Ep. 38 Randi Morton Swindel (Bay Area, NYC, NE Regional Mgr)
2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records
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“When Russ found out I was on the union side? He literally came up to me and went for my throat”
Randi Morton Swindel was working at Columbus & Bay when that store took a union vote in the mid 1970’s and the union lost. And despite being opposite Russ Solomon, Randi Morton Swindel proved to be one of Russ’ all time favorite employees.
This week on “2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records” we talk with Randi, who was born in San Francisco and grew up in Oakland in a house filled with Classical Music. The Top 40 radio of KYA and KFRC got a hold of her and if that wasn’t enough Beatlemania invaded her school and clique of friends causing Randi to cry (she wasn’t a screamer) at the sight of The Beatles. In one five week period bridging 1965-1966 Randi caught The Rolling Stones at The San Jose Civic Auditorium and then Bob Dylan and The Hawks going electric at the San Francisco Masonic.
James Brown, Otis Redding and a host of other concerts led to her eventually finding a job at Tower Records at Columbus & Bay. Randi was the second woman hired to work the cash register and the sales floor. From 1972-1984 Randi worked her way up between stints at Columbus & Bay, Mountain View, Fresno and then back to Mountain View.
Along the way she met her husband Jim Swindel who held a music marketing job in Northern California. When Jim scored a Sales Management position in NYC, Randi went to be the Manager of the original Lincoln Center location and then to the Village Store while also holding the position of Northeast Regional Manager overseeing the opening of South Street Philadelphia, Washington DC and the Boston store on Newbury Street.
Randi tells us about amazing in stores with REM, Violent Femmes, Tina Turner and a nightmare visit with a prickly Lou Reed, phone calls from Bud Martin about $75 plumbing paid outs, navigating NYC in the 80’s, overseeing the opening of iconic Tower stores on the East Coast, the decision to step away from her career at Tower, her son Joey’s Godfather Russ Solomon and a whole host of other subjects.