2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records

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“It was all music, all the time” is the way our guest this week, Wendy Powell, describes growing up in a family where her father was a musician traveling around the country playing in a variety of bands and styles. 

That love of all things music led to Wendy working at Tower Records in Stockton, CA. Her first meeting with her boss from the future, Stan Goman, consisted of him telling her to get her receiving department cleaned up.  From there, Wendy wanted to hit the bright lights of NYC. Instead she ended up in the suburbs of Long Island at Carte Place…but eventually ended up in the Village working in Tower Records 4th & Broadway. In the Village store pop artist Keith Haring was a regular shopper and Wendy recalls an interesting interaction with him. Almost every department at Tower consisted of a band that was recording and touring and Wendy tells us about some of them. She also recalls Spike Lee filming “Mo Better Blues” with Wesley Snipes in the Jazz Department. 

Opportunity called back in Sacramento CA when a position as an Assistant to Stan Goman opened up. Not holding her messy Stockton receiving department against her (it probably was fine, Stan just *had* to make a point) Wendy got the job and worked 13 years for Mr. Goman. Wendy Powell credits that time with Stan and the hands on experience of working in Record Division/Retail Ops as what has carried her throughout her work career. Wendy talks about the day Stan was let go and how she came home crying as a result. 

But there were a lot of joyful times in Wendy Powell’s story. Wendy talks about the ability to work at many Tower Records Grand Openings, especially at Lincoln Center with Elton John. Wendy got to attend Arista Records 15th Anniversary Party at Radio City and meet one of her idols and many icons in the industry. Wendy’s involvement at the Tower Annual Conferences is discussed. She also tells a touching story of Russ Solomon and Stan Goman coming to her and her roommates apartment one year for Thanksgiving dinner. 

So whether you were on the receiving end of one of Wendy’s phone calls on behalf of Stan or simply want to learn about another Tower legend’s career, sit back and check out our “2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records” podcast interview with Wendy Powell. 

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“I don’t think I ever recovered from Tower going away” Zev Feldman tells us towards the end of this episode.

If you worked at Tower Records on the East Coast, you most certainly worked with Zev Feldman. Starting as a salesman for Polygram Distribution, young Zev covered Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston. A visit from Zev Feldman was full of energy, enthusiasm and a pure music fan’s zeal. Later Zev had a stint with Rhino Records as the Northeastern Classical & Jazz Sales Manager

When Tower Records went away and the music business tried to figure itself out (has it succeeded?) Zev landed at Concord Music Group as a National Sales and Marketing Director for catalog recordings in Los Angeles. In 2009 Zev moved to Resonance Records where he was given free reign to search out previously unreleased recordings by some of the legends of Jazz. 

Zev’s releases have been critical and sales smashes, so much so that he was elevated to the position of Co President of Resonance Records. As each ensuing project dominated the jazz landscape, Zev was hired as a consulting producer of archival and historical recordings for Blue Note Records in 2018 working with Don Was. But it doesn’t stop there. Zev Feldman is also a consulting producer with Elemental Music, Sunset Blvd Records, Real Gone Music  and Reel To Real Recordings. Very recently Zev was named Best Producer in the 70th Annual DownBeat Critics Poll. 

Throughout our conversation Zev discusses growing up in Record Stores, working for Universal Distribution and doing all of his work in Record Stores, he explains the complicated process of putting these gorgeous jazz box sets together and how brick and mortar retail is always the jumping off point for releasing these labors of love. He also tells us about his regular visits to the Tower Records stores in Dublin Ireland and Japan  and the feelings invoked. Finally Zev tells us how Tower’s demise hurt him personally.

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You’ve gotten the call to go to Japan and run Tower Records Asian Operations…now what? In part two of our podcast interview with Keith Cahoon, he takes us through his journey navigating the record business in a place that originally didn't want Tower Records to succeed. 

In fact, initially, many of the major Japanese record companies would not sell to Tower Records. But that didn’t deter Keith Cahoon and his team (after taking over from Mark Viducich & Stan Barton)  from moving forward and building one of the largest retail brands Japan had ever seen. 

In this episode of our podcast, Keith Cahoon attempts to set the record on the original businessmen who reached out to Russ Solomon about opening in Japan, the prevailing wisdom of why the record labels discouraged in store appearances and performances from musicians, and who Tower reached out to for the first Tower Japan instore. 

