Russ Solomon, Tower Records Founder, Dies In Sacramento Home

SACRAMENTO, CA — Russell "Russ" Solomon, founder of Tower Records, died Sunday in his Sacramento home. Solomon, 92, was watching the Oscars when he suffered a heart attack and died, his son, Michael Solomon, said.

"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 said. When she returned, he had died, Michael told the Sacramento Bee.

Russ Solomon founded Tower Records in 1960 in Sacramento. At its height, the record-store chain grew to 93 stores. In 2004, faced with a changing landscape in how consumers listened to music, "the pioneering record merchant that invented the music megastore and became one of the nation's largest music and video retailers, filed for bankruptcy."

Read the full report on Solomon's death here.

Photo: Tower Records founder Russ Solomon is shown at the companies corporate headquarters in West Sacramento, Calif., in this undated photo. (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)