Skull's Rainbow Room — the 1998 Schulman case

The 1998 killing happened in this basement supper club under the 1895 Southern Turf Building on Nashville's Printers Alley. David “Skull” Schulman, a 50-year alley fixture and friend of Willie Nelson, opened it in 1948.

On January 21, 1998, a taxi dropped Schulman, 80, at the club before opening. A salesman on a routine stop found him behind the bar, robbed and fatally attacked; he died the next morning.

James Charles Cavaye, 17 at the time, was convicted of felony murder and especially aggravated robbery, affirmed on appeal in 2002. No physical evidence pointed to a suspect; the prosecution leaned on accomplice testimony.

Co-defendant Jason Pence told the Tennessean in November 2025 that he did not witness the killing and that his trial testimony was false and coerced. The article reported no petition filed; Cavaye remains in prison.

Reopened in 2015 after 16 dark years, it runs nightly 5 pm to 2 am, with a $25 cover Thursday to Sunday for the 11 pm burlesque show. Schulman's jackets and television are displayed inside.