All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records Page #3

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.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes