And that opinion was backed by Ernst Jorgensen, who should know if anyone does. On November 12, 1955, Billboard introduced the Top 100, a fourth major list. From John Lennon to Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan to Prince, it was impossible to think of a rock star of any importance who did not owe an explicit debt to Presley. Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum Record Sales, (Recording Racists denounced him for mingling Black music with white (and Presley was always scrupulous in crediting his Black sources, one of the things that made him different from the Tin Pan Alley writers and singers who had for decades lifted Black styles without credit). Elton John is ranked third at 300 million, followed by Michael Jackson at 400 million. 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. 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? It is, after all, over 40 years since he died. Most recent single award: "A Little Less Conversation", gold, 31 March 2006. Thanks to a series of savvy deals by Presleys longtime manager, Col. Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks in Elvis, the estates holdings include a huge, perennially profitable chunk of his publishing even though Presley, like Frank Sinatra and others of the pre-rock era, was known as a singer and performer. Posthumously, in 2018, Presley was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Colonel Tom Parker was a Dutch-born American show business promoter who was best known for managing the career of Elvis Presley. Aaron Schroeder wrote 16 songs for Elvis, including four number-one records. Presley did his best work in the 1960s on singles either unconnected to the films or only marginally stuck into them, recordings such as Its Now or Never (O Sole Mio) (1960), Are You Lonesome Tonight? and Little Sister (both 1961), Cant Help Falling in Love and Return to Sender (both 1962), and Viva Las Vegas (1964). David Bowie's handwritten lyrics set to sell for 70,000 at auction. He now lacked the ambition and power of his early work, but that may have been a good thing: he never seemed a dated relic of the 1950s trying to catch up to trends but was just a performer, unrelentingly himself. Copyright 2022 by www.elvis.com.au & www.elvispresley.com.au, https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/one-billion-record-sales.shtml. Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. a total of 185 Million Records worldwide. (For a variety of reasons, he never performed outside North America.) Diamond {{ relativeTimeResolver(1576258311909) }} LIVE Points 58. Today, historians consider the Best Sellers in Stores list to be more important than it once was. The top 40 were 114, 40 of them were in the top ten, and 18 of them were in the top five. Graceland is Elvis Presley's estate in Memphis, Tennessee, and remains one of the the U.S.'s top tourist attractions. In 2011, a private-equity firm bought CKX, then sold the Presley licensing rights to another company, Authentic Brands Group, for a reported $145 million. Also known as: Elvis the Pelvis, King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley, Elvis Aron Presley. Parker, who was prescient about the value of songwriters catalogs in recorded music, demanded early on that Presley (and himself) receive half the publishing on songs he recorded. He inspired literally thousands of musiciansinitially those more or less like-minded Southerners, from Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins on down, who were the first generation of rockabillies, and, later, people who had far different combinations of musical and cultural influences and ambitions. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, When You Told Me: A Reflection On The Bittersweetness Of Love, The Beatles: The Business-Savvy Band Who Revolutionized The Music Industry, Exploring The Lasting Legacy Of The Beatles In Ireland, Is BTS The New Beatles? Never before have we seen an Elvis Presley concert from the 1950's with sound. COACHELLA THANK YOU SO MUCHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! HE WALKS BESIDE ME - FAV. It reinforced the idea that you can be a part of a rock band if everyone contributes roughly the same amount of time. 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. Preachers and pundits declared him an anathema, his Pentecostally derived hip-swinging stage style and breathy vocal asides obscene. How many records did elvis presley sell in his lifetime? In 1969 he released a single having nothing to do with a film, Suspicious Minds; it went to number one. Elvis is the only artist inducted into the The best-selling album by ELVIS PRESLEY is ELVIS' CHRISTMAS ALBUM / IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME, which sold over 17,220,000 copies . Given the technology of the day, EP's were simply easier to handle and also less costly. [1] [2] Billboard ranks Presley as the 13th Greatest Artist of all Time. amazing". I cant tell you anything about what Im trying to do next. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Sales in the year following Elvis' death may still account for more than one in five of the total. "Christmas with Elvis" reached number 1 on the Billboard Classical Albums and the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums charts. Your Privacy Rights, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information, Elvis Presley's RIAA Certified Album Sales More Than 146.5 Million Units. Producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records, a local blues label, was the first to record Elvis Presley. Francisco told newsmen after an autopsy that Presley died of "cardiac arrythmia," which he described as a severely irregular heartbeat. 1 Hits 25 Top 10 Hits 109 Songs Billboard Hot 100 Debut Date Peak Pos. Elvis Presley's UK sales are now well in excess of 50 million and therefore past the total achieved globally in 1959. 761,392, New music, exclusive content & more from Sony Music Entertainments diverse roster of artists . 2023 Billboard Media, LLC. The RIAA certify all sales of a disc including re-releases, whether or not there has been a change in the catalogue number, provided the inclusion of any additional tracks, does not bring the total to more than 17. Those who did not worship him found him despicable (no one found him ignorable). Elvis third #1 single was Love Me Tender, the title song of his first movie, which was tied for first place on the Billboard chart with The Green Door. Teddy Bear defeated Love Letters in the Sand to take the top spot, and Elvis responded by smacking Pat Boone. Again there may be some genuine lost sales here, because of incomplete returns to RCA, but I think we can ignore them. Elvis projected a mixed vision of humility and self-confidence, of intense commitment and comic disbelief in his ability to inspire frenzy. It wasnt until 1956 that people began to believe they could be as good as Elvis. I look around now, and Im not so sure people remember [him], says Jay Fishman, managing director of Financial Research Associates, a business valuation firm that specializes in celebrity estates, once appraising Michael Jacksons estate in a court hearing. Required fields are marked *. Hey Jude was their Biggest selling Having sold about 500 million records worldwide, Presley is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Bruce Springsteen said: "There are pretenders and contenders So what happened? 1. for 59 weeks and 4 No. Brewsters Black Memphis church, and some of it from the Beale Street blues clubs he began frequenting as a teenager. Omissions? In addition to the expected selections, from Thats All Right (performed by Gary Clark Jr.) to Heartbreak Hotel Cant Help Falling In Love (by Kacey Musgraves), the film could boost 1968s lesser-known Edge of Reality the way Junkie XL once revived A Little Less Conversation, , thanks to a new remix by indie-rock stars Tame Impala. Highly recommended. The estate, however, doesnt profit as much from other valuable Presley holdings in 1973, Parker made a deal to sell all of Presleys master recordings to RCA Records for $5.4 million, which means the label pays no royalties to the estate for tracks released before 1973. "Elvis by the Presleys" reached number 1 on the Billboard Soundtracks chart. Sunday, April 26, 2015 | 2 a.m. Presley never seemed confident in his status, never entirely certain that he would not collapse back into sharecropper poverty, and, as a result, he seems to have become immobilized; the man who had risked everything, including potential ridicule, to make himself a success now lived in the lockstep regimen of an addict and recluse. Few artists have achieved as much success as the Beatles, who have achieved a level of success that few have managed to match since they first appeared in Liverpool. Despite The Beatles 36.5 million more album sales than Elvis, The Beatles have sold 25.1 million more singles than Elvis. Some idea of the scale involved actually emerged through the 1977/8 interim and the final audited record company reports. His biggest fansworking-class white women, almost exclusivelypassed their fanaticism on to their children, or at least to a surprising number of daughters. In Europe alone, virtually all the big Presley hits from 'It's Now or Never' onwards, more than matched US sales and there is a wealth of evidence, including comments made by some of the songwriters concerned, which are available to prove this. How many records has Elvis Presley? Demolition will soon begin on a resort once favored by Elvis Presley and other Hollywood royalty before it was heavily damaged by a hurricane three decades ago. It was the Beatles who were the worst example of the hippie ideal, as Elvis believed he knew. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google. During Elvis career, he was twice as popular as he was during his prime, and he spent more than 14 months as the countrys No.1 artist. It is the first of five RCA Victor Elvis' Golden/Gold Records compilations, the first four of which were issued during Presley . Instead, he continued to have hits from recordings stockpiled just before he entered the army. Bob Greene: How many #1 records did Elvis have on Billboards Pop Chart? In the UK, his official tally is slightly over 20 million physical singles. Affiliate programs and Elvis Presley gave the world an enormous catalog of recorded music. The evidence is there - just not broken down to enable certification by individual title, correctly required under the RIAA rules. Why this led to some confusion over what was and what was not recorded on the old RCA computer may be a bit of a red herring. 1 songs. While both acts have achieved incredible success in their own right, it is clear that Elvis Presley stands as the solo artist with the most number one hits in the United States. During his career, Elvis sold over one billion records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. "If I Can Dream" reached number 1 on the Billboard Classical Albums and the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums charts. Billboard published three significant weekly song charts between the 40s and 50s. Although Elvis was regarded as the King of Rock and Roll, he did not always agree with the Fab Four. Its an unexpected choice for an Elvis biopic, says Raleigh, co-president of Raleigh Music Group, which administers 25% of Presleys song catalog, who approved the Stevie Nicks and Chris Isaak cover for the film. According to the R.I.A.A., with help from EMI, the Beatles place All 119 References in We Didnt Start the Fire, Explained. It compiled his hit singles released in 1956 and 1957, and is widely believed to be the first greatest hits album in rock and roll history. In the United States alone, he has sold over 146 . Elvis Presley recorded at least 24 songs at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, between 1953 and 1955. Presleys management was then turned over to Colonel Tom Parker, a country music hustler who had made stars of Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow. Today, the best selling album of the year, as well as several runners-up, will easily sell over 10 million copies in the US alone - the Beatles 1 sold a million in just one week this past Christmas. There are no more than 149 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Chart in the United States that feature Elvis. His popularity has only grown since his death in 1977. has the most hits in the Top 100, the Top 40, The Top 10, and has This is also evidenced by the fact that the top five most successful music artists in history have all sold over 20 million records. People try, but it doesnt work, says Marc Rosen, Authentic Brands entertainment president. Elton John is ranked third at 300 million, followed by Michael Jackson at 400 million. He has sold over 400 billion albums since he died. *Elvis Presley Christmas Duets Gold Album(certified July 31, 2017)*An Afternoon In The Garden Gold Album(certified July 31, 2017)*Elvis Greatest Jukebox Hits Gold Album(certified January 12, 2018)*Elvis Rock Gold Album(certified January 12, 2018)*The Great Performances Gold Album(certified January 12, 2018)*White Christmas Gold Album(certified January 12, 2018), *He Touched Me Gold Multi-Disc Set(certified September 13, 2017)*Artist Of the Century Gold Multi-Disc Set(certified January 12, 2018)*Peace in the Valley Gold Multi-Disc Set(certified January 12, 2018)*Christmas Peace Gold Multi-Disc Set (certified January 12, 2018), *HITstory Gold & Platinum Multi-Disc Set(certified January 12, 2018), Heart And Soul Platinum Album(certified September 13, 2017)Thats The Way It Is Platinum Album(certified September 13, 2017)Elvis Ultimate Gospel Platinum Album(certified January 12, 2018), Elvis: A Legendary Performer Vol. Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977), often referred to mononymously as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Will a Hosa GPP-419 Female TS 1/4" to Male TRS 1/4" Adaptor turn my Mono plugs into Stereo? More importantly, the film is an investment, a marketable product that could potentially generate serious revenue for the estate for years to come. Guralnick, Peter and Jorgensen, Ernst (1999). How many records did Elvis put out? All Rights Reserved. For the most part, if you wanted Elvis to sing your song, you needed to give him half the publishing rights, says Joel Weinshanker, managing partner of Graceland Holdings and Elvis Presley Enterprises. On April 14, 1956, RCA Victor presented Elvis with his first gold record for sales of 1,000,000 copies of "Heartbreak Hotel." The presentation was casual and took place while he was recording his second million-seller, "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You." Gold record awards since the '40s The cost: $100 million. Making an Elvis movie without Elviss music wouldnt be very good. ELVIS' GOLDEN RECORDS, VOLUME 1: . As a result, Elvis retained the top spot for a week, but Soldier Boy by the Shirelles took over. He was 42 years old. The rapid increase in demand for Presley product in the lucrative South East Asia, during the early seventies, was the main driving force behind the sponsorship of the initial live telecast of the 'Aloha' special in 1973. Elvis has sold a billion records. If Elvis was in Memphis for a day, he rarely paid in cash. [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. Included we see a live performance of the elusive Long Tall Sally seen here for the first time ever. From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis (1969), 13. This is also evidenced by the fact that the top five most successful music artists in history have all sold over 20 million records. So the next question then turns on whether Elvis' sales conformed to this pattern. Luckily, we have much more data about each of them. Elvis Presley and the Beatles both had 14 No. Presley recorded his version of the Simon And Garfunkel classic in 1970 and it became a staple of his live shows for the next seven years. In 2005, Elvis daughter, Lisa Marie, sold 85% of Elvis Presley Enterprises to CKX, run by the late Robert F.X. When sometime later, after BMG took over RCA, the new team tried and failed to elicit any kind of rational explanation from Don Wardell, it swiftly became apparent to them that he hadn't got one. 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. ELVIS PRESLEY sold over 162,247,784 albums, including 139,450,001 in the United States and 9,881,000 in the United Kingdom. . The Beatles 4.423 point difference with Elvis 3.592 point difference was the difference between them. The number has grown into the rock 'n' roll equivalent of Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak: 837 consecutive sold-out shows performed by Elvis Presley at . Presley returned from the army in 1960, where he had served as a soldier in Germany rather than joining the Special Services entertainment division. Youve got the traditional Elvis fans who know everything about him, and youve got other fans who might listen to Cant Help Falling In Love because a different artist might have covered it and they discovered Elvis original.. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, Although Elvis comments may have been misinterpreted, the Beatles have had a lasting impact on rock and roll. . 32. Michael Jackson made the top 20, placing number 16 on the list Grimes Launches A.I. The following updated version has been considerably shortened, where possible, in the interests of brevity. While both acts have had immense success in the music industry and have been credited with revolutionizing the sound of popular music, the answer to this question is actually quite clear. From time to time, rumours cropped up that he did not really die, that his death was a fake designed to free him from fame. This endless Beatles v Elvis debate should end. 27,293 Its clear why the Beatles are widely regarded as one of the greatest bands of all time because of their 250 million sold records and legacy that will live on. How many No 1 hits did Elvis have? If you do the math, that's 341 minus 101 equals 240 albums completely unaccounted for under Presley's RIAA tally. This page was last edited on 24 April 2023, at 00:51. Elvis Presley Discography: Check Out The List of Elvis Presley Albums in Order of Release Here! Multi-Platinum sales of all of us. amazing man simply "Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis" reached number 1 on the Cash Box Country Albums chart. His career spanned 14 chart-topping albums and 14 top-ten singles. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elvis-Presley, Memphis Music Hall of Fame - Elvis Presley, Elvis Presley - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Elvis Presley - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (1986), Resort famous for Elvis' 'Blue Hawaii' movie will be rebuilt, Elvis Presley's single Milkcow Blues Boogie. It was only with a band at his back and a beat in his ear that he became Elvis the Pelvis.. Indeed not only did the 1974/5 single 'My Boy' actually sell more copies (450,000) in the UK than it did in the States, but a 1970/71 single 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' did likewise in Japan. More recent and better-documented data adds even more grist to the mill and demonstrates that the picture with Presley records was and is indeed very much in keeping with market trends. Each August crowds flock to Graceland to honour him on the anniversary not of his birth but of his death. 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. With a total of 20 number one hits, Elvis Presley holds the record for the most number one hits by a solo artist in the United States. However the 1972/3 Elvis record sales in the US were particularly heavy because of the combined impact of Aloha, the 'On Tour' film, the Madison Square Garden concert, the first greatest hit package, and the number one single, 'Burning Love' and so for a time US sales bucked the trend, which had very clearly been heading in the direction of overseas markets for some time before that. # In 1987 RCA gave Graceland a somewhat baffling award which listed no less than 48 million selling titles, that for the most part had not gained due recognition for past sales. Other solo artists have had their songs reach the top of the charts, including John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney. Vocal Project In Beta: Enjoy the Chaos, New Jerseys Bamboozle Festival Featuring Limp Bizkit, Rick Ross Canceled as Fans Revolt, The Jacqueline Avant Children and Family Center Opens in South Los Angeles, How Sen. Klobuchars Bill to Clamp Down on Ticketmasters Deals Could Backfire, Executive Turntable: BMG Names Frontline Catalog SVP; The Orchard Picks EVP of Artist/Label Services. Most recent album awards: 17 albums, including Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits, 6x multi-platinum, 8 March 2018. It is the first Elvis album to reach over $1 million in sales, thus earning Elvis his first gold album award. It was pretty much the same with 'Don't Cry Daddy'. John Lennon said: "Before Elvis there was nothing". 18 No. 1957 - Elvis Presley - Silent Night [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 1,740,000 35. Presley was no longer a controversial figure: he had become one more predictable mass entertainer, a personage of virtually no interest to the rock audience that had expanded so much with the advent of the new sounds of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan. THE WONDER OF YOU: ELVIS PRESLEY WITH THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, IF I CAN DREAM: ELVIS PRESLEY WITH THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, ELVIS' CHRISTMAS ALBUM / IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME, FROM NASHVILLE TO MEMPHIS: THE ESSENTIAL '60S MASTERS, THE KING OF ROCK N ROLL: THE COMPLETE 50'S MASTERS, BURNING LOVE AND HITS FROM HIS MOVIES, VOLUME 2, ELVIS AS RECORDED AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI PRESENTS MY FAVORITES ELVIS SONGS, CHRISTMAS WITH ELVIS AND ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, PEACE IN THE VALLEY-THE COMPLETE GOSPEL RECORDINGS, WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES-THE ESSENTIAL 70'S MASTERS, HE TOUCHED ME: THE GOSPEL MUSIC OF ELVIS PRESLEY, THE OTHER SIDES-WORLDWIDE GOLD AWARD HITS VOL. In the past year, 17 Elvis Presley catalog titles have been awarded RIAA certifications, with 11 of those albums.