I was working at Tower on that day. Elton used to come in often whenever he was in town. I remember this being early Tuesday morning between 7-8am before the store opened. The people in this video were not the regular public and were part of his entourage (publicist, road manager, security, camera crew and his limo driver who at times served as his assistant). This footage was part of a documentary that was being filmed. I was responsible for inventory and cataloguing everything we sold. Elton knew our store inside and out and could find whatever he was looking for without help. At times he would ask me if we had a certain album in stock that was not displayed or would have me order it. If I remember correctly this was about May or June of 1975 I think. Captain Fantastic had just recently come out and it sold out in our store within a matter of hours. We had plenty on order which arrived days before and we displayed it near the front of the store knowing he was coming in the next day. He was very low key and friendly and would autograph anything we asked. At around the 2:27 and 4:11, 4:38 mark I can be seen walking in the background wearing an orange shirt.
I remember going into the store a few times and seeing the many bootleg albums and thinking are they legal to sell . Did Elton ever express any opinion of your store selling bootleg albums which recording artists like him do not receive a dime in royalty money ? Neil Young is on record not liking this practice of selling these albums in record stores.
Wow, it's fascinating to see you in the video and then here commenting on youtube all these decades later! Must have been a pretty interesting job to work at Tower.
Fun fact- Elton John will buy EVERYTHING new when it came out back in the day from pop to funk to metal to country and he would have all his houses filled with the same record collection. The man loves his music .
@@purefoldnz3070It appears Elton John enjoys shopping for records and had time to do it. You usually order your personal assistant to run errands if you're busy or don't want to do it.
Remember as a teenager going into record shop flicking through vinyl albums. Had to save up to buy a record and when you finally got it, it was a treasured possession. I got Captain Fantastic as my main Christmas present and was ecstatic. Played it to death. Different world.
@@ChromeDestiny I'd rather be in a record store that stocked original Veritgo label records. I doubt many US shops had those as imports. Oh, and a "for export" Parlophone label pressing of The Beatles (White album)
I grew up in LA and I sure miss Tower Records on Sunset. It was a landmark for so many of us. I remember meeting Ritchie Blackmore in the store one day. Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end.
This brings back some memories. In 1992, I lived in Atlanta. One weekday, I went to Tower Records at Lenox Mall in Buckhead. As I was walking from the parking lot I noticed a black limo parked out front. I walked into Tower Records and there stood Elton John across the room, thumbing through the CDs. There wasn't another soul in the place except for him, the employee, and me. I walked up to the employee at the cash register and asked him if he had a Sharpie pen. He handed me one and I walked over to the Elton John section and pulled out "Madman Across the Water" and walked over to him and introduced myself and said, "I've been a huge fan of yours since the 70s and can't believe you're in here," to which he replied in his British accent, "I come in here quite often, actually." He signed his CD "XXXs and OOOs, Elton"!
i wonder whats on Elton's List ? we don't have any good record shops left in England ( like this one ) if we did perhaps Elton John woould visit in London 👏👏 🙋♀️ xx
Elton doing his homework while he was at the top of his game in 1975. Staying ahead of the competition? What an incredible historical artifact this video is. A snapshot of yesteryear that could very well be today in many respects
Tower Records on Sunset is long gone, but it was, is and always will be, the most iconic record store in music history. You could walk in and see Elton or any legend.
Is it gone? I didn't know that. I haven't been down there for about ten years. The last time I drove by it was still open. They had a great selection of hard-to-find records and imports. I think that was where I picked up a few Beatle Bootleg CD's as well.
@@tracedog27 17 years? wow, time sure goes by fast when you get old. Is there another store there now or is it a vacant building? I guess one of these days I will need to drive back down there and see how much has changed. I live about 80 miles away.
In 2022 Elton is still listening to current music releases - hard to believe he has the time since he is always so busy - a genius he is - we all know the hits but some of his "album tracks" amaze me -- MONA LISA AND MAD HATTERS - imagine how Bernie gives Elton this brilliant lyric and Elton creates a brilliant melody that becomes a brilliant recording - I am in awe of their talent!
Absolutely agree. Bernie and EJ are legends as individuals and also as a partnership. He also is very up to date and in depth knowledgeable about football, often evidencing in interviews and discussions that he finds time to at the very least watch highlights if not the games themselves. Between intense touring, mentoring, lobbying for younger artists (some of whom he manages) as well as his AIDS charity and his most important job - Daddy - I don't know how he does it. And yet there's time to study and collect photography too. Money can only buy so much time
This made me cry, just seeing the inside of that store again. There's nothing like shopping in such an enormous, well-stocked store -- and when I lived in LA I spent many, many hours combing the bins. I still visit it in my dreams regularly. It was like going to the library, reading the record jackets and one thing sparking an idea that would lead you to investigate another... I don't think I ever got out of there in less than an hour -- and two or three hours of intensive browsing and pre-checkout cost-estimating was not uncommon...
Was it a chain? I live near Chicago and even though I was buying 45s at the tail-end of their existence around 1981 and albums in the first half of the '80s, I don't remember that store. We had Peaches. 😂
@@lemurianchick We had Tower and Peaches in Seattle -- though maybe not at the same time. I felt like the Tower on Sunset was my second home when I lived in LA.
It's better when you could only afford 1 or 2 records a week. When you buy so many records it becomes difficult to process them properly. A problem most of us are facing this age of streaming.
I had a paper route back then and would usually buy one record a week. Unless I needed clothes for school or had a date. I was 14 in 1975 and made about $10 a week.
I was a HUGE HUGE Elton John fan, still am. 1975 was Eltons golden year! He was at his peak. To see him buying records, also my fave thing to do, IN 1975!!! To see tons of his lp at special price 3.99!! To see one of the best stocked records stores of the 70s FILLED with current lps...MAN THAT WAS AWESOME!! THANKS so much for posting this!!!!
I agree. Elton was on top of the world in summer ‘75. “Tommy” had just come out in theatres, too. “Captain Fantastic” was his last great album, in my opinion. I could never understand why he dismissed Dee and Nigel.
Oh what I would do to go back to 1975 again. As a teenager it was such fun going to record stores and spending hours flipping through. Hopefully coming out with 1 or 2 new records. Fantastic time to be alive back then. Today, social media will be the destruction of our society.
The record store in my town would buy used records and sell them for One to Two dollars depending on condition. I picked up a lot of great albums there. My friend and I would always be looking for the Beatle rainbow labels and hoping a rare yesterday and today/butcher album would show up.
In 1975 I was superglued to the record player and Captain Fantastic. That LP was part of my soul, I memorized every note and word. As a drummer in high school, Nigel Olsson was my idol and his work on CF blew my mind. To this day CF is in my top 5 records.
I miss the days being a kid and riding my bicycle to the record store for the latest vinyl release....riding back home with great care and running to my bedroom to place the needle down and stare at the album cover reading every last word on the inside and out!!
There's another video of Neil Young in a record store back in the 70s, and he finds bootlegs of his own and goes off on the record store owner. Great video.
@@davidellis5141 No man, the clerk is an unhelpful childish dude........'i don't know man, my boss buys the records....i don't listen to this'.......but i guess that hasn't changed........kids behind the counter nowadays attitudes are just like that
I grew up in Allentown, PA in the 70's and there was this record store downton called Speedy's. It was about 2 miles from my house and of course as a 15, 16 or 17 year old you can walk forever. On weekends friends and I would walk to the store, that was a highlight and with our allowance or is we worked part-time, our own money we would purchase the newest album. Speedy's was a teens dream come true. I would buy lots of Motown esp the J5, but I was also a big Elton john fan and I couldn't wait to purchase the Yellow Brick Road or Captain Fantastic album when that came out. Kids now just order everything online, but I would not trade my experience and adventure of walking with friends to the record store, and having so much fun together and after that maybe McDonalds for like a .60 cent quarter-pounder burger and shake, hehehe
At this time I was nine years old and just finishing up third grade I lived in Decatur Georgia and I really didn't catch on to Elton fully until around 83 but I just remember this time period when the world was a much happier place !!
He was a regular shopper, special hours were available for him to enjoy an uninterrupted experience. Ha ! 6:30 Bob Delanoy (sunglasses on his head, in the background) The Store manager, Great guy.
I'm curious why he was doing whatever he was doing in the way of inventory unless he was keeping up with the musical Jone's or calculating sales to some degree based on some formula.
Elton talks about visiting Tower Records in his recent autobiography. He also describes his obsessiveness I guess it were with making lists of songs and records he wanted, owned, etc. I just finished the book so seeing this per chance is fantastic. Love Elton
That era is completely gone now. I grew up actually buying music (CDs and mp3) I feel like at the very end of it. I was able to use the internet to research bands, and the other bands they played with, the performers they were inspired by, and all of that was how I grew my collection and knowledge of music. And if you buy 1 or 2 records every week or two you really dig into them. There are kids who still dig deep into who bands are, but with the streaming format it's really hard to develop that closeness from when you had to put in effort to find good music.
For me, as someone who was born in ‘76, it’s neat to see pristine new copies of albums covers from that era. I’m used to seeing albums from that era with worn covers.
Around 40 years ago I watched an interview with lyricist Tim Rice who said he had a standing order with a local record shop to receive every single in the week's UK top 20. This video reminds me of that. Elton would've been just as well buying the entire stock and sorting it out later.
I remember, as a 6 year old child, being fascinated with the Captain Fantastic album cover. There was a topless woman on the back cover and I thought i was being so naughty when I looked at it. It’s still my favorite Elton John album to this day.
The big guy looks like John Candy! When I was in like the 6th grade, someone gave me a stack of albums. The Beatles, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy, Edgar Winter, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, and on and on. Being a kid, I loved the music but had no idea what I had. Later in 1977, our house burned to the ground one day while we were in town, and we had no insurance. I never was able to get another stereo until my oldest sister gave us her old console stereo in 1979. But I only had like 2 records, David Allen Coe, and Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley.....
Those were the days! Walking into that store, getting abused by the staff, picking up the newest release, ranks up there with the greatest musical experiences (Like seeing the Stones school G n’ R at the Coliseum in ‘89!) of my life! It was magical!
Funny you should say this. In Seattle the employees were total dicks "THAT'S NO WAY to handle a record." However, when I visited this store in LA, CA folks were quite friendly. Guess I was there on lucky days.
I got to meet Elton John and Bernie Taupin when he was signing his new cd MADE IN ENGLAND. My friend and I waited in line for two hours.. we were the last two before they shut the doors I had just bought a new suede jacket earlier that day. It just started to rain before we got into the store. OMG I was so happy my jacket did not get ruined .. as I made my way towards Elton John with my cd in hand I thanked Elton John profusely for letting us be the last two and said the most embarrassing thing to him I called him by his real name " THANK YOU SO MUCH MR WHITE FOR SIGNING MY CD" HE LOOKED AT ME WITH THIS LOOK LIKE WHO IS THIS QUEEN CALLING ME BY MY REAL NAME.. OMG I COULD HAVE DIED OF EMBARRASMENT . I QUICKLY APOLOGIZED FOR MY GAFFE HOWEVER THE DAMAGE WAS DONE BERNIE TAUPIN SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO HIM AND KINDA LAUGHED UNDER HIS BREATHE WHILE ALSO SIGNED MY CD.. OH WELL LIVE AND LEARN
At least you didn't call him Reginald, or even worse, Reggie, I can see it now, he comes out onstage and the entire stadium just starts chanting, REGGIE! REGGIE! REGGIE! (And it's Dwight, not White)
@@Unknown_Ooh Used to love going to record stores and leafing through the bins. Now you might find bins at flea markets,or whatever, but there used to be stores dedicated for music lovers. And why wouldn't somebody want to follow Elton John at that point in his career to see what kind of music he was in to?
Billboard Magazine was at 9,000 Sunset my uncle Peter Heine was director of advertising. Peter introduced me to Elton John at the Performing Artist of the Year Awards in 1974 it was in a place called the Set just just off Sunset. Elton was excellent company. He was really excited to be there and so was I. Thank you Elton I haven't forgotten.
Remember when I and a friend bought 1 record at a real record store and headed to mall and packed records in the bag and showed the bag with a receipt passing the counter...miss those days..my mom always asked why my collection grew, of course I borrowed those records and should return em soon.
Nos anos 70 e 80 fiz muito isso de entrar numa loja de discos no centro de são paulo, é muito gostoso ficar olhando LPs, a gente abria via o encarte e até cheirava o vinil, claro que eu não tinha a grana do Elton John, que podia levar 200 e até mais Lps, numa só tacada. o CD não tem o mesmo gosto de desfrutar de um LP em sua essencia.
That's funny. Just stumbled on this clip. I forgot that Elton John was in LA in the mid 1970's. I was working at a health food store in Hollywood at the time. It was called Aunt Tilly's (at the corner of Franklin and Western if anybody can remember) I think there was a Ralphs grocery store in the same shopping center. Anyway, Elton came through the store on several occasions late at night to pick up stuff. John Lennon too. This was during the time that Yoko kicked him out to go "find himself" I guess. I later learned that Lennon was collaborating with Elton John at the time, which made sense seeing that both were in LA then. Aunt Tilly's was open till midnight. Fun times.
This was just so great.,.. I used to do the same thing in a record store... .I could only afford 1 album a week. But sometimes I would get 2 or 3 45's instead. It was all based on money. . The lack of it..... No gas .... This just brings back so many good feelings...music of all genres was that good and I liked everything
I have been watching hours of 70's hi-fi machines. Elton is doing his artist research probably seasonally, winter, spring summer and fall. The emense art work and design that sold all those amazing songs played back on sound systems equally incredible.
I just find this mesmerising. Here we have elton john one of the greatest song writers and performers ever casually going through records of artists who on the whole were way below his level. It's just amazing. More amazing than seeing him on stage. He looks so ordinary. Lol I have to keep nudging myself and say he's just a man he's not a god for Christ's sake. But I'm still mesmerised by seeing him in a record shop. I can't imagine my feelings if I had actually been there . I think the only thing that would top it is walking into a record shop and there is john lennon thumbing through the vinyls. I would probably faint.
Cool footage. Tower in LA has a fabled history, but in New York, where I frequented their Greenwich Village and Cooper Square locations, they were huge in size but still ultimately interchangeable with other corporate-run record stores, like Sam Goody or Strawberrys in Boston. I was more drawn to the "indie" type record stores which also sold rare, promo, out of print, and live records. Funny (and ironic) that the guy at the register is wearing a John Lennon t-shirt
Wow, I miss the 45s rack at the record store. Some stores had them in cubby holes. Others had them behind the counter & you had to ask for them by number. 05:51
Been a huge elton fan since the very beggining. And to this day even though he's produced many superb lp my favorite even after all this years is still mad man across the water, dont get me wrong i still like his stuff but mmatw is still by far my most favorite
I saw the crimson and your right Manhattan Transfer “Jukin”. I also saw Curtis Mayfield “ there’s no place like America today“. I as well, wish we could see everything he bought. That would be interesting.
Great. The Jazz section looks fantastic, wow, saw sealed Rusty Bryant, sealed Donald Byrd, Bobbie Humphrey and Lou Donaldson records, sealed Alice Coltrane- Ptah, The El Daoud and a big pile of sealed 3 Pieces Vibes of truth or Headhunters survival of the fittest LP, I´m sweating... Elton picked the wrong records, he could be rich today:)
Used to love going to Tower Records in Yonkers, NY (just north of NYC). I believe Pearl Jam showed up there one day but of course, I wasn’t there that day 😮
Met anthony Michael hall in 1993 at tower records Hollywood. Chatted briefly with him.he seemed like a kool dude.also guitar center hollywood saw justin hayward in there ..he bought sn acoustic guitar..difnt talk to him though. Good memories long live tower records
People had as much worries as now. It’s just it was a bit slower pace of life -people were not inundated all the time with the internet and social media with their smart phones. But the World was as troubled with world conflicts and economy problems and addictions
70's had the (fake) gas and energy crunch. The Vietnam war was winding down, inflation was starting to go through the roof, the stock market was tanking (bottomed out around 1981), drugs and crime were vastly increasing, and the economy tanked a couple of times. You're looking into the past through rose colored glasses.
@@muziklvr7776 good comment. I was a grammar school kid in the 1970’s and people had problems such as depression, alcoholism, and life worries. I notice that the millennials and generation z people are obsessed with how good the 80’s were especially in music and popular culture. But they look it through “ rose colored glasses “. The 80’s had recessions, and global conflicts and all sorts of problems.
@@beholden1663 Alcohol was another big big problem, especially among veterans. People were smoking like crazy everywhere including hospitals, supermarkets, and movie theaters. The past was only really good to those who had large sums of money.
At 6:24 in the background you can hear Bad Time from Grand Funk, that dropped in March of 1975, from the band's album All the Girls in the World Beware, which dropped in December 1974.
I only had one time in my life I bought every release I ever wanted This amounted to 41 packages from discord many shipped from other country's I can only imagined what the mail man was thinking.
That's King Crimson's live album USA that Elton hands to his shadow there at about 50 seconds in, so that would date this to circa 1975. It's interesting this raw footage still exists. This looks like something that was probably shot for some kind of news piece, either about Elton or about Tower Records. Usually, this stuff gets junked once it gets edited down for the actual piece that airs.
He's actually doing research, he listens to the albums and he figures out who to hire, what direction to go and Idk what else. The reason I know that is because I watched an interview by James Newton Howard where he said he got a call from his manager who asked him if he wanted to tour with Elton John. James said yes he would he went to Elton's house for an interview and he said that Elton had 3 copies of his album that had not been selling and he hired him on the spot to go on tour in 4 days. You can find that interview very easily by searching on youtube. EJ did his homework !!! Also this was when James was working making only $125 a week. His story about Elton John hiring him is great...look it up.
I just saw 4 albums by The Moody Blues 0:18 In Search of the Lost Chord and Go Now The Moody Blues #1, the compilation album This is The Moody Blues and On the Threshold of a Dream
