38. A dash of then-trendy bossa nova is sped up and rendered unintelligible for the lead single, and Elvis sings that (Theres) No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car, which encapsulates the stilted rhythms here, incongruously imported from Brazil and Cuba, despite the fact that the film is set in Mexico. Again there may be some genuine lost sales here, because of incomplete returns to RCA, but I think we can ignore them. Let me get this right, Chartmasters have managed to get all the sales records for those that RIAA were unable to confirm since the 50s?, the figures wont include the sales from independent outlets since his death or bootleg albums especially during the 70s, this figures are just an estimation, we will never know the actual figures for sure, It looks like CHARTMASTERS needs a better look at 1969s double -FROM MEMPHIS TO VEGAS/FROM VEGAS TO MEMPHIS (490,000).As on CHARTMASTERS (PAGE 13 of 13).The separate studio & live is muddy. This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 17:01. This insane number is made of 23 pure studio albums, 17 original soundtracks, 23 Christmas-related releases, 39 box sets, 29 live efforts, 200 compilations and 10 records tagged as other which include interviews and spoken discs. 40. ** In addition after the 1973 buyout and right up to the present day, literally dozens and dozens of heavily promoted Elvis compilations were released through other outlets, under special license. The final step will consist in crossing the data from all indicators chart runs, certifications, Soundscan, external sales data to establish how many albums the rock n roll legend moved in his native country. The List of Alice In Chains Albums in Order of Release, The List of Slayer Albums in Order of Release, The List of Bob Marley Albums in Order of Release, The List of John Mellencamp Albums in Order of Release. If you do the math, thats 341 minus 101 equals 240 albums completely unaccounted for under Presleys RIAA tally. Cotton Candy Land repositions Mr. Sandmans dream as a terrifying sugar high, and the saccharine How Would You Like to Be? is sung to a kid in the film to placate her, but frazzles every other listener; Happy Ending is another unhappy event. "It got to the point where I was driving in my car, and I thought: I just want to know if Stevie Nicks and Lindsey . Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis's manager from 1955 to his death in 1977, earned an estimated $50 million from the singer's estate. But they were enough. [6], FTD (Follow That Dream), Sony Music's Official Elvis Presley Collectors label, was established in 1999 to serve the dedicated Elvis collector and to complement the commercial and artistic level of RCA's retail release schedule by issuing repertoire that is considered of interest to serious Elvis fans and collectors, material that is generally not part of mainstream RCA label releases to the public at large. There are countless albums which saw their tracklist extended after the initial release (basically every big album of the last 12 years to start with! 2023 Vox Media, LLC. There are a number of other points to be made at this juncture namely: Certification of record sales requires documentation not of any actual sales sheets, but of the shipping invoices sent to the distributor and the returns of unsold discs made to the supplier. In more ways than one these two greats came from a different place. This list will point out for all of them if they were available at Columbia House and / or BMG Music Club. I Got Lucky (1971) These are the rest of the songs from the four 60s Elvis movies without soundtrack LPs that had been previously compiled on Cmon Everybody. He had commercial success with songs in the pop, country, r&b, ac, and gospel genres, among others. Let Yourself Go has an unconvincing psychedelic flavor, but might be the most fun thing here, along with Nancy Sinatras take on Lee Hazlewoods cynical Your Groovy Self. The existentialism-light of Who Are You (Who Am I? Then we will get into every non-RCA releases Time-Life, Provident Music, Razor & Tie, etc to see which ones were tracked by Soundscan or left out. If youre less into the lascivious side of Elvis, and crave angelic sanctuary that may put you to sleep, this should be a go-to. In 1959 RCA put total sales at 50 million; in 1960/1 75 million; in 1964/5- 125 million; in 1970 - 250 million, in 1976 - 400 million and at death a bit over 450 million, which the media rounded up to 500 million. Did Elvis record a gospel album? One more important notice is that reissues arent counted as new releases, instead they are added to original albums. So whether RCA simply looked at the total sales figures up to that point, current sales, or probably both, the conclusions reached may have been the same. We will start by listing each and every release. How many records did Elvis put out? 50. He started to grow as a popular artist, and began to change both race relations and popular teen culture. Written and researched by Nick Keene with help from Ernst Jorgensen and source's at Sony Music for Elvis Australia. Pot Luck With Elvis (1962) Given the album title, this is predictably uneven. The exception to the picture I have painted is Elvis' gospel music, which for many decades has found particular favour with the strong Christian movement in the States. how many records did elvis sell worldwide. 