Interview: Colin Hanks Documents The Rise And Fall Of Tower Records
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Tower Records was a sanctuary. It was a safe haven to waste away a day thumbing through albums. It was a source of discovery, and for many the biggest portal to music in a pre-digital era.
For Colin Hanks it was all of that and more.
The record retail giant started with humble beginnings in Sacramento, California where the actor was born and raised. It's that hometown connection that led him down the rabbit hole of Russ Solomon and his empire that crumbled in 2006, and ultimately to directing the new documentary "All Things Must Pass: The Rise And Fall Of Tower Records."
"Tower for me was kind of like my candy shop," says Hanks. "I didn't have much of a sweet tooth so I'd spend a lot of my money buying records."
"Tower was always a point of civic pride for anyone from Sacramento because it was based there. That's where the company was founded. A lot people think it was Los Angeles, lot of people think it's New York, San Francisco, but it actually started in Sacramento." he explains. "When the stores were closing I was having a conversation with an old family friend and we were sort of bemoaning the fact that it was coming to an end. She said 'gosh I can't believe it all started in that little drug store' and I sort of had a little light bulb moment, I said what are you talking about?"
After learning about Tower Records founder Russ Solomon's entry into the record business by selling used '78s' out of his father's drug store, Hanks dug deeper into the origins of Tower spending a year and a half exploring Solomon and the store. "The more I found out the more fascinating he became, and then once I met him the more fascinated I became with Tower" says Hanks. "It really was truly not only a unique place to shop but it was an even more unique place to work - especially given the historical times that they were in."
Tower Records was a chain operation, but each store had its own unique feel. It was the corner record stop with enough inventory to fill a city block. United under their red and yellow logo, each Tower Records was still given the power to be individual. "Each store really represented the city that it was in" describes Hanks. "So the Philadelphia store was gonna be a little bit different than the New York store, the New York store is gonna be a little bit different from Chicago, Chicago is gonna be different from New Orleans, so on and so forth. Really each store represented its city in a really kind of fabulous way."
Perhaps that is why it resonated so much with music fans - in the same way the beer tastes better at your neighborhood bar - only they had almost every beer in stock and would hip you to things you hadn't even thought of drinking yet. For kids that lived in the pages of Rolling Stone and faded away with a walkman in the backseat of the family car, to work at Tower Records was the height of cool. They were the overseers of your musical memories whether you were picking from the Billboard Top albums endcap or searching for a rare Rolling Stones LP. Unfortunately though, convenience and big box stores would do them in.
The rise of the download helped spell the end for Tower Records, as consumers drifted away from the record store and these gatekeepers of cool. "That personal connection to music in which you remember where you were when you bought a record that meant a great deal to you. That doesn't happen now" says Hanks. "I don't remember where I am when I download an album now. I have no recollection of it"
Tower Records is gone but not forgotten and its history is chronicled in this new film by Colin Hanks, featuring interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, and more. You should go see it in the theater, otherwise you'll have to download it later – that just seems disgraceful given the circumstances.
"All Things Must Pass: The Rise And Fall Of Tower Records" opens in Philadelphia on November 27th. To hear more from Colin Hanks check out the full interview below.
Interview: Colin Hanks Documents The Rise And Fall Of Tower Records
