The contents, sadly, aren't nearly as soul . 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). 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. Makes you blink a bit to think of that. From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (1976) Its not a live concert album, but an album recorded live at a makeshift studio, and a powerful downer that gets us close to Elviss pain and far from rock and roll. For Elvis fanatics, this is probably a godsend. In any case, he had the privilege and the burden of a voice that sounded legit trying out everything from a quavery tenor to a hubristic baritone, unafraid of operatic grandeur or gruffness or languor, with vibrato and falsetto and commitment, traces of which are present even when one can hear the poor guy itching to get out of the studio and back to his Graceland. + $25.35 shipping. how many records did elvis sell worldwide. Girls! Nevertheless there is still sufficient, if largely circumstantial evidence available, to enable a researcher to arrive at some sort of ballpark figure. 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. 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 title track on Moody Blue is a would-be camp classic from Mark James, who also wrote Suspicious Minds, and the live half has a couple of enjoyably bouncy countrified versions of Olivia Newton-John hits in If You Love Me (Let Me Know) and Let Me Be There, as well as a goofy take on the doo-wop classic Little Darlin. Of the final studio cuts from October 76, Way Down is an up, and Pledging My Love is a strong-enough musical declaration. [4] Elvis' Christmas Album remains the biggest selling holiday album of all time, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. "Wonderful World of Christmas" reached number 13 on the Billboard Country Albums chart in 1978. Even Presleys worst soundtrack filler may get you there. Luckily, we have much more data about each of them. Included we see a live performance of the elusive Long Tall Sally seen here for the first time ever. 7. Elvis Australia was founded in 1996 www.elvis.com.au was literally born from the concept of wanting to represent 'Elvis in Australia', so www.elvis.com.au Read more. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. 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. "Elvis Forever" reached number 1 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart. Guinness World Records recognizes him as the best-selling solo artist in the world, selling up to 1 billion records globally. Another frustration is the absence of information about non-traditional releases. Lets Be Friends (1970) Another budget-price compilation off-loading unused soundtrack material and a couple new ones. Privacy Policy and "" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. The obvious killer is Elviss beautiful cover of Bob Dylans despondent Tomorrow Is a Long Time, left over from an unrelated gospel session. Elvis Presley Career Statistics Data Total number of certified albums sold by Elvis Presley worldwide 206,800,000 Total amount Elvis earned during his career $1,050,000,000 Amount Elvis was paid per week . Perhaps, not surprisingly, the last album released during his lifetime, 'Moody Blue', was by 1982 thought to be one of the King's top sellers - with global sales put at more than 14 million copies. The problem remains the sales of records outside the USA. Fun in Acapulco (1963) Presley plays another romantically persistent boat worker in this movie, and we get another soundtrack of Elvis exotica. Elvis Country (Im 10,000 Years Old) (1971) Cut during the same sessions that produced the studio portion of Thats the Way It Is, this is similar stuff, but features a somewhat better selection of tunes that had previously been hits for Willie Nelson, Bill Monroe, Jerry Lee Lewis, Anne Murray, and others, presenting a wide variety of its styles (bluegrass, outlaw, Bakersfield, honky-tonk) played smoothly by studio pros. But the pace at which Elvis continues to shift product off the shelves - has not been diminished by the years. Over the course of Elvis' life, he achieved some of the highest accolades in music and film. 18. Cmon Everybody (1971) Even though hes wearing a 70s-era jumpsuit on the cover, this is another easy way to hear selections from the slew of 60s soundtrack recordings that never made their way to an LP, taken from Viva Las Vegas, Follow That Dream, Kid Galahad, and Easy Come, Easy Go. 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. 31. Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD Video with Sound. Elvis did not sell 1 billion records by 1982, which claim first appeared via an article in the 'Washington Post' dated 12 July of that year and quoted RCA as its source. Despite somerecent hiccups in Las Vegas, 39 years after his death, Elvis Presleys career is still going strong his estateearned $55 million in 2015. [3] Music historian Joel Whitburn ranked Presley as the number 1 charting album artist of all time in the US. To add some complexity, releases arent automatic on them, some albums were issued at BMG Music Club, others at Columbia House, some at both and some at none. 23 Studio albums, 8 Live albums, 13 Compilation albums, 29 EPs, 18 Soundtrack albums, 30 Box sets, 115 Posthumous compilations, and 11 Remix albums. [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. The title song conjures mysterious Western astrology, and Night Life introduces some of the urbane shine of Viva Las Vegas. A total of 162,247,784 albums were sold by Elvis Presley, including 140,450,001 in the United States and 9,881,000 in the United Kingdom. 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. After Dax Shepard asked her about her musical chairs relationship situation. Oh, Loosey! Over the last decade the media have put pressure on the record companies to provide more details of their various claims, with the result that some of them have been revised, only to be replaced by statistics that do not differentiate as between actual physical sales and downloads. Although the songs are mainly two or three minutes long, they feel like theyre taking their time without ever lagging, and the straight country material like Im Movin On benefits from elaborately funky interjections. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The following updated version has been considerably shortened, where possible, in the interests of brevity. The albums discography of Elvis Presley began in 1956 with the release of his self-titled debut album, Elvis Presley . Of note are the reissue series, Costello's back catalogue having undergone reissue three times by three different companies. The afternoon show footage is wonderful and electrifying : Here is Elvis in his prime rocking and rolling in front of 11.000 people. The interviews of Elvis' Parents are well worth hearing too. The 'parade' footage is good to see as it puts you in the right context with color and b&w footage. "Wonderful World of Christmas" reached number 1 on the Billboard Christmas Albums chart in 1972 and 1973. Sales of such albums as 'ELV1S 30 #1 Hits' (2002), 'If I Can Dream' ( 2015 ), 'The Wonder of You' (2016), 'Christmas with the RPO' (2017) and just recently 'Where No One Stands Alone' (2018) all underline my point. Back in the eighties, RCA were saying much the same thing. The concert material is mainly of the showy countrypolitan variety, smooth but less exciting than his earlier live albums. However, we get Elvis tearing eagerly into Youve Lost That Lovin Feeling and Bridge Over Troubled Water. The studio tracks tend to be sluggish and overwrought, with lyrics about tasting the icing on the cake weve been baking with the past, on The Next Step Is Love. As tragic songs about cake go, its no MacArthur Park.. Elvis plays an Army man meeting his lookalike cousin and a couple of sexy relatives for the first time in rural Tennessee, set to discomfiting songs about polygamy (One Boy, Two Little Girls) and smooching technique. Required fields are marked *. 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. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. For all those which werent, we will provide sales information to fill in the hole. David Bowie's handwritten lyrics set to sell for 70,000 at auction. It is not generally appreciated, that during the 1950's Elvis probably sold more extended play albums, than he did long-playing albums. 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. var gcse = document.createElement('script'); Some tunes are less rewarding, like the the cutesy Lover Doll, but whats an Elvis soundtrack without its hitches? In 1956, the famous singer known as Elvis Presley released his first album. Time-Life, alone, was responsible for some 20 extensively promoted national releases, all of which sold heavily. 0000001) was sold for $790,000 in December 2015, according to . 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. 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. 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.. It seems that pretty well everybody in the business used to exaggerate the achievements of their clients if only because everyone else was doing the same. The Wagner opera returns to the Met for the first time in 17 years. 45. 22. From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (1976). The vinyl version of the complete show went No. Elvis Country (Im 10,000 Years Old) (1971), 15. Please notice that these statistics do not include Follow That Dream releases they will be treated later on this same article. The Polynesian furniture was cleared out of Graceland to make room for a recording setup to capture performances from the waning singer in between his obsessive viewings of Charles Bronson in Death Wish. Until Now! As well as, extended play 45rpm mini-albums and several 45rpm single reissues. Youve got some Janning to do! 700 songs. 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. How many songs did Elvis sing total? This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. In fact whilst a fifties classic such as 'Hound Dog' may well have initially sold twice as many copies in the States, as it did elsewhere - which as only the Americans had developed a consumer based society by that stage, should hardly come as a surprise - it is plain from what we do know that subsequently anything up to 70% of the sales of later singles were sold overseas. 34. 12. Aretha Franklin's album "Amazing Grace" sold more than two million copies, becoming the . Elvis Presley 23 Studio albums, 8 Live albums, 13 Compilation albums, 29 EPs, 18 Soundtrack albums, 30 Box sets, 115 Posthumous compilations, and 11 Remix albums. " Teddy Bear" 5. But theres also I Need Someone to Lean On, a beautiful ballad from Viva Las Vegas in the vein of Chet Baker. $1 million was equal to about 760,000 copies and 608,000 copies at $4.98. 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. It was pretty much the same with 'Don't Cry Daddy'. 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. var cx = 'partner-pub-3868619518247857:4666236348'; But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. "Christmas with Elvis" reached number 1 on the Billboard Classical Albums and the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums charts. Why was the 1982 claim ever made? We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Rating. However no Elvis singles have been released in years. During an incredible career cut short by an early death at age 42, Elvis recorded about 700 songs. Did Elvis record a gospel album? Spinout could be the best soundtrack Elvis put out around this time, but thats not saying a lot, and it still has oodles of eminently skippable stuff, like the sex-is-food equation Smorgasbord.. 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. 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. How many songs did Elvis Presley record? This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. 41. G.I. It has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. As of this year, the Beatles have sold 600 million albums worldwidewith 177 million sold in the U.S. alone, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Elvis may not have fit in with the revolutionary spirit of 68, but he delivered an enjoyable group of songs: impassioned ballads like Love Letters and It Hurts Me, an energetic rendering of Ray Charless Whatd I Say, and the playful A Mess of Blues.. 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. Remembering Elvis with his 10 most popular hits 1. The best musical instrument is a love triangle. This page lists albums, singles, and compilations by the musician Elvis Costello, distinguishing between United States and United Kingdom release dates and record labels. For everyone else, things get dicier. Things you buy through our links may earnVox Mediaa commission. Some idea of the scale involved actually emerged through the 1977/8 interim and the final audited record company reports. 1. So what happened? That is a complicated question that changes as albums are released and chart. Domestically the indications are that the sales of Elvis records has over the last ten years, together with the discovery of historic sales, pushed up the overall total from about 400 million records to an current figure of 430 million copies - which can be broken down and in much simply form than before as follows: Summary of American Sales from 1954-2018 Millions sold, RIAA certified sales 205 Awaiting certification 5 Sales above/between certification levels * 75 Sales below minimum certification levels* 70 Other sales** 65 Total 430 million. 42. Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis (1974) At this point, Elvis hadnt played his hometown in 13 years, so why not make a major commercial enterprise of the last show of a big tour? How Tyrel Jackson Williams Brought TikTok Cringe to, Its sort of a newer version of the L.A. actor ride that Kyle is on the first two seasons, but its worse.. So the next question then turns on whether Elvis' sales conformed to this pattern. 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! 29. He had commercial success with songs in the pop, country, r&b, ac, and gospel genres, among others. These cookies do not store any personal information. Im Comin Home attempts a rock-and-roll revival at the top of the B side and just about achieves it. # 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. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 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. On the eccentric Im Yours, we have the rare experience of hearing Elvis close-harmonizing with himself over some weirdly isolated organ, providing a nicely unsettling hall-of-mirrors effect. 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. Songman and his far-from-actualized Love Song of the Year.. 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. # In several key overseas markets some sales were documented and certified - even as far back as the 1950s. Elvis Presley albums: How many albums did Elvis Presley make? Read More. 27. 38. In fact, less than a third of his official US releases achieved a Gold award or better. 46. 37. The Elvis Presley: The Searcher (The Original Soundtrack) deluxe 3CD set includes a 40-page hardcover book featuring rare photography, liner notes by Warren Zanes, and a director's note by Thom Zimny. This is definitive feel-bad Elvis. Elvis Is Back! 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. Singer Presents Elvis Singing Flaming Star and Others (1968) This budget-priced compilation mostly consists of unreleased soundtrack recordings from the 60s, aside from a version of Chuck Berrys Too Much Monkey Business that was recorded as a warm-up and the sloppily energized Tiger Man, which is the most exciting thing here: a sneak peek of the upcoming comeback special. "Good Times" reached number 1 on the Cash Box Country Albums chart. He charms on The Girl of My Best Friend and the saxophone-smothered Like a Baby, and the topical Soldier Boy has a lovely bridge for this officers pipes. Hurt is the open wound that gets this off to an epically melodramatic start and, at its best, ragged interpretations of songs like Danny Boy and Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain keep the album compellingly bottomed-out. Each song nonsensically ends with a tiny snippet of the title theme song, sung from the perspective of an all-knowing, ever-present Neolithic being who hung out with Moses, giving the record a vaguely conceptual feeling, but sounding like an error every time. Though this is Elviss last LP, released a month before his death, its not as depressing as the album that came before it, From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee, which was recorded entirely at Graceland in February 76. Elvis' Christmas Album (also reissued as It's Christmas Time) is the third studio album and first Christmas album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley on RCA Victor, . All this evidence seems to point towards an overall international sales figure, that at the very least is the equal of the domestic haul and almost certainly, I would suggest, much greater than that. 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. Album Certifications Total 146.5 Million. 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. 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? A Date With Elvis (1959) Issued a few months after For LP Fans Only, this album was made with the same intention as its predecessor: to keep fans sated with Elvis material while he was off driving tanks in the Army. In the case of Elvis other indicators include: # Those singles which were NEVER released in the States, but were huge hits in a wide range of countries overseas, including, amongst others, 'A Mess of Blues' (1960), 'Wooden Heart' (1961), 'I Just Can't Help Believing' (1971) and 'The Girl of My Best Friend' (1976). Loving You (1957) The mainly zippy soundtrack to Elviss first starring role (including a whole side of recent non-soundtrack cuts) transforms Elviss singing delivery man into something nicely cuddly on the albums best known and biggest hit, (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear, with a mean woman getting him good and hot on the scorching opener Mean Woman Blues. The loping drama of the Western number Lonesome Cowboy is a highlight, and theres a solid take on Blueberry Hill and a couple of sweet Cole Porter and Ivory Joe Hunter ballads. 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. (1965) After several so-so soundtrack albums in a row, Elvis returns to non-movie-related music, mostly, with a strong album released in celebration of the artists ten years with RCA. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; (Okay, Night Rider and Fountain of Love are an awkwardly hilarious back-to-back pair, too.) Highly recommended. The evidence is there - just not broken down to enable certification by individual title, correctly required under the RIAA rules. Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite (1973) On the same day as Super Bowl VII, Elvis attempted to outdo that extravaganza with his own super magic for the tube, as he put it, donning an American Eagle jumpsuit to appear in the most expensive televised live special thus far, broadcast to over a billion people worldwide.