The Day the Music (retailer) Died...

It's the end of an era.

Today, Tower Records was auctioned off to the highest bidder - which turned out to be a company called Great American. As a result of said auction, all Tower Records stores will begin "out-of-business" sales starting tomorrow.

This is a sad day for the record industry. Tower Records was one of the first national uber-stores. The stores were huge. You could get whatever you wanted in any of the stores. They had space for in-store performances and autograph signings. They had it all.

I remember the first time I saw a Tower Records. It was 1984. I was working at a record store in Georgetown, Washington DC. Bruce Springsteen had just released "Born in the USA." The record company had done a contest where the best display won a trip to anywhere in the USA. Guess who won? Me! I decided that I didn't need to use all $1000 of the record company's money...I would simply ask for front row tickets to a Springsteen concert in the Mid-Atlantic region and be done with it. The guy at the label said "I can't get you that," so I decided to use as much as the $1000 as I could, and try and see Bruce Springsteen somewhere else in the USA. Again, he told me he couldn't get me tickets. (A-hole.) I decided to go to Los Angeles. First time for everything, right? I flew to LA, rented a car, stayed in a nice hotel - just a few blocks from the Sunset strip.

My first night in LA, I decided to go the famous Tower Records on Sunset. I wandered around awhile and decided to speak to some of the employees - record store employee to record store employee. I asked them if they knew how to get any tickets to see Springsteen. They told me that all of the shows were sold out, but his band and crew - but not him - was staying at the Sunset Marquis.

I had brought my tour program with me from home - I had bought it at a show in Maryland. I looked in the credits and found the name of his tour manager and proceeded to write a letter- to tell him why I was here and that I wanted a ticket. I walked to the Sunset Marquis, which was about three blocks from where I was staying, and dropped off the letter for the tour manager.

A couple of hours later, I got a call from the Tour Manager's assistant. He had a ticket for me to see the show at the LA Sports Arena. I flipped OUT! I couldn't believe that they were giving me a ticket to a way-sold-out-show. I wrote a 'thank you note' and proceeded to take it to the hotel. As I approached the hotel, I saw both Danny Federici and Garry Tallent. The reality of the situation was starting to hit me. I went into the lobby and waited for someone to greet me at the front desk. In the meantime, I glanced out at the swimming pool and saw a familiar gait. Oh. My. God. It's. Effing. Bruce. Springsteen!!!

"I'd like to leave this for a hotel guest," I said to the clerk at the hotel. "Can I go out there to the pool area?" The clerk nodded. I walked out to the pool and walked right up to...I can barely get the words out...Bruce Springsteen. I said "Excuse me..." and proceeded to tell him my story. He said "Are you the girl from Maryland that won the contest?" I stepped back in shock and said "Yes!" He turned to the people sitting with him and said "They flew you all the way out here but didn't get you tickets to the show? Now what kinda contest is that?" He knew who I was and why I was there. It blew my mind. I asked him if I could have a hug - he replied, "Of course you can." And that's about all I remember. I went to the show at the Sports Arena and had an amazing time.

If it weren't for the folks at Tower Records, I would have never have known. Any of it.

I've done my "time" at Tower. I can't even begin to tell you how awful it was to have to inventory classical records (LPs) at the Tower in DC in 1984 - every MONTH! At that same Tower, we had them to do an in-store with Branford Marsalis, and then begged them to take another artist named Harry Connick, Jr. The first in-store performance that I ever did was with Mary Chapin Carpenter. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Over the years, I've had my share of memories. As a customer, as a label, and again as a customer.

I can't believe that in about a half hour...that memory will start to be sold off, piece by piece...