All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records Page #2

as the baby boomers

kind of came of age

and there started being more

and more potential buyers

of these records.

the great thing

for the record industry

was that they cost a lot more.

so instead of spending 49 cents

or whatever it was

on a single back then,

people were spending

$3.99 or $4.99

or $5.99 on an album.

we could literally sell

a thousand copies of a record

over a weekend,

or something like that,

which was incredible.

the hits began to sell

in quantity,

the kids came in more and more,

they grew up with it,

they widened their taste

in music.

by the late '6os,

radio began to explore

something besides top 40.

you had these really

free form radio stations.

they were changing the way

that everybody looked at music,

and we just rode that wave.

.p let's go surfin' now .p

.p everybody's learnin' how i

i come on and safari with me i

i come on and safari

with me...i

but as the '603 went on,

you had one lp after another

that was a huge

artistic statement.

sergeant pepper and pet sounds

and on and on and on.

then suddenly,

you started to have

more and more cash coming

in to the record industry.

and that was exactly the time

that tower records

really started to peak

in that first wave

where russ had opened his store.

well, he would

talk about it all the time,

how important it was

to have a big inventory,

and how he wanted to open up

a very big store.

the largest store

in the world in a big city.

she was pretty. i wish

i could remember her name.

she was a manicurist

at a barbershop that

i used to go to,

and i just

accidentally ran into her

in a bar in sacramento,

sitting there and saying,

"why don't we take a trip?

why don't we go to san

francisco?" and she says, "yes."

so off to san francisco

we went.

i mean, this was early,

like five o'clock or so

in the afternoon.

an hour and a half later,

we're in san francisco

having dinner and drinks,

and dinner and drinks,

and dinner and drinks,

and a little jazz.

getting pretty drunk,

as a matter of fact.

later on ending up at a hotel.

and the next morning,

i was hung over, badly,

and had to do something

about trying to get well

to drive back to sacramento.

so we went down to a drive-in

at columbus and bay.

i could get a nice greasy

breakfast and a lot of coffee,

so went in there

and i'm sitting in there

with this awful hangover

and i looked across the street,

and there was this

empty building.

and a big sign on it

that said, " for lease."

the only thing that looked

alive on that property

was a telephone booth.

i went over to that

telephone booth

and i called the number

on the sign,

and i said,

"you want to rent this place?"

the guy said, "love to."

and i made a deal,

just like that.

it actually was

this huge building,

and the record company

people said,

"where are you going

to put the refrigerators and the

washing machines and stoves?"

and he said,

"it's all going to be records."

and they said,

"okay, you know what?

this is such an insane idea,

that you'll be

gone in three months.

we're going to back you."

so he basically opened

that whole san francisco store

on nothing more

than the record company's money.

luckily, my cousin ross

was a builder,

electrical, carpentry,

and so he volunteered,

"oh, i'll go down

and fix it up.

put some lighting in there.

put a new floor in,

and paint it. "

and that was it.

he went and did it.

there was no way we could,

you know, heh,

afford a neon sign

or anything like that.

so we opened a store,

and it just takes off like,

like a rocket.

i mean, the day the place

opened up,

people are swarming

in there, literally.

there's a picture around

of me standing there

with these people

all over the place.

it was unbelievable.

if you go

to san francisco,

be sure to where

flowers in your hair.

i mean, you know

you walked through

the streets of san francisco

and there were

people smoking pot

and having little

daisies in their hair

and hanging out,

and the fillmore was packed,

and, you know, it was a change.

people were against the war,

and against segregation,

and there was a lot of

political feeling in the world,

and a lot of it was

centered in the change

that was happening

in san francisco

and that's the cauldron

in which tower records was born.

so consequently,

there were people pouring

into san francisco

from all over

northern california,

and for that matter,

all over the world,

to experience

what could be called

the hippie kind of movement,

if you will,

but mostly the music movement

that was happening down there.

all the san francisco bands

and the new music,

and so many of the people

who went in to be entertained

by the music in san francisco,

wanted to know

where that music came from.

they want to know

the roots of that music.

i like a sound you hear

that lingers in your ear i

i but you can't forget

from sundown to sunset i

i now now i

i it's all in the air

you hear it everywhere i

i and no matter what you do

it's going to grab

a hold on you i

i california soul i

what was particularly

unique about that store

was how much music it had.

customers were so excited,

you could almost see

their eyes light up

well, i think the inventory

made a big difference,

because they wanted

everything to begin with.

i whistles a mellow beat i

i so the people

started to sing i

the thing that was amazing to me

was just the sheer...

like, almost seemed like

an unlimited types of music.

things like spoken word

and comedy and sound effects

and international and jazz,

trend jazz, big band,

i mean, it was unbelievable.

tower wasn't just a group

of departments,

it was a group of little stores

within one roof,

i mean, there was a jazz store,

there was a classical store,

and you got to know

those people,

they got to know your tastes,

you got to know theirs,

that's how you learned

about music,

and that's also what

brought you back into the store.

all of a sudden,

it would become fashionable

for those young people

to find something

that they want

to hold in their hand,

that they want to collect,

that it's hip to collect,

that has music on it.

well, first,

there was the thrill

of being surrounded by music.

80 percent of it

is a complete mystery to you.

so when we came west,

we were shocked

at the size of tower records,

and simply,

how many records there were.

everybody in a record store

is a little bit of your friend

for twenty minutes or so,

you know?

so there was that family aspect

of a real record store.

it started out as a small family

here in sacramento

with just a few of us

and as time went on,

the company got bigger

and bigger and bigger,

it just became a bigger

and bigger family.

it was

my second year in college

and i didn't like college.

i was moving out of the house

and i decided

i needed to get a job.

i wanted to go some place

and make some money.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes