Constable: What vinyl sales say about Bowie, Frey

A legendary musician's death comes with emotional baggage for most Americans. Not only does a song resonate in the soul, but it also can serve as a time machine capable of transporting folks to a moment in high school, a night with someone special or a summer of endless fun. Innovative musical artist David Bowie, who died Jan. 10 at age 69, and Eagles co-founder and songwriter Glenn Frey, who died Monday at age 67, both have that power.

But their deaths resonate at much different pitches among the rows of vinyl at Kiss The Sky record shop in Batavia.

"We're all sold out of the Bowie," says Mike Messerschmidt of Sugar Grove, who runs the shop with former high school classmate Steve Warrenfeltz of Aurora.

"Not only are we sold out, but the entire world is sold out of 'Blackstar' on vinyl," Warrenfeltz says of the Bowie vinyl LP that was released on Bowie's birthday on a Friday before the singer's death became public on a Monday.

"A dozen is a lot for us to bring in on any vinyl, and we sold out by Wednesday."

Frey's death doesn't generate vinyl sales at Kiss The Sky.

"Kids don't care about the Eagles," says Messerschmidt, 63, who remembers going to an Eagles concert at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom in the early 1970s, about the same time Warrenfeltz saw the band at the University of Illinois' Assembly Hall.

"The Marshall Tucker Band opened for the Eagles, and were so good that people booed when the Eagles started playing," remembers Warrenfeltz, who celebrated his 64th birthday on the day Frey died.

The Eagles and Frey did some great songs, but their appeal is strongest among people who came of age in the 1970s.

"Bowie transcends the generations," Messerschmidt says.

So do Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, whose "Purple Haze" lyrics gave the store its name. And The Beatles always sell well around Christmas.

None of which matters to Warrenfeltz's 86-year-old dad, Bernard "Bernie" Warrenfeltz, who works the compact disc racks a couple of days a week. Artists with the power to stir his memories are country stars such as Eddy Arnold, Hank Thompson, Jim Reeves, George Jones, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Chet Atkins or Hank Williams. He says that he even got his wife of 65 years, Mary, to appreciate country hits even though she played the accordion and also listened to Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley.

Record sales, as they have been since the birth of rock 'n' roll, still are driven by teenage girls.

"Christmas, we sold over 30 turntables, mostly to young girls," Steve Warrenfeltz says.

While noting that he doesn't want to say death is "good" for business, Messerschmidt admits that death of an artist can affect vinyl record sales.

"When Lady Di was killed in that accident, the single ("Candle in the Wind 1997") that Elton John did was the biggest death thing we ever did. That was huge," Messerschmidt says. Michael Jackson's death in 2009 fueled sales of his 1982 "Thriller" vinyl.

"But vinyl, up until 2008, was spotty at best," Steve Warrenfeltz says. Now, old rock stars who started their careers on vinyl get plenty of vinyl competition from hip-hop artists who realize the appeal of a record's sound for new generations. Nearly every artist puts out vinyl records today even though their music is available through digital downloads.

While Frey's death hasn't sparked sales at Kiss The Sky, the owners say deaths sometimes don't have an impact because people still have the old vinyl. For example, Peter Frampton, currently touring at age 65, probably wouldn't see a death boost in sales of his 1976 album, the iconic "Frampton Comes Alive."

"There's only 6 gazillion copies left, and we have 5 gazillion," Messerschmidt says.

That's why Bowie, who created new styles and reinvented himself every few years from the start of his career in the early 1960s until his death, still fuels sales to everyone from senior citizens to kids. The discovery of one old Bowie T-shirt buried on a rack between dozens of Beatles shirts surprises the Kiss The Sky owners.

"I thought we were out of everything Bowie," Messerschmidt says.

They are now.