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PODCAST

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records

Get the detailed story of the World"s Greatest Record Store Chain, told by the people who worked and shopped in them.

music documentary

All Episodes

106:01

Ep. 102 Peter Ames Carlin (Author "Tonight In...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2025/08/05

Send us a text Growing up in Seattle, Washington, this week’s guest, Peter Ames Carlin, has a distinct memory of the hubub surrounding the release of The Beatles “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band” even though he was only 4 years old at the time. “I have very vivid memories of “Sgt Pepper” being the new record…and then “The White Album” and puzzling through that stuff when I was very young” Spending most of his life as a writer, for newspapers, People Magazine and co-authoring a few boo...

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88:34

Ep. 101 Remembering Charles R. Cross (Author, Editor,...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/08/16

Send us a Text Message.On Friday, August 9th, Charles R. Cross passed away from natural causes. For those who knew Charley in the Pacific Northwest music community, the Springsteen community and in real life, it was a shock. Charley was only 67 years old and was in the middle of working on his 10th book. Back in October 2023 Charley sat down with us and discussed Tower, Seattle, Music and a ton of other subjects. I first met Charley in 1984, the old fashioned way...by writing him a ...

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110:14

Ep. 100 Greg Wallis (Tacoma, Hawaii, Boston, Chicago)

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/08/13

Send us a Text Message.When Greg Wallis was hired at Tower Tacoma by Dave Coker, Greg had never heard of Tower Records. It was simply the big, new record store to move into his town. When Coker left to open and run the Seattle U District store, Rob Bruce came up from Anaheim CA to be General Manager. By this time, Greg was the buyer for all sections of music except for Classical Music. Soon after, Assistant Manger Bob Akin went to Sacramento to join the Advertising Department and Greg was pro...

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68:42

Ep. 99 Melissa Greene-Anderson (Gotham Dist.,...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/08/06

Send us a Text Message.Melissa Greene-Anderson grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Since high school she was a part of her family’s music business; Gotham Distribution, Collectables Records, and the direct-to-consumer website Oldies.com. Melissa’s father started in a record store in Times Square NYC. At a very young age, Jerry Greene bought the rights to The Capri’s “There’s A Moon Out Tonight” which was released in 1959 and didn’t chart. He re-released it in 1961 and it went to #3 on the...

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73:35

Ep.98 Freddi Szilagi (Village, New Orleans,...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/07/16

Send us a Text Message.“Son, never trust us lawyers because we’re going to fuck you every time.” In 1991, how did Freddi Szilagi find himself face to face, hand-delivering a $10,000 check to Edwin Edwards at the Hotel Monteleone? In short, because of Russ Solomon and Tower Records. For a more detailed explanation, you can hear our guest this week break it all down for you. Before he was enmeshed in the world of state politics, Freddi Szilagi grew up poor on the Upper East Side of Ne...

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4:26

4th of July Week Mini-Episode

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/07/02

Send us a Text Message.Just a quick check in with everybody on this hot & beautiful 4th of July week. Find out about some upcoming events and episodes, including an "Ask Me Anything" episode where you can ask any question about the Tower Records Podcast by sending an email to <towerpodcast@icloud.com>. We'd love to hear from youCheers!

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86:59

Ep. 97 Kat Gavin (Philadelphia: South Street, Avenue...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/06/25

Send us a Text Message.When Kat Gavin was born, her mother was only 18 years old. And as a result, Kat’s crib was right next to the stereo. So to say Kat grew up “with music” would be an understatement. After a stint working record retail in the malls of Northeast Philadelphia, Kat made her way into Center City Philadelphia and got a job at Tower Records South Street. It was there she met, worked, and bonded with so many of “her people”. It was there she met her former husband, Geoff Gav...

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87:52

Ep. 96 Paul Herzman (4th & Broadway, Lincoln Center,...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/06/18

Send us a Text Message.“A month before my 12th birthday, I turned on the TV on a Sunday night and there were these guys calling themselves The Beatles…And after that, everything was different for people of my age. After that, music was our art form.”Like many of that time and after, Paul asked his mother to buy him a guitar. He started with an acoustic. And then he got a cheap Japanese electric guitar. But it was a friend in his building playing records by Classical guitarists that really cau...

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59:11

Ep. 95 Richard Leibowitz (Nanuet, Carle Place, Paramus)

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/06/11

Send us a Text Message.Richard Leibowitz grew up in the Hudson Valley of New York to a father who listened to pre-1960s jazz and a mother who was more into folk music. Neither held much sway for young Richard, so he set out on his own and like a million other kids his age, KISS was the starting point for his music obsessions. Before working at Tower Records, Richard started working for Musicland while in college. Talking to a former bandmate who had signed on with Tower, Richard applied ...

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127:00

Ep. 94 Serge Bielanko (Musician, Writer, Customer)

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/06/04

Send us a Text Message.Serge Bielanko was one of the leading forces behind the Philadelphia-based rock & roll band Marah. Part Replacements, part Van Morrison, part Phil Spector, part Rod Stewart & The Faces, part Philly & Motown soul, for years they were poised for success as the “next big rock & roll band”. Marah was a critic’s darling and counted some famous folks (Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, and several authors)as part of their fan base. Another fan, many...

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80:56

Ep. 93 Denise McDonald (Sunrise Books, Tower...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/05/28

Growing up in a small town 50 miles outside of Los Angeles, Denise McDonald has a very clear memory of getting her first library card at the age of five. For most of her life, Denise has been a dedicated bibliophile. In this week’s episode, Denise tells us all about working book product at Tower. From friends at Sacramento State helping her to secure the job at the Sunrise bookstore, the various positions she held there, the move to Tower Advertising and chasing publishers for co-op...

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77:32

Ep. 92 Jennifer Birner Hegji (VP Tower Video Ops & VP...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/05/21

“I remember standing on the sidewalk, talking to Rick [Briare] and telling him I was interested in going [to the new San Diego store] and he basically said ‘Well we don’t hire girls’. “Thus began Jennifer Birner’s journey, leaving the Watt Avenue Bookstore to help open a new Tower Records location in San Diego where, for a time, she would be the only female employee. Helping open the store, laying tile, and screwing together racks, Jennifer got pneumonia and ended up in the hospital for 5 day...

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80:01

Ep. 91 Pete Pataro (Washington DC, Annapolis MD,...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/05/14

“ ‘There’s a place called Tower Records’ and the way that he described it, it was a supermarket of music! It’s got two stories. I was like, wow…I’ve gotta go there!” Not only did Pete Pataro *go* there, he had a 15-year career - starting in that Washington DC store, assistant managing in the brand new Annapolis store, and eventually running Cherry Hill, NJ for 10 years. Along the way, Pete was a sponge, learning about genres, bands, sidemen, and all facets of music, the music business, a...

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77:50

Ep. 90 Kevin Winnick (Tower Sidelines)

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/05/07

Kevin Winnick was working in Washington DC for a small chain of pop culture/entertainment-themed stores called Another Universe when he got a call from a headhunter saying a large company was looking to hire someone who could identify trends and had experience as a buyer. Though content where he was, Kevin took the interview and before long found himself dressed in a nice shirt and tie while George Scarlett sat at his desk, bare feet plopped on his desk. From the moment Kevin joine...

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67:57

Ep. 89 Megan Jasper (CEO Sub Pop Records)

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/04/30

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62:27

Ep. 88 Renee Tyler (Sales Audit & Record Division)

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/04/23

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61:31

Ep. 87 Steve Nikkel (Tower Advertising)

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/04/09

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62:32

Joy Slusarek Proft (VP Sales Universal, Mid Day Host...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/04/02

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102:51

Matt LaVelle (Tower Nanuet, Jazz Guru at Tower...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/03/26

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58:12

Ep. 84 Fuzzy Swing (RCA Records, CEMA/EMD...

2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records ·

2024/03/19

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104 results

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