Elvis UK sales and world

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

A good search, and some great finds would increase the RIAA awards of Elvis. There are still some albums having not all the awards they deserve.
It might already be to late to find the right numbers. To many years, to many record companies, missing data and almost no computer work on these.
Maybe it was also done to present less numbers to pay less copyright and less tax, ... .
Maybe some paperwork just got lost.

Just because you think certain albums deserve awards does not necessarily mean they qualify for awards.

Obvious and well known as it was written down many times, that it is not known how many Elvis records have been sold in 1977/78 alone.

[emjel]

A good search, and some great finds would increase the RIAA awards of Elvis. There are still some albums having not all the awards they deserve.
It might already be to late to find the right numbers. To many years, to many record companies, missing data and almost no computer work on these.
Maybe it was also done to present less numbers to pay less copyright and less tax, ... .
Maybe some paperwork just got lost.

Just because you think certain albums deserve awards does not necessarily mean they qualify for awards.

Obvious and well known as it was written down many times, that it is not known how many Elvis records have been sold in 1977/78 alone.

Written is one thing but actual is something else. The US charts from Sept 1977 and for next couple of months contained only 7 titles, one of which was Moody Blue. The others were compilation albums like Gold Records 1 & 3, Welcome to my World, and Legendary Performer 1 and apart from Moody Blue, not one of them broke into the Top 60. Now whilst taken in total across the whole of catalogue might show as big sales, there is nothing to suggest that individual titles outside those albums mentioned above sold in big enough numbers that would achieve more RIAA awards that you appear to crave for.

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

A good search, and some great finds would increase the RIAA awards of Elvis. There are still some albums having not all the awards they deserve.
It might already be to late to find the right numbers. To many years, to many record companies, missing data and almost no computer work on these.
Maybe it was also done to present less numbers to pay less copyright and less tax, ... .
Maybe some paperwork just got lost.

Just because you think certain albums deserve awards does not necessarily mean they qualify for awards.

Obvious and well known as it was written down many times, that it is not known how many Elvis records have been sold in 1977/78 alone.

Written is one thing but actual is something else. The US charts from Sept 1977 and for next couple of months contained only 7 titles, one of which was Moody Blue. The others were compilation albums like Gold Records 1 & 3, Welcome to my World, and Legendary Performer 1 and apart from Moody Blue, not one of them broke into the Top 60. Now whilst taken in total across the whole of catalogue might show as big sales, there is nothing to suggest that individual titles outside those albums mentioned above sold in big enough numbers that would achieve more RIAA awards that you appear to crave for.

And how comes that back than that by far the most records that were made have been Elvis records. And how comes that the demand on Elvis records were so big that the record stores were sold out of Elvis records.
I don't know how it comes that Elvis didn't made it to number one at that time with the Moody Blue album.
He was selling the most records in that time.
Maybe because there were to many different Elvis albums on the market.
But no other band or or singer did sell that many and had that many orders than Elvis.

[emjel]

A good search, and some great finds would increase the RIAA awards of Elvis. There are still some albums having not all the awards they deserve.
It might already be to late to find the right numbers. To many years, to many record companies, missing data and almost no computer work on these.
Maybe it was also done to present less numbers to pay less copyright and less tax, ... .
Maybe some paperwork just got lost.

Just because you think certain albums deserve awards does not necessarily mean they qualify for awards.

Obvious and well known as it was written down many times, that it is not known how many Elvis records have been sold in 1977/78 alone.

Written is one thing but actual is something else. The US charts from Sept 1977 and for next couple of months contained only 7 titles, one of which was Moody Blue. The others were compilation albums like Gold Records 1 & 3, Welcome to my World, and Legendary Performer 1 and apart from Moody Blue, not one of them broke into the Top 60. Now whilst taken in total across the whole of catalogue might show as big sales, there is nothing to suggest that individual titles outside those albums mentioned above sold in big enough numbers that would achieve more RIAA awards that you appear to crave for.

And how comes that back than that by far the most records that were made have been Elvis records. And how comes that the demand on Elvis records were so big that the record stores were sold out of Elvis records.
I don't know how it comes that Elvis didn't made it to number one at that time with the Moody Blue album.
He was selling the most records in that time.
Maybe because there were to many different Elvis albums on the market.
But no other band or or singer did sell that many and had that many orders than Elvis.

It seems like you are reaching again. The record stores sold out as they carried very little stock of Elvis records to start off with and it took time to replenish the stocks, so if RCA could not press enough albums from across the catalogue, that would not have affected sales of the Moody Blue album which would have been RCAs top priority as it was his latest and last album to be released in his lifetime.

It doesn’t matter if he was selling the most amount of records at the time as it just means that sales were fragmented across various releases that were available, and it has always been the case that his compilation albums have sold well that’s why a few of them got into the Top 70 at the time. There was no way that the hotchpotch of an album like Moody Blue that had 4 previously released songs that had already been reasonably successful on singles was going to outsell an album like Rumours or even the Star Wars soundtrack album.

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

A good search, and some great finds would increase the RIAA awards of Elvis. There are still some albums having not all the awards they deserve.
It might already be to late to find the right numbers. To many years, to many record companies, missing data and almost no computer work on these.
Maybe it was also done to present less numbers to pay less copyright and less tax, ... .
Maybe some paperwork just got lost.

Just because you think certain albums deserve awards does not necessarily mean they qualify for awards.

Obvious and well known as it was written down many times, that it is not known how many Elvis records have been sold in 1977/78 alone.

Written is one thing but actual is something else. The US charts from Sept 1977 and for next couple of months contained only 7 titles, one of which was Moody Blue. The others were compilation albums like Gold Records 1 & 3, Welcome to my World, and Legendary Performer 1 and apart from Moody Blue, not one of them broke into the Top 60. Now whilst taken in total across the whole of catalogue might show as big sales, there is nothing to suggest that individual titles outside those albums mentioned above sold in big enough numbers that would achieve more RIAA awards that you appear to crave for.

And how comes that back than that by far the most records that were made have been Elvis records. And how comes that the demand on Elvis records were so big that the record stores were sold out of Elvis records.
I don't know how it comes that Elvis didn't made it to number one at that time with the Moody Blue album.
He was selling the most records in that time.
Maybe because there were to many different Elvis albums on the market.
But no other band or or singer did sell that many and had that many orders than Elvis.

It seems like you are reaching again. The record stores sold out as they carried very little stock of Elvis records to start off with and it took time to replenish the stocks, so if RCA could not press enough albums from across the catalogue, that would not have affected sales of the Moody Blue album which would have been RCAs top priority as it was his latest and last album to be released in his lifetime.

