Russ Solomon's cathedral of the record store, born in 1960s Sacramento and killed by debt and the download in the same decade.
Born
1960 CE
Died
2006 CE
Lived
46 years
Dead for
20 yrs
At its peak
~200 stores worldwide; over $1 billion annual sales at peak
Cause of death
Replaced
The Obituary
Tower Records began in 1960 when Russ Solomon opened a record shop in Sacramento, and it grew into a global chain of around 200 stores in 30 countries, defined by deep catalogs, late hours, and a near-religious devotion to music. Two forces broke it: a heavy debt load from rapid expansion, and the collapse of CD sales as Napster and the iTunes download remade the industry. After a 2004 bankruptcy and restructuring, the U.S. company filed again and was liquidated in 2006, its stores auctioned off. Overseas franchises in Japan and elsewhere outlived the American original.
Worth remembering
At its peak it ran around 200 stores worldwide and over $1 billion in annual sales.
Its Sunset Strip flagship was a music-industry landmark; the chain's fall was chronicled in the 2015 documentary 'All Things Must Pass'.
Gallery
Tower Records store in Himeji, JapanCorpse Reviver · CC BY-SA 3.0The now-closed Tower Records store in Manhattan, New York CityNicolas Marchildon · CC BY-SA 2.0
Sources
Tower Records, founded in 1960, was liquidated in 2006 after bankruptcy, amid declining CD sales and digital downloads Wikipedia
Founder Russ Solomon opened the first standalone Tower Records in Sacramento in 1960; the chain expanded worldwide before its U.S. collapse Wikipedia
Tower Records, founded by Russ Solomon in Sacramento in 1960, grew to more than 200 stores in 30 countries and over $1 billion in annual revenue by 1999 before debt and the shift to digital downloads forced its liquidation in 2006. NPR
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.
Buried nearby — by shared fate or a neighbouring lifespan.
