The following has appeared on the Great American Country Website. Makes good reading for The King apart from the last item which still seems so unfair.
Brian
Elvis Presley & 50 Years of Gold
Aug. 13, 2008 — It’s Elvis Presley Week in Memphis, where fans line up every year to pay their respects to the King. This year’s event, however, serves as a double anniversary: Monday marked 50 years since he received his first gold record from the Recording Industry Association of America, for "Hard Headed Woman."
It was not the RIAA’s first gold award; that went in March to Perry Como for "Catch A Falling Star." It was not the first gold for Elvis, either, since some of his best-selling hits — including "Heartbreak Hotel," "All Shook Up" and "Don’t Be Cruel" — predated it. But the RIAA’s program was the first to provide an industry-wide standard for gold records, and Elvis made more use of the system than anyone else.
All told, Elvis has amassed 81 gold albums and 150 total gold, platinum and multi-platinum certifications, more than any other artist. And he collected 53 gold singles, 11 of which were released prior to 1958 but still managed to qualify for certification in later years.
Surprisingly, Elvis remains the King of gold records even during the 21st century. Beginning with the year 2000, he has received a dozen multi-platinum awards and 12 more platinum honors, making him No. 1 in both categories this decade. In addition, he’s the top gold-album recipient of the current decade, having picked up 17. He’s also far ahead of the decade’s gold-album runner-up: George Strait has 11.
Other gold-record achievements of note:
• The first album ever certified platinum, signifying 1 million copies sold, was The Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975. The disc remains the best-seller in U.S. history, having moved 29 million units.
• Multi-platinum albums were introduced in 1984. The Oak Ridge Boys became the first country act to receive that designation, picking up a double-platinum plaque for selling 2 million copies of Fancy Free.
• The soundtrack to the Whitney Houston movie The Bodyguard is the best-selling album of film music in history, having shipped 17 million units. Much of its popularity is attributed to the title track, Whitney’s cover of the Dolly Parton song "I Will Always Love You."
• The best-selling album by a female artist belongs to Shania Twain: Come On Over has sold 20 million copies.
• The best-selling male artist in American history is Garth Brooks who was honored last November for reaching 123 million total album sales. Garth actually hit the mark a year prior, but at his request, the RIAA waited 12 months to hold a ceremony, timed to occur the day before he launched The Ultimate Hits, which has since gone quintuple-platinum.
Elvis - 50 Years Of Gold
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Re: Elvis - 50 Years Of Gold
I just wish I could name ANY of these Garth Brooks albums that have supposedly out-sold everybody else!! And what does this bloke look like?!
Re: Elvis - 50 Years Of Gold
I wonder what Elvis albums would be name checked by someone who had never seen his image and had only heard his name in passing...TONY wrote:I just wish I could name ANY of these Garth Brooks albums that have supposedly out-sold everybody else!! And what does this bloke look like?!
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Hang your ignorance out for all to see, why don't youTONY wrote:I just wish I could name ANY of these Garth Brooks albums that have supposedly out-sold everybody else!! And what does this bloke look like?!
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Re: Elvis - 50 Years Of Gold
I live in the UK and over here, Brooks has only had 1 top 20 single, so he is not in our conciousness. It would be a bit like asking an American who 'Freddie' Flintoff is!!!
Last edited by TONY on Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Elvis - 50 Years Of Gold
I would love to be ignorant of Garth Brooks.KiwiAlan wrote:Hang your ignorance out for all to see, why don't youTONY wrote:I just wish I could name ANY of these Garth Brooks albums that have supposedly out-sold everybody else!! And what does this bloke look like?!