It doesn’t matter if he was selling the most amount of records at the time as it just means that sales were fragmented across various releases that were available, and it has always been the case that his compilation albums have sold well that’s why a few of them got into the Top 70 at the time. There was no way that the hotchpotch of an album like Moody Blue that had 4 previously released songs that had already been reasonably successful on singles was going to outsell an album like Rumours or even the Star Wars soundtrack album.

If there had been enough copies of the Moody Blue Album in the stores, it easy would have been a number one album in the USA.
There habe been more albums that have had more singles released see for example Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson and it did not hurt the selling of an album.
It was his last album and people would have bought at the directly reaction of his death.

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

I think another problem with Elvis in the USA mid 70' s studio albums was, that RCA was sure that they always sold in some hundred 1000 copies and not in the multiple millions as I understand that.
So they sure did calculate that in production of the amount of albums.

[emjel]

A good search, and some great finds would increase the RIAA awards of Elvis. There are still some albums having not all the awards they deserve.
It might already be to late to find the right numbers. To many years, to many record companies, missing data and almost no computer work on these.
Maybe it was also done to present less numbers to pay less copyright and less tax, ... .
Maybe some paperwork just got lost.

Just because you think certain albums deserve awards does not necessarily mean they qualify for awards.

Obvious and well known as it was written down many times, that it is not known how many Elvis records have been sold in 1977/78 alone.

Written is one thing but actual is something else. The US charts from Sept 1977 and for next couple of months contained only 7 titles, one of which was Moody Blue. The others were compilation albums like Gold Records 1 & 3, Welcome to my World, and Legendary Performer 1 and apart from Moody Blue, not one of them broke into the Top 60. Now whilst taken in total across the whole of catalogue might show as big sales, there is nothing to suggest that individual titles outside those albums mentioned above sold in big enough numbers that would achieve more RIAA awards that you appear to crave for.

And how comes that back than that by far the most records that were made have been Elvis records. And how comes that the demand on Elvis records were so big that the record stores were sold out of Elvis records.
I don't know how it comes that Elvis didn't made it to number one at that time with the Moody Blue album.
He was selling the most records in that time.
Maybe because there were to many different Elvis albums on the market.
But no other band or or singer did sell that many and had that many orders than Elvis.

It seems like you are reaching again. The record stores sold out as they carried very little stock of Elvis records to start off with and it took time to replenish the stocks, so if RCA could not press enough albums from across the catalogue, that would not have affected sales of the Moody Blue album which would have been RCAs top priority as it was his latest and last album to be released in his lifetime.

It doesn’t matter if he was selling the most amount of records at the time as it just means that sales were fragmented across various releases that were available, and it has always been the case that his compilation albums have sold well that’s why a few of them got into the Top 70 at the time. There was no way that the hotchpotch of an album like Moody Blue that had 4 previously released songs that had already been reasonably successful on singles was going to outsell an album like Rumours or even the Star Wars soundtrack album.

If there had been enough copies of the Moody Blue Album in the stores, it easy would have been a number one album in the USA.
There habe been more albums that have had more singles released see for example Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson and it did not hurt the selling of an album.
It was his last album and people would have bought at the directly reaction of his death.

Oh for heaven’s sake, why can’t you simply accept things as they are instead of coming out with "if this’ or ‘if that". You still do not know the number of album sales needed to eclipse the Fleetwood Mac album. Next you’ll be suggesting that "if" all the record store owners had removed all other artists albums from their shelves and just left Elvis there, he would have had the Top 20 boxed off with sales.

With regard to Jackson and I assume you mean Thriller, that album is classed as setting standards for an album release and was head and shoulders above Elvis’ album which was put together in a mode of desperation to fulfil a contract. All the Jackson singles apart from one were put out after the album was released and simply proved how strong the tracks were.

All that aside, and as you seem to rely on "if’ statements, how about…."if Elvis had got his arse in gear and got to the recording studios to produce a decent proper album…….."

[bajo]

Me thinks the ELVIS SALES need to come to an end! RIAA have their statistics, that's it? Then, add your own! Fact is: There are no real facts concerning Elvis' record sales! Take a look at the Graceland Halls of awards, and there may still be something to add!
In the end: Does it really matter? Elvis was, and still is POPULAR!The world goes on, and in the field of Elvis, all records are going to be smashed. It's the real world!!:smt020

[Jaime1234]

Its a magnifgicient sparring tine, well spent, the writings one reads in this thead. Kudos to all concerned.

[sweetangeline]

how about…."if Elvis had got his arse in gear and got to the recording studios to produce a decent proper album…….."

...sadly this statement is 100% true. Reality is over 23yrs we only have a handful that fit this scenario and some might argue less.

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

how about…."if Elvis had got his arse in gear and got to the recording studios to produce a decent proper album…….."

...sadly this statement is 100% true. Reality is over 23yrs we only have a handful that fit this scenario and some might argue less.

I love the Moody Blue Album like it is.
A mix of live recordings and Jungle Room recordings.
It would have been great if Elvis had let him make his own recording studio at Graceland, were he could work on his music.
For The Thriller album, it is not my taste. I prefer Hank Williams recordings.
I would prefer James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cook, Little Richard.
For Moody Blue, Elvis last album it had much more inside. It had the great Unchained Melody, it had the rocking Way Down, it had the modern Moody Blue, it had Country, it had the funny Little Darling, it had the other great live recordings, it had Ballads.
He had made so many great music for us. You can always complain to the things he might missed.
But I keep with that what I got from him, the great music.
The media was full with the news, it was written in many books how they tried to keep working for the great demand on Elvis records. No Star Wars album or Fleetwood Mac album or other album could have top that if there were enough Elvis albums in the stores and combined all Elvis albums did sure sell more.

[Greystoke]

how about…."if Elvis had got his arse in gear and got to the recording studios to produce a decent proper album…….."

...sadly this statement is 100% true. Reality is over 23yrs we only have a handful that fit this scenario and some might argue less.

I love the Moody Blue Album like it is.
A mix of live recordings and Jungle Room recordings.
It would have been great if Elvis had let him make his own recording studio at Graceland, were he could work on his music.
For The Thriller album, it is not my taste. I prefer Hank Williams recordings.
I would prefer James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cook, Little Richard.
For Moody Blue, Elvis last album it had much more inside. It had the great Unchained Melody, it had the rocking Way Down, it had the modern Moody Blue, it had Country, it had the funny Little Darling, it had the other great live recordings, it had Ballads.
He had made so many great music for us. You can always complain to the things he might missed.
But I keep with that what I got from him, the great music.
The media was full with the news, it was written in many books how they tried to keep working for the great demand on Elvis records. No Star Wars album or Fleetwood Mac album or other album could have top that if there were enough Elvis albums in the stores and combined all Elvis albums did sure sell more.

