Yesterday morning, without any fanfare, hope for a miracle, or opportunity for a last-minute reprieve, the Nashville-based Music City Record Distributors unceremoniously pulled the plug on Memphis’ final two Pop Tunes locations including the first Pop Tunes, located at 308 Poplar Ave., which was opened by Joe Cuoghi and John Novarese in the late 1940s as a retail record store, a jukebox supplier, and a wholesale operation.
Eight years ago, Music City Record Distributors, owners of the beleaguered Cats Music chain, purchased all seven area Pop Tunes stores. According to this June 2001 story, which originally ran in Billboard, retail VP Scott Perkins assured Pop Tunes fans that the stores would largely retain their unique identity in the Memphis market.
“Pop Tunes has too much history — that’s where Elvis shopped,” Perkins said.
