Why Didn't Everybody Buy Amy Winehouse Music Before She Died?

Winehouse's albums are once again soaring, but it's not that the rest of us are feeling guilty

Why do people buy the songs of recently deceased musicians? Amy Winehouse's songs came out quite recently (compared to, say, Michael Jackson) so why do people feel the need to buy her songs now rather than when they first came out?
—Chanda, via Facebook

You mean why did I just buy Frank this week—which I did—when I could have purchased it years ago, when it was just as good of an album?

Well, I found out for you...

According to Keith Caulfield, associate director of charts for Billboard, the reason why three Winehouse albums are currently near the top of the iTunes album charts is this: Many people really, truly, didn't know who she was before this week.

Really! I did. You did. But not everybody did.

"A lot of it has to do with people just discovering who an artist is," Caulfield says. "It's an ironic twist that many people don't learn of an artist until that artist passes away.

"Or there may be a lot of people who have known about her, and knew the songs she had, but didn't necessary make the connection. And when someone passes away, people make the connection for you."

(I myself didn't own Frank, only Back to Black, until this week. Unfortunately, it took the death of Winehouse, and public discussions of her discography, to remind me of that first album and give it a listen.)

Finally, there are those who are buying the music as a kind of memorial or appreciation.

And just how much are people buying? Hey, glad you asked.

Already, Back to Black reentered the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart this week.

In the meantime, crank up the volume, and let's all sing along to "F--k Me Pumps," with me and all my crew on the latest podcast.