I doubt very much that Moody Blue would have matched the sales of Rumours under any circumstances. Rumours sold more domestically than Moody Blue and Elvis in Concert combined in 1977/1978. Although, don't get me wrong, Moody Blue was very successful, but Rumours was a sales and charts juggernaut that found exceptional success. It's one of only six albums that have sold over 20 million copies in North America. Whilst fewer than 70 albums have sold over ten million copies domestic. Rumours sold 8 million copies domestic in just over a year.

[emjel]

how about…."if Elvis had got his arse in gear and got to the recording studios to produce a decent proper album…….."

...sadly this statement is 100% true. Reality is over 23yrs we only have a handful that fit this scenario and some might argue less.

I love the Moody Blue Album like it is.
A mix of live recordings and Jungle Room recordings.
It would have been great if Elvis had let him make his own recording studio at Graceland, were he could work on his music.
For The Thriller album, it is not my taste. I prefer Hank Williams recordings.
I would prefer James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cook, Little Richard.
For Moody Blue, Elvis last album it had much more inside. It had the great Unchained Melody, it had the rocking Way Down, it had the modern Moody Blue, it had Country, it had the funny Little Darling, it had the other great live recordings, it had Ballads.
He had made so many great music for us. You can always complain to the things he might missed.
But I keep with that what I got from him, the great music.
The media was full with the news, it was written in many books how they tried to keep working for the great demand on Elvis records. No Star Wars album or Fleetwood Mac album or other album could have top that if there were enough Elvis albums in the stores and combined all Elvis albums did sure sell more.

Once again, you are still reaching in desperation mode and not looking at things in a proper context. As a fan and the kind of fan that you are, any Elvis album to you sounds great. And you’d probably think every album deserved a platinum award. But that’s not the way it works. You need to divorce yourself from what you personally like and look at the bigger picture.

Whilst you may think the Moody Blue album was great, it was generally perceived as a hotchpotch album put together by a desperate Felton Jarvis who was at his wits end in delivering enough songs to RCA so they could get another album out and which fulfilled a contract. Jarvis even had to resort in adding an already released "live’ track from the "Recorded in Memphis" album from three years earlier to get the number up to 10 tracks - "Let Me Be There’. I’m surprised Jarvis didn’t suggest to RCA that instead of trying to scoop together a few new "live" recordings to add to the album, that they save time and put out another budget album entitled Elvis Sings Moody Blue and Hits From His Movies Vol 3.

The reality though is that you need to face facts that whilst the album charted reasonably well at the outset and then peaking at #3, it did so off the back of two things. The first was people were buying it and in some cases two copies because it was pressed on Blue Vinyl and was seen as a collectible item, and secondly, what happened on the 16th Aug 1977 and had nothing to do with the the recordings that were on the album. I doubt the album would have broken Into the Top 20 as it had already stalled at #24 for a couple of weeks and basically only achieved that position because of the blue vinyl pressing.

Elvis fans should be proud when one of his albums charts well and sells very well based on the quality of the music on the album, and not when high generated sales have occurred because of a gimmick or because people were caught up in a media frenzy and simply wanted some kind of momento because of what happened in August 1977. I suspect that some were so desperate to buy an Elvis album due to what had happened that they would have bought and probably did, a copy of Harem Scarum or Paradise Hawaiian Style or Double Trouble albums had they been on the shelves.

And it doesn’t matter if you don’t like Jackson’s “Thriller" album - that album is the biggest selling album with sales of over 35 million in the US - he also has a few others that have sales of over 10 million. And as iconic an entertainer Elvis was, not one of his studio album comes anywhere close to that number. Had the event on the 16th August not happened, and had RCA simply pressed Moody Blue on regular black vinyl, I doubt the Moody Blue album would have sold half a million.

[sweetangeline]

how about…."if Elvis had got his arse in gear and got to the recording studios to produce a decent proper album…….."

...sadly this statement is 100% true. Reality is over 23yrs we only have a handful that fit this scenario and some might argue less.

I love the Moody Blue Album like it is.
A mix of live recordings and Jungle Room recordings.
It would have been great if Elvis had let him make his own recording studio at Graceland, were he could work on his music.
For The Thriller album, it is not my taste. I prefer Hank Williams recordings.
I would prefer James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cook, Little Richard.
For Moody Blue, Elvis last album it had much more inside. It had the great Unchained Melody, it had the rocking Way Down, it had the modern Moody Blue, it had Country, it had the funny Little Darling, it had the other great live recordings, it had Ballads.
He had made so many great music for us. You can always complain to the things he might missed.
But I keep with that what I got from him, the great music.
The media was full with the news, it was written in many books how they tried to keep working for the great demand on Elvis records. No Star Wars album or Fleetwood Mac album or other album could have top that if there were enough Elvis albums in the stores and combined all Elvis albums did sure sell more.

Sorry to tell you this but MOODY BLUE does not make the cut as the "handful" I hinted at above. Here is one of my studio picks FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS 1969.

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

how about…."if Elvis had got his arse in gear and got to the recording studios to produce a decent proper album…….."

...sadly this statement is 100% true. Reality is over 23yrs we only have a handful that fit this scenario and some might argue less.

I love the Moody Blue Album like it is.
A mix of live recordings and Jungle Room recordings.
It would have been great if Elvis had let him make his own recording studio at Graceland, were he could work on his music.
For The Thriller album, it is not my taste. I prefer Hank Williams recordings.
I would prefer James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cook, Little Richard.
For Moody Blue, Elvis last album it had much more inside. It had the great Unchained Melody, it had the rocking Way Down, it had the modern Moody Blue, it had Country, it had the funny Little Darling, it had the other great live recordings, it had Ballads.
He had made so many great music for us. You can always complain to the things he might missed.
But I keep with that what I got from him, the great music.
The media was full with the news, it was written in many books how they tried to keep working for the great demand on Elvis records. No Star Wars album or Fleetwood Mac album or other album could have top that if there were enough Elvis albums in the stores and combined all Elvis albums did sure sell more.

Once again, you are still reaching in desperation mode and not looking at things in a proper context. As a fan and the kind of fan that you are, any Elvis album to you sounds great. And you’d probably think every album deserved a platinum award. But that’s not the way it works. You need to divorce yourself from what you personally like and look at the bigger picture.

