Weird Harold's Records celebrates 50th anniversary festivities this week in Burlington

The music business has changed a lot over the past half-century, but Weird Harold's Records has been there all along the way to help serve Burlingtonians with their rock 'n' roll needs.

The record store, located at 411 Jefferson St., is celebrating its 50th anniversary on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, the store will have a 50 cent sale on its second floor. On Saturday, the store will be having sales on merchandise, games, prizes, food (including cookies and pizza from Napoli's Pizza), selling 50th anniversary T-shirts, and much more.

The store has more than 60,00 new and used vinyl records, thousands of new and used CDs and DVDs, and other music memorabilia in stock. And music fans will find the store has no shortage of rock, metal, punk, alternative, rap, country, gospel, disco, jazz, comedy, and much more within its walls.

One only needs to take a few steps inside the store before the smell of incense hits you and the store's variety of vinyl for sale pops out of the racks, with everything from blues and classic rock staples like Howlin' Wolf, The Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, to heavy metal and punk essentials like The Misfits, Morbid Angel and Motorhead.

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But, according to the store's founder, Burlington native Danny Bessine, Weird Harold's began not out of an inspired mission to spread the gospel of rock 'n' roll, but rather as a way to simply make money.

"You'd think it was because I was a big music lover, but that wasn't the reason," Bessine explained to The Hawk Eye about the store's genesis. "I'd always wanted to have my own business. And I lived out in Las Vegas for almost a year and noticed that all these strip malls had these 8-track tape stores. Eight-track tapes had just come out at that point and they were really hot.

"So, when I came back to town, I looked around and there was only one store selling 8-track tapes. So I said 'There it is!' And I decided to start selling 8-track tapes."

Weird Harold's first opened in a small building near Central and Jefferson streets, and moved twice before settling at its current location in 1986.

Bessine says the store has always carried vinyl albums, but mainly sold 8-tracks during those early years and was quite successful in doing so.

"Every car had an 8-track player and all the kids had to have 8-track tapes," Bessine said. "That’s what got us going.”

He added that the rock music, including artists like The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart, sold the best during those early years.

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As the years went by, Bessine said Weird Harold's has adapted with the changes in musical formats.

“(Vinyl) always kind of had its own market," Bessine said. "But the kids on the move in their cars had to have 8-tracks. Then pretty soon came cassettes. ... Then after that, it was pretty much all vinyl. Then came CDs. That really took off. And that almost killed the vinyl business, but we kept the vinyl anyways.

"We always had vinyl. Now, it’s the other way around. Ninety percent of our business is vinyl now. Nobody wants to buy CDs. You can’t give them away.”

Bessine added that, prior to the resurgence in vinyl's popularity that began in the 2000's, the store also made efforts to make up for the decline in CD sales by selling more memorabilia, including T-shirts and posters.

Regardless of formats, the store has always been the go-to place for those in the area seeking the choice cuts of rock 'n' roll sounds and merchandise.

Over the years, countless musicians, both local and world-renowned acts, have walked through Weird Harold's aisles, including rock guitarist Pat Travers, blues singer-guitarist Johnny Winter, and country legend Johnny Cash.

But Guns n' Roses might have been the rock legends to spend the most time in the store.

"When (Guns n' Roses) very first started, their very first tour, they came to Burlington, Iowa, and rented out the Memorial Auditorium for a week," Bessine said. "That’s where they rehearsed for their first tour. So, they were in the store almost every day. … I don’t know how they picked Burlington, but that’s what they did."

Bessine said he remembers the band frequenting the store, but he wasn't exactly starstruck at the time.

"They were new, so I wasn't overly enthusiastic about them," Bessine said. "Nobody knew who they were. They had one album out. They were just in (the store) looking around. We didn't have any major conversations or anything."

Like Bessine, Andrea Fritz's career in the record business wasn't spawned from some extreme passion for music, but rather simply trying to find a job back in 1994.

"I applied for some jobs and, honestly, Target didn't hire me, so I got hired here. And I just haven't left," Fritz explained.

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She remembers her early days in the mid-90s, when alternative music and rappers like Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre were the hot new acts. Fritz also remembers that, despite the prevalence of cassette tapes and CDs, Weird Harold's always sold vinyl, had huge mail orders for records, and people calling the store to order albums over the phone.

Fast-forward 25 years, Fritz bought Weird Harold's from Bessine.

“He was ready to retire, and this business is still great and it’s an institution of Burlington," she said.

Today, Bessine still works at the store, mainly taking care of the bookwork, while Fritz focuses on finding the music the store's customers are seeking.

Fritz said a majority of the store's clientele come to Weird Harold's for classic rock.

"Everyone wants (classic rock), still," she said, adding that pop music tends not to sell as well, and noting that Taylor Swift's latest album, "Midnights," hasn't sold as many records as the charts would suggest.

“I’ve sold one!" Fritz said with a laugh. "Everyone is going crazy for it, but our clientele are not ‘Swifties,' for the most part.”

Fritz said she's been able to pick up on musical trends throughout the years and get a good sense of the kind of music Weird Harold's customers are seeking.

"I kind of pay attention to what people like or ask me about," she said. "I’ve tried to get other stuff in the past, and then when it doesn’t sell I know ‘OK, I need to not get that.'"

When talking with Bessine about the evolution of pop and rock music that he has seen during the past 50 years, he notes that musical trends and tastes have always been evolving.

"It just changes with time. Everything does," he said. "Country is a lot different than it was back then. Jazz is a lot different. They all change with the times and try to come up with something new.”

Despite the changes in tastes over the years, Bessine said it has been impossible to ignore the resilience of the vinyl record market.

"It's a whole different experience to listen to a record, because you don't just punch up a button and listen to a song and (skip) to another song," Bessine said. "A record album, most of them have a flow through the whole thing."

Bessine said he has faith that Weird Harold's is in good hands with Fritz as the owner.

"She knows what people want," he said. "She’s been at it long enough.”

And Bessine said he is grateful Weird Harold's has been a long-time success.

“I’m just thankful that we made 50 years," he said. "To me, I’m pretty emotional about the fact that I made it that long.

"We are very grateful for everyone that has shopped here for 50 years and the fact that we’ve been able to provide a soundtrack to your life."

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Weird Harold's Records celebrating 50th anniversary on Saturday