Keith also explains what the “Large Retail Store Law” was about, Russ Solomon’s regular visits and scouting for locations, which Tower Big Wig would insist on eating at Kentucky Fried Chicken when they visited, the amazing team he worked with to build, expand and grow Tower’s Asian business,  and finally, the precise moment Keith sensed things were over for the future of Tower Records. Keith also offers his final thoughts on the legacy of Tower Records founder Russ Solomon.  

If the film "All Things Must Pass" made you more aware of Tower Records Asian operations, this episode will completely open your eyes to how a kid from Stockton, with a lot of help, was able to run a retail music  empire. 

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When you're a carpenter and it's getting into the rainy/cold season, what do you do for employment? If you're Keith Cahoon, you apply for a job at Tower Records, which you expect to last for a total of 3 months. 

Working at Tower, then leaving, then getting hired back and then leaving again was a regular occurrence for Keith. Staying with Tower Records provided Keith an opportunity of a lifetime, though he didn't know it right away. 

Keiths first seven years with Tower were in the US. Seemingly out of nowhere, Keith was asked to run Tower Record's Asian Operations when there were only 3 stores. When Keith left Tower Asia had grown to 62 stores with over $500 million a year in sales, eclipsing the US operation. 

In this first of two parts, Keith Cahoon talks about the role music had in his life as a child & teen, his early years as a carpenter, as a Tower employee, as a Blues buyer, as someone who helped Earl Martis put TRIP together and how he ultimately got the surprise phone call from Russ Solomon asking him to go to Japan. 

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Rick Dorsey is a 20 year Tower Records veteran. Starting his career in West Covina in 1986, Dorsey also worked at, and then in May of 1992 (the first day of the LA riots) ran,  the Westwood, Los Angeles store until 1995. Rick ultimately went back to West Covina where he worked until 2006 when Tower Records went out of business. 

But long before he worked for Tower, Rick had the bug of being a major music fan. His older sister brought home records by The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Ramones and she turned Rick onto music greater than what was being played on radio. Music became his main identity as a teenager as he snuck into local clubs to see some of the great LA bands of the time; Oingo Boingo, The Stray Cats, X, Agent Orange and others. 

In this episode Rick tells us about the managerial influence of Bob Feterl and Anita Bonds, why shopping visits from Michael Jackson were so stressful, conversations he had with George Harrison, what R&B song Al Cowlings and OJ Simpson were looking for the day before the low speed White Bronco chase, why Anita Baker stopped her show at the Greek Theatre to shout out Westwood’s Jazz Buyer and why Russ Solomon’s style guided his managerial outlook. 

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In 1984 Suzy Leydonfrost was attending the School of Visual Arts in NYC, when she decided that scene wasn’t for her. A friend who had a job at Tower Records in the Village told her she’d get her a job interview. What happened during that interview was pretty outlandish, but Suzy got the job and her journey with Tower Records began. 

In this episode of “2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records” Suzy Leydonfrost describes the energy of mid 80’s Manhattan as well as her ascent with Tower Records and Video. 

Taking the job seriously, Suzy became a Supervisor and then the #625 Store Manager in a short period of time. From 1985 to 1991 Suzy ran several Manhattan Tower Video stores. In 1991 Suzy became the East Coast Regional Manager for the Video Division where she helped open and oversaw a swath of stores on the East Coast. 

In 1995 Suzy left the Video Division and in a short period of time ran the original Lincoln Center, it’s move to Ansonia while Lincoln Center was being renovated and then the return to the remodeled Lincoln Center #866 which she ran until she left the company in 1997.

One of the highlights of the interview is Suzy relaying in some detail her time running the cursed Ansonia building and a horrific shooting that took place on Halloween 1995. Suzy also talks about her approach to running the remodeled Lincoln Center store and how she made sense of operating a store with 150 employees. Finally, she explains why running an in store with a Classical artist was mored difficult than an inshore with a punk rock band. 

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Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, a young man named Robert Stapleton applied for a job at Tower Records at the age of 15. He got the gig and he worked at the landmark Sunset Strip Store from 1970-1979. He was later store Manager of El Toro, CA and in the late 80’s ran the store on Newbury Street in Boston, as well as being the New England Regional Manager.  He ended his career in 2001 as National Director of Field Marketing. 

In his 31 years with Tower Records, Robert Stapleton saw and did a lot in his time with the company. Even before he worked for Tower, his father Buck Stapleton, the LA Promo Rep for Capitol Records was taking young Robert to pool parties with The Beatles and up to San Francisco to play a part in the signing of The Steve Miller Band to Capitol Records. 