Whilst you may think the Moody Blue album was great, it was generally perceived as a hotchpotch album put together by a desperate Felton Jarvis who was at his wits end in delivering enough songs to RCA so they could get another album out and which fulfilled a contract. Jarvis even had to resort in adding an already released "live’ track from the "Recorded in Memphis" album from three years earlier to get the number up to 10 tracks - "Let Me Be There’. I’m surprised Jarvis didn’t suggest to RCA that instead of trying to scoop together a few new "live" recordings to add to the album, that they save time and put out another budget album entitled Elvis Sings Moody Blue and Hits From His Movies Vol 3.

The reality though is that you need to face facts that whilst the album charted reasonably well at the outset and then peaking at #3, it did so off the back of two things. The first was people were buying it and in some cases two copies because it was pressed on Blue Vinyl and was seen as a collectible item, and secondly, what happened on the 16th Aug 1977 and had nothing to do with the the recordings that were on the album. I doubt the album would have broken Into the Top 20 as it had already stalled at #24 for a couple of weeks and basically only achieved that position because of the blue vinyl pressing.

Elvis fans should be proud when one of his albums charts well and sells very well based on the quality of the music on the album, and not when high generated sales have occurred because of a gimmick or because people were caught up in a media frenzy and simply wanted some kind of momento because of what happened in August 1977. I suspect that some were so desperate to buy an Elvis album due to what had happened that they would have bought and probably did, a copy of Harem Scarum or Paradise Hawaiian Style or Double Trouble albums had they been on the shelves.

And it doesn’t matter if you don’t like Jackson’s “Thriller" album - that album is the biggest selling album with sales of over 35 million in the US - he also has a few others that have sales of over 10 million. And as iconic an entertainer Elvis was, not one of his studio album comes anywhere close to that number. Had the event on the 16th August not happened, and had RCA simply pressed Moody Blue on regular black vinyl, I doubt the Moody Blue album would have sold half a million.

Elvis himself, in response to a question from Marion Keisker of Memphis Recording Service. She asked him, "What kind of singer are you?" and Elvis simply replied, "I sing all kinds."
That´s what the album Moody Blue is about.
Elvis sings here again in a wide variety of musical styles. He shows that he can sing just as well live as in the studio.
The fact that some of the recordings are a few years old may only bother the one or other die-hard fan.
Now one can justifiably say that it seems too much thrown together. But you can also say that the album is varied and by no means boring.
This stupid remark that the album only sold so well because of the special blue pressing, what's that all about?
Are all other artists allowed to make a special edition but not Elvis? No matter who, they all have special editions (Beatles, M. Jackson and yes, even Fleetwood Mac).
It is also a fact that the later albums like Promised land and Moody Blue sold better than the immediate studio albums before.
The King Is Gone, But He’s Not Forgotten
https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/elvis-presley-archive-billboard-history-1235105769/#!
“The shock waves linger after Elvis Presley, who had the lead role in spawning a new form of American music, died of an apparent heart attack at Graceland,” reported the Aug. 27, 1977, Billboard. An article in the same issue titled “Mourning Fans Boom Elvis’ Sales,” quoted an RCA spokesman saying “it would be inappropriate” to discuss marketing plans. The Sept. 3, 1977, Billboard reported that “demand for Elvis product is running 30 times ahead of supply,” by which point “retailers waiting impatiently” had pushed RCA’s spokesperson to assure them that “the label was trying to fill every order.”
BILLBOARD MAGAZINE in a November 16th, 1977 issue that stated “the continued demand for anything Elvis is accounting for a third of all U.S. albums sold."
So if there were enough copies of Elvis last album in the right time in the stores and if they all were counted the right way than Elvis would have a number 1 album with Moody Blue in the USA.
https://www.elvisinfonet.com/interview_ernst_sales.html
Also, from his talks with industry execs. with RCA etc., Elvis' sales from the period of 77-80 were unmatched worldwide and truly put the icing on the cake. And it is those sales records that Ernst and others have continually looked for with him saying that they have found some of what they were looking for. (whatever that means as I wish he would give specifics) He did reference - for example - Moody Blue as not even being represented for even half its sales US sales saying they had the proof on it. (Why has there been no certification upgrade as of yet I do not know).

[srovenstine]

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE in a November 16th, 1977 issue that stated “the continued demand for anything Elvis is accounting for a third of all U.S. albums sold."
So if there were enough copies of Elvis last album in the right time in the stores and if they all were counted the right way than Elvis would have a number 1 album with Moody Blue in the USA.


Billboard propaganda- I remember a Slim Whitman tv add in 1977 for his recent album. Stated he sold more than Elvis and the Beatles! Who you going to believe? Slim Whitman or Billboard?

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE in a November 16th, 1977 issue that stated “the continued demand for anything Elvis is accounting for a third of all U.S. albums sold."
So if there were enough copies of Elvis last album in the right time in the stores and if they all were counted the right way than Elvis would have a number 1 album with Moody Blue in the USA.


Billboard propaganda- I remember a Slim Whitman tv add in 1977 for his recent album. Stated he sold more than Elvis and the Beatles! Who you going to believe? Slim Whitman or Billboard?

I am sure that all combined Elvis did sell the most albums in that time frame.

[emjel]

how about…."if Elvis had got his arse in gear and got to the recording studios to produce a decent proper album…….."

...sadly this statement is 100% true. Reality is over 23yrs we only have a handful that fit this scenario and some might argue less.

I love the Moody Blue Album like it is.
A mix of live recordings and Jungle Room recordings.
It would have been great if Elvis had let him make his own recording studio at Graceland, were he could work on his music.
For The Thriller album, it is not my taste. I prefer Hank Williams recordings.
I would prefer James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cook, Little Richard.
For Moody Blue, Elvis last album it had much more inside. It had the great Unchained Melody, it had the rocking Way Down, it had the modern Moody Blue, it had Country, it had the funny Little Darling, it had the other great live recordings, it had Ballads.
He had made so many great music for us. You can always complain to the things he might missed.
But I keep with that what I got from him, the great music.
The media was full with the news, it was written in many books how they tried to keep working for the great demand on Elvis records. No Star Wars album or Fleetwood Mac album or other album could have top that if there were enough Elvis albums in the stores and combined all Elvis albums did sure sell more.

Once again, you are still reaching in desperation mode and not looking at things in a proper context. As a fan and the kind of fan that you are, any Elvis album to you sounds great. And you’d probably think every album deserved a platinum award. But that’s not the way it works. You need to divorce yourself from what you personally like and look at the bigger picture.

Whilst you may think the Moody Blue album was great, it was generally perceived as a hotchpotch album put together by a desperate Felton Jarvis who was at his wits end in delivering enough songs to RCA so they could get another album out and which fulfilled a contract. Jarvis even had to resort in adding an already released "live’ track from the "Recorded in Memphis" album from three years earlier to get the number up to 10 tracks - "Let Me Be There’. I’m surprised Jarvis didn’t suggest to RCA that instead of trying to scoop together a few new "live" recordings to add to the album, that they save time and put out another budget album entitled Elvis Sings Moody Blue and Hits From His Movies Vol 3.