18. Aretha Franklin's album "Amazing Grace" sold more than two million copies, becoming the . Then, of course, there is Music Clubs, which used to be a significant actor of the music industry during the 90s and that is out of Soundscans panel. His Hand in Mine (1960) One long Halloween night session yielded Elviss first gospel quartet-style LP, a passion project featuring a few of the singers own arrangements of traditional material. Harum Scarum (1965) The film was billed as 1001 Swingin Nights and the plot involves Elvis bringing an enchanting princess back to Vegas from the Middle East. how many albums did elvis sell. Later FTD introduced the Elvis Classic Album Series, releases of the original albums in deluxe 7" size packaging with a booklet and usually a second CD of outtakes from the same period as the recordings on the album. The recent international sales of 'Where No One Stands Alone' may be the first gospel album to suggest that this may no longer be the case. Songman and his far-from-actualized Love Song of the Year.. This is the third album recovered from the epic 1970 sessions that produced the competent light-country of Thats the Way It Is and Elvis Country its also the rejects. Well it seems that around five years after Elvis died, a former Radio Luxembourg DJ, by the name of Don Wardell, took over from Joan Deary as the product manager in charge of the Elvis catalogue at RCA. The concert material is mainly of the showy countrypolitan variety, smooth but less exciting than his earlier live albums. How many albums did Michael Jackson sell after his death? The closing song If I Can Dream has a searing gospel intensity that his first couple of proper gospel LPs never quite captured. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Just because it never happened doesnt mean they cant get back together. The titles included a HOST of mid-sixties soundtrack albums and mid-seventies singles, which even today, have failed to achieve domestic ie US certification. RCA/Sony did once try to get their overseas outlets to send in their sales stats, but this request was misconstrued. There is no question that the American share of the global market had been in steady decline for several decades - dating back to the time that some countries as far apart as Brazil and Japan, first began to embrace Western music and culture. It would seem that the growth of sales in overseas markets - reflected in the success of such records as 'It's Now or Never' - generally began to take off around about the time Elvis was demobbed from the army in 1960. Learn how your comment data is processed. How many songs did Elvis sing total? Girls! 53. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. So the next question then turns on whether Elvis' sales conformed to this pattern. He also made 17 soundtrack albums for his movies, 8 live recordings of shows, & a spoken word album called Having Fun With Elvis on Stage. On Stage (1970) Elviss second live album is mostly compiled from a few Vegas dates, collecting versions of hit songs associated with other people, like Neil Diamonds Sweet Caroline and Creedence Clearwater Revivals Proud Mary, and its fine though why not listen to Neil Diamond or CCR or the Beatles or Del Shannon or the Everly Brothers if you want to hear these songs? Albums [ edit] Studio albums [ edit] Notes Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. may be re-printed for public display without permission. How many songs did Elvis Presley record? That is 33% of $3.98 (1956-1970, 1970-1974 an LP was $4.98). He sold over 600 million records in his lifetime, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. 4. 41. Combined with LOC-1037, this version sold more than 3,000,000 copies in the US. Elvis got to distance himself from the worn-out commercial decisions imposed by Colonel Parker and dig deep into meaningful material of his own choosing, capturing some of the earlier TV specials spontaneous sense of fun and inventiveness with spirited and unpredictable arrangements and performances, including a great rhythm section and backup singing that blows his mainstays, the often-stiff Jordanaires, out of the water. Elvis (NBC-TV Special) (1968) These are the live performances from the TV comeback that got Elvis excited about performing again, with good reason after his long slew of soundtrack obligations. Blue Hawaii (1961) The second-most commercially successful LP of the 60s (behind only the soundtrack to West Side Story) is this iconic soundtrack, which comes as close to having a unifying concept as Elvis ever got, Christmas and Christ excepted. The Rolling Stones have sold 66.6 million albums in the United States, while the Jimi Hendrix and Backstreet Boys have each sold 66,500 albums. However, once US exports to Canada are excluded, then it would seem that less than 4 million of those were actually sold to the home market. Spinout (1966) The older rock-and-roll tune Stop, Look and Listen that kicks off another Elvis race-car musical brings some heat that his last few soundtracks lacked, followed by an energetic but misogynistic song called Adam and Evil and a couple silken ballads like the self-doubting Am I Ready? that go down easy enough. According to Elvis records, more than one billion records have been sold around the world, making him the most popular artist ever. In 1956, the famous singer known as Elvis Presley released his first album. })(); Best selling artists, albums and singles of