Record Store Day shoppers camp out overnight for a piece of radio legend Pierre Robert's vinyl collection
Record Store Day was off to a bittersweet start in Glenside, Pennsylvania on Saturday as shoppers lined up hours ahead of time for a chance to own vinyl once spun by a Philadelphia radio legend.
The store Vinyl Chickie on Mt. Carmel Avenue is selling records and CDs that belonged to Pierre Robert, the 93.3 WMMR radio host who died in October.
Vinyl Chickie purchased the collection from Robert's estate and posted a list of the almost 300 LPs and nearly 250 CDs on their website.
"The line goes around the block. I don't even know if there's enough music for all these people," Pete Minervini, of Toms River, New Jersey, said.
Mike Veltri of Jenkintown was the first in line shortly after 10 p.m. Friday — a whole 12 hours before the store opened. Others followed suit hours ahead of time, some bringing lawn chairs and coolers for the long wait.
"I had to be here, I didn't have to be first in line, but I wanted to make sure that I was here to get something, so here I am," Veltri said.
Veltri said he listened to Robert often and attended the memorial held for him.
"Pierre was the real deal, good off air, good on air, good out in the street. I wanted to be here to get a part of Pierre, and some of the music I saw in the list was just awesome," Veltri added.
Vinyl Chickie owner Lisa Schaffer said she purchased the collection from Robert's estate to help fans keep the late DJ's legacy alive. Schaffer said Robert likely had even more records at WMMR's studios.
"I wanted to honor him the right way and what better way than to share his music," Schaffer said. "He was just so loved by the whole entire Philadelphia community of rockers."
Schaffer said Robert's collection sold out, with items ranging from $15 to well into the hundreds.
Earlier this month, the Friends of Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia started a fundraiser to "adopt a bench" in the square in Robert's honor.
If you can't make it to Vinyl Chickie on Record Store Day, you can find a record store near you on the Record Store Day website.