The reality though is that you need to face facts that whilst the album charted reasonably well at the outset and then peaking at #3, it did so off the back of two things. The first was people were buying it and in some cases two copies because it was pressed on Blue Vinyl and was seen as a collectible item, and secondly, what happened on the 16th Aug 1977 and had nothing to do with the the recordings that were on the album. I doubt the album would have broken Into the Top 20 as it had already stalled at #24 for a couple of weeks and basically only achieved that position because of the blue vinyl pressing.

Elvis fans should be proud when one of his albums charts well and sells very well based on the quality of the music on the album, and not when high generated sales have occurred because of a gimmick or because people were caught up in a media frenzy and simply wanted some kind of momento because of what happened in August 1977. I suspect that some were so desperate to buy an Elvis album due to what had happened that they would have bought and probably did, a copy of Harem Scarum or Paradise Hawaiian Style or Double Trouble albums had they been on the shelves.

And it doesn’t matter if you don’t like Jackson’s “Thriller" album - that album is the biggest selling album with sales of over 35 million in the US - he also has a few others that have sales of over 10 million. And as iconic an entertainer Elvis was, not one of his studio album comes anywhere close to that number. Had the event on the 16th August not happened, and had RCA simply pressed Moody Blue on regular black vinyl, I doubt the Moody Blue album would have sold half a million.

Elvis himself, in response to a question from Marion Keisker of Memphis Recording Service. She asked him, "What kind of singer are you?" and Elvis simply replied, "I sing all kinds."
That´s what the album Moody Blue is about.
Elvis sings here again in a wide variety of musical styles. He shows that he can sing just as well live as in the studio.
The fact that some of the recordings are a few years old may only bother the one or other die-hard fan.
Now one can justifiably say that it seems too much thrown together. But you can also say that the album is varied and by no means boring.

Sorry but the Moody Blue album has nothing to do with that fact that Elvis could sing all kinds. We know he could do that, but as I have repeatedly said, the Moody Blue album was concocted the way it was because RCA did not have enough studio recordings to make up a proper album. Elvis was supposed to go into the recording studio at the start of 1977 to record enough songs to make a proper studio album but he could not be bothered, leaving Jarvis to come up with no alternative but to record a few songs that Elvis was performing on stage which had never been released. Do not delude yourself into thinking this was some kind of major creative thinking on Elvis' part because it wasn't. As far as he was concerned, Jarvis had done enough for Elvis to fulfill hos contract.

This stupid remark that the album only sold so well because of the special blue pressing, what's that all about?
Are all other artists allowed to make a special edition but not Elvis? No matter who, they all have special editions (Beatles, M. Jackson and yes, even Fleetwood Mac).

There is nothing stupid about the remark. It is a fact that fans and collectors were buying extra copies of the album because it was pressed on blue vinyl because they hoped that further down the line, they would become collector items. UK fans and shops were getting copies imported into the UK for that very reason all adding to the US sales numbers. It has nothing to do with allowing or not allowing Elvis to put out a coloured vinyl album as we are not making direct comparisons with coloured vinyls albums from other artists.

Have you not figured it out yet that there is a reason why many record companies back then and even these days put out coloured vinyl records - it's because they are collectable. Once it was known that supplies of the Blue Vinyl version of the Moody Blue album were exhausted, RCA were going to revert to regular black vinyl copies, this instantly creating demand - I better buy now for fear of missing out and that increase in sales led the album to reaching its initial chart position of #24. It is no different to what FTD are doing now. Regular FTD Vinyl albums sell around 1500/2000 copies. FTD put out a press release that the next FTD vinyl is coming out on coloured vinyl and the demand increases overnight almost doubling normal sales. It should not be difficult for you to understand that.

It is also a fact that the later albums like Promised land and Moody Blue sold better than the immediate studio albums before.

What has that got to do with Moody Blue not reaching the top position. It might be a fact that Promised Land sold better than Raised on Rock or Good Times but the Today album was in my opinion better than those two albums, was a proper studio album and contained the genres that you rate highly for the Moody Blue Album. And you keep repeating that the Moody Blue album sold well and no one would dispute that, but what is is being put forward are the two reasons it did sell well and to ignore those facts is ridiculous.

The King Is Gone, But He’s Not Forgotten
https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/elvis-presley-archive-billboard-history-1235105769/#!
“The shock waves linger after Elvis Presley, who had the lead role in spawning a new form of American music, died of an apparent heart attack at Graceland,” reported the Aug. 27, 1977, Billboard. An article in the same issue titled “Mourning Fans Boom Elvis’ Sales,” quoted an RCA spokesman saying “it would be inappropriate” to discuss marketing plans. The Sept. 3, 1977, Billboard reported that “demand for Elvis product is running 30 times ahead of supply,” by which point “retailers waiting impatiently” had pushed RCA’s spokesperson to assure them that “the label was trying to fill every order.”

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE in a November 16th, 1977 issue that stated “the continued demand for anything Elvis is accounting for a third of all U.S. albums sold."

So if there were enough copies of Elvis last album in the right time in the stores and if they all were counted the right way than Elvis would have a number 1 album with Moody Blue in the USA.
https://www.elvisinfonet.com/interview_ernst_sales.html
Also, from his talks with industry execs. with RCA etc., Elvis' sales from the period of 77-80 were unmatched worldwide and truly put the icing on the cake. And it is those sales records that Ernst and others have continually looked for with him saying that they have found some of what they were looking for. (whatever that means as I wish he would give specifics) He did reference - for example - Moody Blue as not even being represented for even half its sales US sales saying they had the proof on it. (Why has there been no certification upgrade as of yet I do not know).

The remainder of your argument is based on your weak needs. Billboard are not telling us anything that we do not already know regarding the shock waves. If there is a great way of creating a demand even if there isn't one, it is to say that there is a a great demand - it's great sales tactics. And once again, your argument continues to be based on "if" comments. If more records had been available.....if the albums sold had been counted properly......it's IF IF IF all the time with you. And there is absolutely no way that Ernst can say they have proof of sales and then still not use it after all these years when other albums have received awards in recent years.

[emjel]

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE in a November 16th, 1977 issue that stated “the continued demand for anything Elvis is accounting for a third of all U.S. albums sold."
So if there were enough copies of Elvis last album in the right time in the stores and if they all were counted the right way than Elvis would have a number 1 album with Moody Blue in the USA.


Billboard propaganda- I remember a Slim Whitman tv add in 1977 for his recent album. Stated he sold more than Elvis and the Beatles! Who you going to believe? Slim Whitman or Billboard?

I am sure that all combined Elvis did sell the most albums in that time frame.

Elvis had a large number of catalogue albums available for people to buy so it is not unreasonable to understand that across the catalogue, a lot of records were sold throughout the world during the period you talk about, but that does not mean that individual albums sold in massive numbers which would enable them to get more RIAA awards which is what you are trying to claim.

To my mind, an artist who releases five albums that generate sales of 50 million has a better achievement record than an artist who releases twenty five albums and achieves the same sales.

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE in a November 16th, 1977 issue that stated “the continued demand for anything Elvis is accounting for a third of all U.S. albums sold."
So if there were enough copies of Elvis last album in the right time in the stores and if they all were counted the right way than Elvis would have a number 1 album with Moody Blue in the USA.


Billboard propaganda- I remember a Slim Whitman tv add in 1977 for his recent album. Stated he sold more than Elvis and the Beatles! Who you going to believe? Slim Whitman or Billboard?

I am sure that all combined Elvis did sell the most albums in that time frame.

Elvis had a large number of catalogue albums available for people to buy so it is not unreasonable to understand that across the catalogue, a lot of records were sold throughout the world during the period you talk about, but that does not mean that individual albums sold in massive numbers which would enable them to get more RIAA awards which is what you are trying to claim.

To my mind, an artist who releases five albums that generate sales of 50 million has a better achievement record than an artist who releases twenty five albums and achieves the same sales.

But Elvis sold the most albums in that time. And they just did not have enough Moody Blue Albums for sale at the right time. But all his records were selling.
You just want to talk down Elvis' sales figures, although it is generally known that they couldn't keep up with the production of Elvis records back then because the demand was so great.
When David Bowie died, for example, he went straight into the charts phenomenally with his albums thanks to today's streaming etc.
With Elvis it was a different time and he was also a different house number. You couldn't keep up with the counting and that was a completely different dimension. To this day, people still talk about the many missing units that would have led to even more Golden Awards.

[emjel]

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE in a November 16th, 1977 issue that stated “the continued demand for anything Elvis is accounting for a third of all U.S. albums sold."
So if there were enough copies of Elvis last album in the right time in the stores and if they all were counted the right way than Elvis would have a number 1 album with Moody Blue in the USA.


Billboard propaganda- I remember a Slim Whitman tv add in 1977 for his recent album. Stated he sold more than Elvis and the Beatles! Who you going to believe? Slim Whitman or Billboard?

I am sure that all combined Elvis did sell the most albums in that time frame.

Elvis had a large number of catalogue albums available for people to buy so it is not unreasonable to understand that across the catalogue, a lot of records were sold throughout the world during the period you talk about, but that does not mean that individual albums sold in massive numbers which would enable them to get more RIAA awards which is what you are trying to claim.

To my mind, an artist who releases five albums that generate sales of 50 million has a better achievement record than an artist who releases twenty five albums and achieves the same sales.

But Elvis sold the most albums in that time. And they just did not have enough Moody Blue Albums for sale at the right time. But all his records were selling.
You just want to talk down Elvis' sales figures, although it is generally known that they couldn't keep up with the production of Elvis records back then because the demand was so great.
When David Bowie died, for example, he went straight into the charts phenomenally with his albums thanks to today's streaming etc.
With Elvis it was a different time and he was also a different house number. You couldn't keep up with the counting and that was a completely different dimension. To this day, people still talk about the many missing units that would have led to even more Golden Awards.

I'm not talking down Elvis' sales figures and I am not saying his records were not selling either but the charts suggest that sales of much of the back catalogue albums were not selling in huge numbers that would be necessary to give them additional awards that you crave for. Unlike you, I like to live in a world that is closer to reality where I i recognise that initial sales of the Moody Blue album were boosted by the blue vinyl pressings and not so much by the music on the album and that a few weeks later, it received a massive boost helped by Elvis' death. And there is every possibility that Elvis die hard collectors even went out and bought the black vinyl edition too, so now they probably had three copies of the album - two of the blue one and one of the regular black.

The problem you have however is that you simply refuse to accept such a thing and you continually look for ways to up those figures based on your IF theories and stories told or stories read.....stories you want or need to believe are true. And where is this story of places not being able to count things properly coming from. If a shop network ordered 10000 copies of the Moody Blue album, received 10000 copies of the Moody Blue album and then sold all 10000 copies of the Moody Blue album, counting is not really required because as far as RCA is concerned, it has shipped 10000 copies to the shop network and as far as the shops are concerned, they have sold 10000 copies. It's very unlikely that a shop network would try and say that they had miscounted and had really sold 20000 copies. Or perhaps you think that RCA simply dropped a load of albums into a shipping container without counting, sent them off to the various shops and made up invoices for some unsubstantiated figure which of course the shop would pay without question.

You keep on referring to great demand vs lack of production, and that may well have been true whilst RCA were coming to terms with getting a lot of back catalogue items repressed, album sleeves reprinted, and then shipped to stores, but RCA would have put the Moody Blue album at the top of their priority output especially when they subcontracted a third party pressing plant to help out, so any shortage of that album would have only occurred within a short space of time and if people wanted that album badly enough, they would have gone back a week or so later.

I'm not sure that David Bowie's sales were hugely generated by streaming back in 2016, but if you want to do closer comparisons with other deceased artists, then why not look at John Lennon's unexpected death at the end of 1980 when streaming wasn't around.

Geffen Records, a brand new record label set up in the same year as Lennon's death, was certainly caught on the hop when it put out Double Fantasy. It was Lennon's first album for 5 years and there was no real knowledge at how the album would be received because as a musician, Lennon wasn't exactly in the spotlight with his music - no single or album since the mid 70s and no touring either.

Critics were not initially impressed when the album was released as they felt Yoko was too involved and off the back of that, it had a slow start with sales. But sales improved and then within a couple of weeks of Lennon's murder, sales started to take off just like they did following Elvis' death with Moody Blue. The big difference is that Double Fantasy reached the top spot in Billboard where it stayed at the top for 8 weeks and reach the top spot in 9 other countries. And unlike Moody Blue which remained on the Billboard chart for 31 weeks, Double Fantasy remained on the Billboard chart for 77 weeks over a year after Lennon's death and went on to sell over 3 million copies in the US without the help of a coloured vinyl gimmick, The album also received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, which it won. Lennon was also nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, but did not win, but hey, that's life. I didn't complain back in 1981 as if it was some huge miscarriage of entitlement and I'm certainly not bothered 42 years later either.

