Friday, April 21, 2023

Tower Records

As a youth I spent significant amounts of time at Tower Records and Tower Books on Watt Avenue.  At the time I didn't realize it was a hometown business that had gone worldwide (well, at least to New York and Tokyo):

From these humble roots grew the international empire of Tower Records. In 1961, the younger Solomon opened the first official Tower Records, complete with its famous red-on-yellow signage, on Sacramento’s Watt Avenue. In 1968 and 1970, Tower opened larger locations in San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively. The first of a string of immensely profitable stores in Japan followed in 1979, and then, in 1983, the company opened a four-story temple to music in one of the most run-down sections of New York City. As with the locations in San Francisco, L.A., and throughout Japan, the New York City Tower was an enormous success.

I also didn't know that an employee's experience working at Tower was the backdrop for (the awesome 90s movie) Empire Records.

1 comment:

Ellen K said...

I love Empire Records. Such a fun film. My favorite line
"I don't have to explain my art to you."