Rise and Fall of Tower Records
- October 31st, 2011
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The story of Tower Records seems to be a mere flash in the pan compared to other large music stores. It started in 1925 with the birth of Russell Solomon. Although he was a high school dropout, he had a head for business and music. He began his career selling used juke box records out of his dad’s store in Sacramento, California. This was put on hold until he got back from the war. He moved his small business endeavor across the street from his father and opened his pilot store with $5,000 he borrowed from his dad. This was the beginning of Tower Records. Russell Solomon opened his second store in San Francisco and it earned an immediate profit. This led to his third store opening in Los Angeles in 1970. At this point, he added books and videos to his products. In May 1998, he liquidated $110 million and borrowed $275 million to invest in more international stores. That very next year, Tower Records reported its first loss. This was never recovered from and Russell Solomon was forced to liquidate and close his stores in 2006. He went back to Sacramento and tried again. R5 Records never really got off the ground and was sold to Dimple Records. During his retirement, he pursued his second passion, photography. When his picture of Gerald Walburg was seen by Michael Stevens and Suzanne Adan, they recommended a showing of his portraits and thus, began his career as an artist.