But that said, maybe i should follow your train of thought and swoon at the possibility that IF Geffen Records had got twice as many records into the stores on time, it would have sold twice as many copies, stayed at the top for twice as long and also remained on chart for twice as long. Now that would have truly been a Double Fantasy.

[Jaime1234]

What a brilliant set of comments. Kudos to all concerned.

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE in a November 16th, 1977 issue that stated “the continued demand for anything Elvis is accounting for a third of all U.S. albums sold."
So if there were enough copies of Elvis last album in the right time in the stores and if they all were counted the right way than Elvis would have a number 1 album with Moody Blue in the USA.


Billboard propaganda- I remember a Slim Whitman tv add in 1977 for his recent album. Stated he sold more than Elvis and the Beatles! Who you going to believe? Slim Whitman or Billboard?

I am sure that all combined Elvis did sell the most albums in that time frame.

Elvis had a large number of catalogue albums available for people to buy so it is not unreasonable to understand that across the catalogue, a lot of records were sold throughout the world during the period you talk about, but that does not mean that individual albums sold in massive numbers which would enable them to get more RIAA awards which is what you are trying to claim.

To my mind, an artist who releases five albums that generate sales of 50 million has a better achievement record than an artist who releases twenty five albums and achieves the same sales.

there may have only been 2-3,000,000 Elvis albums on the shelves, including the PICKWICK releases.
What did happen from August 17th 1977

is that RCA were inundated with orders from just about every source, to the extent that seven days after his death, RCA had received orders for a little over
fourteen million Elvis albums, while PICKWICK RECORDS accumulated orders for another five million albums. This information came from a U.S. book on the
history of the U.S. recording industry and the source quoted was RCA President at that time, LOUIS COUTOLENC.
This huge demand for Elvis product was unheard of in the history of the recording industry, and only for the fact that the orders were spread over fifty-two
titles, we would have had, perhaps, the largest selling albums of all time if RCA had concentrated on just the current releases. The demand presented RCA
with major logistical problems as they had been withdrawing from the record manufacturing side of the industry in an effort to streamline costs. However, a
report in BILLBOARD MAGAZINE dated 3rd September, 1977, states "RCA is finding itself literally hard-pressed to keep up with unabating demand for LP's,
tapes and singles. Its vertically integrated Indianapolis operation has been running seven days, 24 hours, pressing all 50 LP's in the catalog, as well as
producing tapes and singles.

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE in a November 16th, 1977 issue that stated “the continued demand for anything Elvis is accounting for a third of all U.S. albums sold."
So if there were enough copies of Elvis last album in the right time in the stores and if they all were counted the right way than Elvis would have a number 1 album with Moody Blue in the USA.


Billboard propaganda- I remember a Slim Whitman tv add in 1977 for his recent album. Stated he sold more than Elvis and the Beatles! Who you going to believe? Slim Whitman or Billboard?

I am sure that all combined Elvis did sell the most albums in that time frame.

Elvis had a large number of catalogue albums available for people to buy so it is not unreasonable to understand that across the catalogue, a lot of records were sold throughout the world during the period you talk about, but that does not mean that individual albums sold in massive numbers which would enable them to get more RIAA awards which is what you are trying to claim.

To my mind, an artist who releases five albums that generate sales of 50 million has a better achievement record than an artist who releases twenty five albums and achieves the same sales.

But Elvis sold the most albums in that time. And they just did not have enough Moody Blue Albums for sale at the right time. But all his records were selling.
You just want to talk down Elvis' sales figures, although it is generally known that they couldn't keep up with the production of Elvis records back then because the demand was so great.
When David Bowie died, for example, he went straight into the charts phenomenally with his albums thanks to today's streaming etc.
With Elvis it was a different time and he was also a different house number. You couldn't keep up with the counting and that was a completely different dimension. To this day, people still talk about the many missing units that would have led to even more Golden Awards.

I'm not talking down Elvis' sales figures and I am not saying his records were not selling either but the charts suggest that sales of much of the back catalogue albums were not selling in huge numbers that would be necessary to give them additional awards that you crave for. Unlike you, I like to live in a world that is closer to reality where I i recognise that initial sales of the Moody Blue album were boosted by the blue vinyl pressings and not so much by the music on the album and that a few weeks later, it received a massive boost helped by Elvis' death. And there is every possibility that Elvis die hard collectors even went out and bought the black vinyl edition too, so now they probably had three copies of the album - two of the blue one and one of the regular black.

The problem you have however is that you simply refuse to accept such a thing and you continually look for ways to up those figures based on your IF theories and stories told or stories read.....stories you want or need to believe are true. And where is this story of places not being able to count things properly coming from. If a shop network ordered 10000 copies of the Moody Blue album, received 10000 copies of the Moody Blue album and then sold all 10000 copies of the Moody Blue album, counting is not really required because as far as RCA is concerned, it has shipped 10000 copies to the shop network and as far as the shops are concerned, they have sold 10000 copies. It's very unlikely that a shop network would try and say that they had miscounted and had really sold 20000 copies. Or perhaps you think that RCA simply dropped a load of albums into a shipping container without counting, sent them off to the various shops and made up invoices for some unsubstantiated figure which of course the shop would pay without question.

You keep on referring to great demand vs lack of production, and that may well have been true whilst RCA were coming to terms with getting a lot of back catalogue items repressed, album sleeves reprinted, and then shipped to stores, but RCA would have put the Moody Blue album at the top of their priority output especially when they subcontracted a third party pressing plant to help out, so any shortage of that album would have only occurred within a short space of time and if people wanted that album badly enough, they would have gone back a week or so later.

I'm not sure that David Bowie's sales were hugely generated by streaming back in 2016, but if you want to do closer comparisons with other deceased artists, then why not look at John Lennon's unexpected death at the end of 1980 when streaming wasn't around.

Geffen Records, a brand new record label set up in the same year as Lennon's death, was certainly caught on the hop when it put out Double Fantasy. It was Lennon's first album for 5 years and there was no real knowledge at how the album would be received because as a musician, Lennon wasn't exactly in the spotlight with his music - no single or album since the mid 70s and no touring either.

Critics were not initially impressed when the album was released as they felt Yoko was too involved and off the back of that, it had a slow start with sales. But sales improved and then within a couple of weeks of Lennon's murder, sales started to take off just like they did following Elvis' death with Moody Blue. The big difference is that Double Fantasy reached the top spot in Billboard where it stayed at the top for 8 weeks and reach the top spot in 9 other countries. And unlike Moody Blue which remained on the Billboard chart for 31 weeks, Double Fantasy remained on the Billboard chart for 77 weeks over a year after Lennon's death and went on to sell over 3 million copies in the US without the help of a coloured vinyl gimmick, The album also received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, which it won. Lennon was also nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, but did not win, but hey, that's life. I didn't complain back in 1981 as if it was some huge miscarriage of entitlement and I'm certainly not bothered 42 years later either.

