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.
