Tower Records grew from Russ Solomon’s Sacramento record business into an international chain of specialist music stores. Founded in 1960, its shops offered large physical selections of albums and later other recorded media under one bright red-and-yellow identity. The US retail operation entered bankruptcy and liquidation in 2006.
Why It Mattered
Before streaming could surface almost any song instantly, discovering music often meant moving through racks, reading sleeves and choosing what to take home. Tower Records made that act of browsing the central purpose of the shop and gave music fans a place built entirely around recorded sound.
Foundation
- Russ Solomon founded Tower Records in 1960.
- The company history traces the name to the Tower Theatre-area family business in Sacramento.
Retail format
- Tower developed as a specialist record retailer with stores beyond its original California base.
- Its official history records international expansion.
2006 record
- The Library of Congress timeline records Tower Records filing for bankruptcy and liquidation in 2006.
- The current company history documents a later online return of the brand.
Associated With
Russ Solomon - associated person
Defining Feature
Physical shops specialising in recorded music
Status
Reintroduced - The US retail business entered bankruptcy and liquidation in 2006; the brand later returned online
- All one image sources are not yet verified — editorial review required.
Rights Notice
Images are included for historical and archival reference.
Rights holders may contact Forgotten Archive through the publishing account to request a credit correction or removal.
Photograph reproduced in Jerome Cleary's Patch article; photographer not identified
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Tower Records' browsing aisles placed discovery at the centre of buying music, allowing customers to encounter releases beyond the album they came in to find.