But that said, maybe i should follow your train of thought and swoon at the possibility that IF Geffen Records had got twice as many records into the stores on time, it would have sold twice as many copies, stayed at the top for twice as long and also remained on chart for twice as long. Now that would have truly been a Double Fantasy.

The murder of John Lennon was a very bad thing. It's nice that so many people were interested in his latest album after his death. His former album has sold 3 million copies so far, which is at least as many copies as Moody Blues album sold in the USA.
Larry King said of Elvis' death that it was the biggest news in the entertainment business.
In honor of Lennon's album, let's just say that Moody Blue ( US Top Country Albums (Billboard) #1 back than Country music market was also big with people like Waylon Jennings) also won awards:
But such an award only counts if John Lennon gets one but not Elvis.

[emjel]

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE in a November 16th, 1977 issue that stated “the continued demand for anything Elvis is accounting for a third of all U.S. albums sold."
So if there were enough copies of Elvis last album in the right time in the stores and if they all were counted the right way than Elvis would have a number 1 album with Moody Blue in the USA.


Billboard propaganda- I remember a Slim Whitman tv add in 1977 for his recent album. Stated he sold more than Elvis and the Beatles! Who you going to believe? Slim Whitman or Billboard?

I am sure that all combined Elvis did sell the most albums in that time frame.

Elvis had a large number of catalogue albums available for people to buy so it is not unreasonable to understand that across the catalogue, a lot of records were sold throughout the world during the period you talk about, but that does not mean that individual albums sold in massive numbers which would enable them to get more RIAA awards which is what you are trying to claim.

To my mind, an artist who releases five albums that generate sales of 50 million has a better achievement record than an artist who releases twenty five albums and achieves the same sales.

But Elvis sold the most albums in that time. And they just did not have enough Moody Blue Albums for sale at the right time. But all his records were selling.
You just want to talk down Elvis' sales figures, although it is generally known that they couldn't keep up with the production of Elvis records back then because the demand was so great.
When David Bowie died, for example, he went straight into the charts phenomenally with his albums thanks to today's streaming etc.
With Elvis it was a different time and he was also a different house number. You couldn't keep up with the counting and that was a completely different dimension. To this day, people still talk about the many missing units that would have led to even more Golden Awards.

I'm not talking down Elvis' sales figures and I am not saying his records were not selling either but the charts suggest that sales of much of the back catalogue albums were not selling in huge numbers that would be necessary to give them additional awards that you crave for. Unlike you, I like to live in a world that is closer to reality where I i recognise that initial sales of the Moody Blue album were boosted by the blue vinyl pressings and not so much by the music on the album and that a few weeks later, it received a massive boost helped by Elvis' death. And there is every possibility that Elvis die hard collectors even went out and bought the black vinyl edition too, so now they probably had three copies of the album - two of the blue one and one of the regular black.

The problem you have however is that you simply refuse to accept such a thing and you continually look for ways to up those figures based on your IF theories and stories told or stories read.....stories you want or need to believe are true. And where is this story of places not being able to count things properly coming from. If a shop network ordered 10000 copies of the Moody Blue album, received 10000 copies of the Moody Blue album and then sold all 10000 copies of the Moody Blue album, counting is not really required because as far as RCA is concerned, it has shipped 10000 copies to the shop network and as far as the shops are concerned, they have sold 10000 copies. It's very unlikely that a shop network would try and say that they had miscounted and had really sold 20000 copies. Or perhaps you think that RCA simply dropped a load of albums into a shipping container without counting, sent them off to the various shops and made up invoices for some unsubstantiated figure which of course the shop would pay without question.

You keep on referring to great demand vs lack of production, and that may well have been true whilst RCA were coming to terms with getting a lot of back catalogue items repressed, album sleeves reprinted, and then shipped to stores, but RCA would have put the Moody Blue album at the top of their priority output especially when they subcontracted a third party pressing plant to help out, so any shortage of that album would have only occurred within a short space of time and if people wanted that album badly enough, they would have gone back a week or so later.

I'm not sure that David Bowie's sales were hugely generated by streaming back in 2016, but if you want to do closer comparisons with other deceased artists, then why not look at John Lennon's unexpected death at the end of 1980 when streaming wasn't around.

Geffen Records, a brand new record label set up in the same year as Lennon's death, was certainly caught on the hop when it put out Double Fantasy. It was Lennon's first album for 5 years and there was no real knowledge at how the album would be received because as a musician, Lennon wasn't exactly in the spotlight with his music - no single or album since the mid 70s and no touring either.

Critics were not initially impressed when the album was released as they felt Yoko was too involved and off the back of that, it had a slow start with sales. But sales improved and then within a couple of weeks of Lennon's murder, sales started to take off just like they did following Elvis' death with Moody Blue. The big difference is that Double Fantasy reached the top spot in Billboard where it stayed at the top for 8 weeks and reach the top spot in 9 other countries. And unlike Moody Blue which remained on the Billboard chart for 31 weeks, Double Fantasy remained on the Billboard chart for 77 weeks over a year after Lennon's death and went on to sell over 3 million copies in the US without the help of a coloured vinyl gimmick, The album also received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, which it won. Lennon was also nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, but did not win, but hey, that's life. I didn't complain back in 1981 as if it was some huge miscarriage of entitlement and I'm certainly not bothered 42 years later either.

But that said, maybe i should follow your train of thought and swoon at the possibility that IF Geffen Records had got twice as many records into the stores on time, it would have sold twice as many copies, stayed at the top for twice as long and also remained on chart for twice as long. Now that would have truly been a Double Fantasy.

The murder of John Lennon was a very bad thing. It's nice that so many people were interested in his latest album after his death. His former album has sold 3 million copies so far, which is at least as many copies as Moody Blues album sold in the USA.
Larry King said of Elvis' death that it was the biggest news in the entertainment business.
In honor of Lennon's album, let's just say that Moody Blue ( US Top Country Albums (Billboard) #1 back than Country music market was also big with people like Waylon Jennings) also won awards:
But such an award only counts if John Lennon gets one but not Elvis.

Looks like you are still reaching. Hitting the top spot on a sub genre chart is certainly not the same as hitting #1 on the main chart and I have no idea what Waylon Jennings has to do Elvis sales. Also, I’m not convinced that a Country Music award carries the same kind of global recognition that a Grammy award does. But hey ho….