all-time. Elvis Christmas Album (1957) The all-time best-selling Christmas album in America is rounded out by four beautifully drowsy non-holiday gospel numbers. Time-Life, alone, was responsible for some 20 extensively promoted national releases, all of which sold heavily. Why was the 1982 claim ever made? For example little Denmark purchased an incredible 150,000 copies of a 1968 release entitled 'A Portrait in Music'; whilst in 1974 the double album '40 Greatest Hits' shattered every known speed sales record previously set in the UK. But theres also I Need Someone to Lean On, a beautiful ballad from Viva Las Vegas in the vein of Chet Baker. And the picture is truly global. The closing track, Thats Someone You Never Forget, credited to Elvis and his high-school buddy Red West and which may or may not be about the passing of Elviss beloved mother, Gladys, is haunting, though tonally far out of step with the rest of the record. A busier and often boisterous second half introduces elaborate group vocals, guitars, soul-summoning claps, snaps, cymbals, and saxes, with Elviss arrangement of Run On a lean and tough version of that sinners warning. The sales below minimum certification levels are less easy for me to justify since I have not been fortunate to see the complete list - only such selected items as Ernst felt able to pass onto me. Elvis Gold Records, Volume 4 (1968) Not quite a collection of hits from the then-cooling star only (Youre the) Devil in Disguise went top-ten in the U.S. this was the final Gold Records collection issued during his lifetime. You might expect English speaking countries to predominate, and to some extent they do, but what is surprising is his popularity in for example South America and South East Asia. Raised on Rock / For Ol Times Sake (1973), Theres a Honky Tonk Angel (Wholl Take Me Back In), 23. Double Trouble (1967) Advertised as an adventure filled with dames, diamonds, discotheques, and danger, this movie featured a soundtrack for which the recording sessions once again got Elvis so mad that he stormed out of the studio. Elvis Presley (1956) This template for the hormonal enhancement of teens Elviss first long-playing record is also the first No.-1-charting rock-and-roll record, period, helping usher in the rock-LP era. As live/studio (2) or an single issues ,the physical sales of EACH justRead more . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Hes well-integrated with New Orleans brass on tracks like Leiber & Stollers Muddy Waters rip Trouble, and has fun laying it on thick on their greasy title track. The following updated version has been considerably shortened, where possible, in the interests of brevity. Elvis (1973) This ones known as The Fool Album among Elvis cognoscenti, because a superior record called Elvis had already come out in 56 and also because this leads off with the self-flagellating Fool. (Elvis calls himself a fool again on the next song, and not a wise man on the third.) Largely consisting of leftovers from the golden Sun days, as well as some scattered soundtrack material, Elvis for Everyone! - Sorting Out Records . Makes you blink a bit to think of that. 2. Thats the Way It Is (1970) Elvis was cranking out records in 1970, and this one was a cocktail of Jumpsuit Elvis from his longstanding tenure at the International Hotel in Vegas and some Nashville studio stuff loosely tied to a documentary film. Guinness World Records recognizes him as the best-selling solo artist in the world, selling up to 1 billion records globally. + $35.13 shipping. The albums strong B side starts with the chilling Its Midnight, then makes a touching mantra of Your Loves Been a Long Time Coming. Promised Land is one of his better mid-70s records, though its laden with a pair of duds in Elviss plea to Mr. The evidence is there - just not broken down to enable certification by individual title, correctly required under the RIAA rules. 56. "Christmas with Elvis" reached number 1 on the Billboard Classical Albums and the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums charts. The sole non-soundtrack inclusion here, a song Elvis wrote with a pair of buddies called Youll Be Gone, has melodramatic Spanish flavor leading to an operatic crescendo a trick Elvis had mastered and deployed repeatedly by the mid-60s. Elvis brought a pine tree and presents into the studio to guarantee his seasonal mien on this one, sexily swaggering through classics and new gems like Santa Claus Is Back in Town., 6. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. It takes you to another world just not the one it was going for. The Wagner opera returns to the Met for the first time in 17 years. RCA permitted a large number of them through various licensing deals from the 70s to the 00s. Elvis Presley's songs are unforgettable - they have stood the test of time, especially his singles of the 1950s, a decade in which he had a song at No. ELVIS PRESLEY Vinyl LP LOT 50+ Album Collection Many Sealed VG~NM Condition. The newly written title track, released as the single, is lyrically unique as a fairly detailed rundown of Elviss musical upbringing, but doesnt especially rock. The lurching Kitty White duet Crawfish leaves a sinister impression regardless of fishy lyrical content. All told, there is less than 20% of his albums for which we do own that key sales indicator, and for most of them the number is outdated. Elvis doesnt quite convince you to rock out with