But thanks to the power of rock 'n' roll - with a little pop, comedy and R&B thrown in on the side - the Tower remains a beacon of light, luring concertgoers from far and wide to commune with their favorite entertainers.
What a history this place has wrought!
Stadium and arena superstar Bruce Springsteen once vowed he would never play any place larger than the Tower with his rock-'em-sock-'em E-Street Band. (In 1974 at the Tower, the band earned its then-biggest paycheck - $5,000.)
The British progressive-rock band Genesis - this week playing three big shows at the Wachovia Center (with tickets priced from $77 to $227) - made its Philadelphia-area debut at the Tower on Nov. 16, 1973. It was a midnight show, for which spectators paid all of $4. The band got $750.
The Tower was the area concert hall where Stevie Wonder made his landmark transition to adult-oriented, progressive soul music, introducing material from the incredible "Talking Book" disc. Legend has it that Georgie Woods, who'd promoted Wonder's prior shows at the Uptown Theater, didn't think his new music was any good, and so passed on doing the show at the North Broad Street hall!
Some notable live albums, a huge number of radio broadcasts and a sprinkling of videos have been made at the Upper Darby showcase - including David Bowie's "David Live," Hall & Oates' "Live at the Tower Theater," Average White Band's "Person to Person," Paul Simon's "Live at the Tower Theater" and parts of Steve Miller's huge hit "The Joker."
Also passing through its stage doors have been: Bob Marley & the Wailers, the Rolling Stones, Smokey Robinson, Al Green, Morrissey, Radiohead, a riot-inspiring Jane's Addiction, James
Taylor, Sheryl Crow, the Black
Crowes; and comedians George Carlin, Jon Stewart and Lewis Black.
