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Tower Records Founder Dies While Drinking Whiskey, Watching Oscars

Rock in Peace

Russ Solomon had a heart attack at his home in Sacramento.

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Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters

Russ Solomon, who founded record-store empire Tower Records, died Sunday evening at the age of 92 while watching the Oscars at his Sacramento home with a glass of whiskey. He apparently suffered a heart attack, his son, Michael Solomon, told The Sacramento Bee. “Ironically, he was giving his opinion of what someone was wearing that he thought was ugly, then asked [his wife] Patti to to refill his whisky,” Michael Solomon said. His wife found him dead when she returned. Solomon founded Tower Records in 1960, turning it into a $1-billion-a-year business before digital downloading led to its downfall. The company shuttered in December 2006 after filing for bankruptcy twice.

Read it at The Sacramento Bee

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