the explicit dance instructions on the title track (clap your hands real loud and turn your head to the left) but it starts the album off with vim, which is followed by Elviss pleasant request for heavenly kisses on Angel. The rocker Easy Come, Easy Go comes and goes easily, as does this whole album, which sustains a light tone, unlike the laborious country-oriented material on Elviss other LPs from this period. [5] According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Presley has sold 146.5 million certified albums in the US, making him the third top-selling album artist in the country. # In several key overseas markets some sales were documented and certified - even as far back as the 1950s. Led Zeppelin IV, one of only three studio albums to sell more than . var gcse = document.createElement('script'); Despite the early-season drama, its still (almost) anyones game to win. + Plus Bonus DVD Audio. For Elvis fanatics, this is probably a godsend. Im Comin Home attempts a rock-and-roll revival at the top of the B side and just about achieves it. How Great Thou Art (1967) Elvis liked to sing gospel as a means of relaxation between other nagging showbiz responsibilities, and How Great Thou Art was his second album of songs dedicated to, as one track here puts it, Somebody Bigger Than You and I. Finally, the singer got to perform music he cared about after years of churning out prefab soundtracks, and the results are more diverse and satisfying than his first gospel record, His Hand in Mine. The 'parade' footage is good to see as it puts you in the right context with color and b&w footage. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Much of this is owed to Wallen's fans streaming his Academy of Country Music Album of the Year award-winning "Dangerous: The Double Album" over 5 billion times since its 2021 release. As a reminder, Soundscan is the process which scans every sale at retailers since the start of 1991. $1 million was equal to about 760,000 copies and 608,000 copies at $4.98. Rider that became the Elvis Shows frequent intro music, after which Elvis gurgles water into his mic, admits to being lost onstage, and indulges his love of sob stories on Release Me and new hit The Wonder of You.. In the studio, he makes the most of Percy Mayfields alienation on Stranger in My Own Home Town and a soft wet kiss from Neil Diamond on And the Grass Wont Pay No Mind. The live set is more fiery, starting with breakneck versions of classics like Johnny B. Goode and Blue Suede Shoes interspersed with the Kings laughter and self-mocking banter: He calls himself bigger now (size-wise). This album was the painful result, a mix of new ones like the ultra-sexist What Every Woman Lives For and Petunia, the Gardeners Daughter, and traditional songs with an ersatz Dixieland flavor for this movies story of a 19th-century riverboat gambler. 34. 33. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. 1. for 59 weeks and 4 No. Moody Blue (1977) Unable to get a full studio set out of Elvis, RCA settled for this combination of tracks recorded at Graceland and live versions of never-released songs from his final concerts, including his legendarily decrepit but moving version of Unchained Melody (which youre better off watching on YouTube). Recording Industry Association of America, From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis, Elvis by Request: Flaming Star and 3 Other Great Songs, The Complete '68 Comeback Special 40th Anniversary Edition, '68 Comeback Special 50th Anniversary Edition, Elvis Presley: The Searcher (The Original Soundtrack), Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas, From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee, "40 years ago America was shocked by the death of Elvis Presley", "40 years ago America shocked by death of Elvis", "What Are the Top-Selling Christmas Albums of All Time? 54. Beginning in 1954, he recorded at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who aimed to popularize African-American music. However no Elvis singles have been released in years. Somebody else in the old RCA backroom may have initially dreamt up the figures, but it was Don Wardell who publicised them and thus must bear the responsibility. Breaking down the contenders in the seasons most unpredictable Oscar race. The original 1969-70 charted success (12 on Billboard),found BOTH LPS charting (lower-as ELVIS IN PERSON (BILLBOARD 183) CHARTMASTERS (1,025,000) & BACK IN MEMPHIS (BILLBOARD 80) CHARTMASTERS (175,000) ,in the last half of 1970-as REISSUED LP PRODUCT. Hes an impatient lover for the umpteenth time on Do Not Disturb, and chastises The Meanest Girl in Town on the closest this album gets to rock and roll. The contents, sadly, aren't nearly as soul . Once we will be up there, having a clear view of the full list of albums that were scanned, we will dispatch appropriately the career total of Presley into every release with the help of various known data. We no longer need to make a song and dance over so-called lost sales. Panty raid rhymes with lemonade in Poison Ivy League, one of several unconvincing songs here, sung from the perspective of a striving underdog which Elvis had stopped being years prior. I would rate RCA Victors Elvis Christmas Album from 1957 and RCA Camdens Elvis Christmas Album from 1970 as two separate albums, because while 8 songs out of 10 were same on both albums, the 1970 release has If Every Day Was Like