Businesses benefiting from Jackson craze

In the December 1984 cover illustration of Mad magazine, Michael Jackson is front and center.

Backing him are not his brothers, but a group of other famous Jacksons — the Rev. Jesse Jackson, former baseball star Reggie Jackson, “Charlie’s Angels” actress Kate Jackson and the ghost of President Andrew Jackson.

The tongue-in-cheek “Mad salutes the Jacksons” cover is a favorite of Mark Kessler, the owner of Recycled Records which has been doing brisk business in Jackson memorabilia since the singer’s death June 25.

“All of his CDs are selling very well,” Kessler said. “I’ve reordered them and reordered them. It’s just new ones now. I’m all out of used ones. They were gone as soon as I opened the door last Friday morning.”

Kessler has also sold a Michael Jackson doll, an “E.T.” storybook narrated by Michael Jackson and a slew of records, as many as he can keep on the shelf.

“I don’t have much vinyl. They’ve pretty much picked me clean,” he said.

Also benefiting from Jackson’s posthumous popularity is Penny Lane, which specializes in retro collectibles. Penny Lane has been selling old Jackson buttons, T-shirts and posters from both its storefront and its Amazon online site.

Owner Joe Utterback said he’s shipped Jackson merchandise to more than 20 countries.

“It’s been like Christmas in July,” Utterback said. “I think Michael has stimulated the economy more in a couple weeks more than anyone else has done all year, at least for my business.”

In almost 30 years of business — Kessler and his brother Gary set up shop in 1980, the same year John Lennon was shot and killed — Kessler says he hasn’t seen anything else like it.

“I’m not sure if this isn’t bigger than Elvis,” Kessler said. “Of course, I didn’t have a music store when Elvis died, so I can’t compare it while sitting at my desk. But it’s bigger than anything I’ve seen.”

Besides dealing with regular requests and trying to keep his shelves stocked with Jackson knickknacks, Kessler also has been fielding calls about the value of Jackson merchandise.

Even though Jackson memorabilia has undoubtedly increased in value, “it’s such a fluctuating market that it’s hard to put an exact figure on it,” Kessler said.

He said he’s heard from people who have sealed copies of Michael Jackson’s albums at home, but he can’t offer them as much as similar merchandise is going for on eBay because he has to be able to resell it.

Kessler warned, however, that he thinks the resurgence of interest in Jackson is almost over.

“It’s still going pretty good, but it’s slower than it was. I think it will slow after (Tuesday),” Kessler said. “Once he’s buried, he’s not going to be in the news as much.”

Once Jackson slips from the 24-hour news cycle, Kessler expects to go back to selling three or four Jackson records each week.

Until then, however, Kessler remains in awe of the publicity surrounding the singer’s death.

When an Associated Press photographer asked to snap a photo of him with one of Jackson’s records, Kessler obliged, not expecting it to go anywhere.

But two days later, a friend called to report seeing Kessler’s photo in the entertainment section of The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch.

Kessler laughed.

“I just figured he was learning how to use his Nikon or something.”

Elle Moxley can be reached at (217) 788-1532 or elle.moxley@sj-r.com.

Michael Jackson popularity

The following information comes from Billboard.com, which tracks sales of music in the United States.

The top downloaded cell phone ring tone: “Billie Jean.”

Of the top 20 songs on the “recurrent” singles chart (older songs that have fallen out of the top 200), an astounding 19 were Jackson hits. At No. 1: “Billie Jean.”

The top album (new or old): Jackson’s “Number Ones,” released in 2003. He becomes the first artist to outsell a fresh album by a current artist (in this case, the Black Eyed Peas) with a years-old release.

The top album bought from digital music services: 2005’s “The Essential Michael Jackson.” Five other Jackson albums were in the top 10.

Of the Top 20 singles downloaded from services such as iTunes last week, half were Michael Jackson songs, led by “Thriller” at No. 2.

Jackson placed nine albums in the Top 10 on the Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums chart (albums released at least two years ago that are no longer among the nation’s 100 most popular).

Jackson’s “Thriller” album has sold 28 million copies in the United States.