Throughout this episode Stapleton tells story after story, tale after tale when he was, in his words, “in the right place at the right time”.  Robert is effusive with the lore (riding on a double decker bus with Keith Moon up Sunset Boulevard, holding a suitcase (contents unknown) for a scared Sly Stone when the police showed up for a car crash, starting up the Tower Records Walk of Fame in Boston) and pulls no punches regarding the demise of Tower Records. 

You definitely want to listen to this episode. 

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Terri Williams started working at Tower owned Central Valley Record Racks in 1975 at 15 years old. In 1978 when she talked about going to College, Russ Solomon told her “Stick with us, kid. I’ll make you a star!” Terri was hired by Chris Hopson in the newly formed Tower Advertising Department.  For the next 32 years she helped Chris Hopson and Tower Records establish a first rate Advertising Department. 

In 1982 Terri became the New York City Regional Marketing Manager, working to help establish Tower 4th & Broadway a full year before the store opened. Terri then went on to open up the whole Eastern corridor (Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC and many more New York City stores). Following Terri’s work on the East Coast she was promoted to National Marketing Manager and then Vice President of Marketing. 

On this episode of “2500 DelMonte Street, Terri reminisces about the early days of CVRR, explains for everyone exactly what CO-OP advertising is and how it worked at Tower, talks extensively about the work that went into getting the New York market up and running, living in Russ Solomon’s NYC condo, the Store Opening party for 4th & Broadway and Andy Warhol’s appearance there, the Talking Heads in-store for “Speaking In Tongues” featuring David Byrne and pop artist Robert Rauschenberg (and the Tower ad he designed for the event), another view of the Donald Trump story from the Trump Tower store, working with Rock The Vote, the reopening of Tower Lincoln Center with Elton John, Rudy Giuliani and Placido Domingo and insights working alongside Chris Hopson and Russ Solomon. Terri also talks about how Tower Records “Dancing Christmas Trees” was the last commercial project that the upstart Pixar Studios did before branching out into movies. 

We finish our conversation with Terri discussing her departing Tower Records in 2002 and why she didn’t make it into the film “All Things Must Pass”. 

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Tim Devin started working record retail in the Bay Area for Wherehouse Records. On new release dates, he would have to drive to the Tower Records Campbell store on his lunch hour to pick up New Releases as Wherehouse wouldn’t receive theirs until 4 or 5 days later. 

Finally realizing he needed to be working for Tower, he applied at Tower Records Mountain View where he was hired by Assistant Manager Barbara Williamson. Tim transferred to the Washington DC store shortly after Mountain View Store Manager Kevin Ferreter moved to DC and enticed him with the promise “You’ll get a store, Tim!”.

From there Tim’s Tower career was in and around New York City, running stores in Paramus NJ, the Village store at 4th & Broadway and the Lincoln Center store at 66th & Broadway. Tim finished his career as the Regional Director for Tower Records in the New York area. 

Tim discusses some of the best concerts he saw growing up, the weekly scrutiny by NYC based record labels on where records were positioned when he ran the Village Store, the time he told The Artist formerly Known as Prince “no!”, the night Russ Solomon showed up unannounced and drank beers in Tim’s office with the band Luscious Jackson and Daniel Lanois and the in-store nobody showed up for, leaving the “artist” almost in tears. 

Tim also talks about Tower Washington DC’s most famous alumni, Dave Grohl and how he was greeted at the Lincoln Center store when he arrived to man the cash register in support of the release of the Foo Fighters album “There Is Nothing Left to Lose”. 

Tim talks about his role as New York Retail Director and how Tower was chasing new opportunities & carving new sources of revenue, despite knowing that the end appeared imminent. He finishes by reminiscing about time spent with Tower Records founder Russ Solomon. 

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For someone who spent two years campaigning for a minimum wage job at Tower Records Rockville, Dalia Goldgor ended up with quite a career with the company. In this episode, we talk with Dalia about the role music played in her early life, surrounded by Ukrainian and Russian family members singing folks songs at dinner parties, her much older brother turning an 8 year old Dalia onto The Smiths, Queen and Blondie, our shared love of Prince, managing  her first store at Tower Records Alexandria and the night Dave Grohl forgot his wallet while writing a check on a huge purchase for all of the Foos, the joy of the Fairfax VA store, the struggles of running the Washington DC store and finishing her career in the DC Regional Office as both Regional Event Coordinator and Regional Assistant. The demise of the company at the store level is told in crushing blow by blow detail and the efforts Dalia and Regional Manager Despina Panagoulias took to remove all personnel files before the liquidators took over. Dalia's enthusiasm for Tower is still evident all these years later and she has the tattoo to show for it as well.