Christmas and Mama Liked the Roses songs which were not even recorded in 1957. King Creole (1958) Elviss favorite movie role was as the new star of the King Creole nightclub, and the accompanying soundtrack album was also something strong. His album chart positions continue to emphasize that. The received wisdom regarding his albums which prizes theSun Sessions(which, had this ranking included compilation albums featuring no new or previously unreleased material, wouldve been a strong contender for the top-spot), Elviss first records for RCA, and his 68 comeback recordings overlooks some worthy stuff within the often indistinguishable heap making up the rest of his corpus. Elvis Is Back With New Money Maker As U.S. Elvis Presley Discography: Check Out The List of Elvis Presley Albums in Order of Release Here! The List of Toto Albums in Order of Release, The List of Foreigner Albums in Order of Release, The List of Steely Dan Albums in Order of Release, The List of Genesis Albums in Order of Release, The List of Ne-Yo Albums in Order of Release, The List of Morgan Wallen Albums in Order of Release. It also includes an extended version of the new hit Suspicious Minds, demonstrating that Elvis and his band know how eternally great the song is. In the throes of her research, Reid found herself transfixed by their dynamic. What is the most valuable record? Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: As part of your account, youll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. The ballads also fail to ignite, making the record a bit of a slog. Hover to zoom. Elvis As Recorded at Madison Square Garden (1972) Taken from one show during his only set of New York concert appearances (hed performed on TV in the city during the 50s), then released in a hurry, this transports Elviss early-70s Vegas show to a much bigger venue, with enormous orchestral flourishes (accompanied by a backing band of New York jazzers), and the usual mix of Elvis-identified songs and songs that were hits for others like Three Dog Night and the Righteous Brothers. How many albums did Elvis sell in 2019? This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. My original investigations revealed that Elvis was by some distance the greatest record seller of all time and ten years on it is that much easier to make a case for the claim that he has sold over a billion copies of his records. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. * The RIAA only certify sales which reach defined levels and, therefore, sales below their radar screen and between one level and the next level - don't count in their statistics. "Loving You" album side 1 was movie soundtrack, side 2 non-movie songs. Love Letters From Elvis (1971) Why not get three albums for the price of two? Historical consequence aside, the music is a dynamite convergence of older Sun and newer RCA recordings, which served to feed the growing nationwide Elvis bedlam, and its equally perfect as a showcase for the thrusting dancer of Blue Suede Shoes as it is for the sensitive crooner experimenting in nocturnal melancholy at its hypnotic best on the ethereal Blue Moon and I Love You Because. At the same time, the desperate Ill Never Let You Go (Little Darlin) and Money Honey reveal an essential dangerous-rebel aspect to his appeal. Although these figures should be treated with a certain degree of caution, it was only when Elvis died that things appeared to really go awry. This is clearly demonstrated by the total global musical sales for the year 2005, which I continue to use, and with figures cast in billions of dollars, reads as follows: 1 USA 7.02 Japan 3.73 UK 2.24 Germany 1.45 France 1.26 ROW 5.3. 36. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; It is, after all, over 40 years since he died. [1][2] Billboard ranks Presley as the 13th Greatest Artist of all Time. Like that earlier collection, the tone is mostly light but in this case, often grating: Yoga Is As Yoga Does gets Elvis tied up in an embarrassing knot, and The Love Machine awkwardly feeds Elvis through a fortune-telling scenario. They got this hit soundtrack out of the odd concept, and a bit of insulting fun out of the repurposed Coasters tune Little Egypt about a guy having his mind blown by an exotic dancer, which is the highlight. Elvis sings The Wonderful World of Christmas (1971), It Wont Seem Like Christmas (Without You), Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread), 19. (1962) Poor Elvis doesnt get to finish his sandwich because, as he tells us on the title track, hes too busy desiring something small and sassy, which might make for a realistic glimpse of his inner state, but not quite a recording for all-time, and neither is this soundtrack to Elviss second Hawaiian flick. Sales in the year following Elvis' death may still account for more than one in five of the total. Of course, we already saw that assuming 250,000 sales on average for each mid-way to Gold is not an accurate method. [1] [2] Billboard ranks Presley as the 13th Greatest Artist of all Time. There's no question that Beatles music sells. Of course, we already saw that assuming 250,000 sales on average for each - mid-way to Gold - is not an accurate method. This is the material that the Beatles loved, and you can bet they listened especially closely to these songs and arrangements of tightly interwoven instrumentation topped with stirring guitar breaks and youthfully impassioned singing.