which he lightly muted the strings with his left hand to get a percussive sound, with the pitch remaining clear and accurate. That characteristic sound, in combination with a highly rhythmic approach to bass lines, makes Prestia’s sound unmistakable.