The Rise And Fall Of Tower Records
For many years, Tower Records was a prime gathering spot for classical and Broadway music fans. I used to slip into Tower’s Lincoln Center outpost with my friend Dee Sushi and we would scream with laughter at the idiocy of some of the clerks. (“Do you have Streisand’s Broadway CD?” “That would be in the new-artist section.”) But that era ended in 2006, after the chain filed for bankruptcy and shops were forced to shutter, from New York to London to Buenos Aires. A new documentary film called “All Things Must Pass” charts the rise and fall of Tower, from its origins in a Sacramento drugstore in 1960, to its glory days of cocaine-fueled rock-and-roll excess (topping $1 billion in sales), to its stunning downfall. It features interviews and reminiscences with the store’s employees – some of whom rose from scruffy clerks to become top brass – as well as with customers like Elton John and Bruce Springsteen. The director is actor Colin Hanks, who is also known for his turns in films such as “That Thing You Do” and “Orange County” and in TV shows like FX’s “Fargo,” for which he received a Primetime Emmy nomination (he’s also the son of Tom Hanks). Hanks spoke with WQXR about Tower and its legacy. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
