KPM
08-15-2007, 04:06 PM
Here is a link to an article by Nick Keene concerning his research into Elvis's US and Global record sales. It is a long article but sheds a lot of light on the question "How many records has he sold US and the world?"
http://www.elvisnews.com/Presentation/Functional/Page/articles.aspx?command=show&item=11
Here is his conclusion but read the full article if you can it is quite interesting.
Conclusion
So I feel that it now seems safe to say that known sales of Presley records have now passed that coveted billion - albeit up to 25 years later than his record company first claimed that he had! Indeed if you like the 'lost' sales which I previously mentioned-that might be anything up to another 100 million who knows - can stand as some sort of further buffer against any error in these calculations but there is little doubt in my mind that Elvis Presley has become the one and only person to sell a billion copies of his recorded works. All of which places him several hundred million ahead of anyone else. As a BMG executive once remarked it's not close. And nobody else is at the races. Despite Michael Jackson's recent claims I frankly doubt that the gloved one is anywhere near the Beatles (600 million) far less Elvis.
To those fans who will protest that this feature is somehow letting the side down I say sorry, but it is not my fault that in the past your expectations - and mine - were raised so high. As for any doubters in the media whose support inclines to other artists well fine ? let us see your statistics and estimates, but until they are produced then there is little more to say. Even in his afterlife Elvis continues to reign supreme. Amen to that.
But finally please remember that statistics alone do not prove that any particular recording artist or group can be said to be the best of all time. Certainly in terms of hard facts and figures it might be argued that Elvis was the greatest artist or act we have seen so far - but anything else is just an opinion not a fact. And as for the continuing Beatles v Elvis debate it is surely a flawed one. How can you sensibly compare a group of people to one especially when their music is as different as chalk and cheese? Whereas Elvis' claim to musical prowess was based on the magnificent instrument that was his voice not to mention his extraordinary interpretative powers, both of which continually served to inspire his session musicians to raise their game to new heights, that of the Beatles rests on their superb song writing skills and inventiveness. In more ways than one these two greats came from a different place. Let it finally rest there I say.
http://www.elvisnews.com/Presentation/Functional/Page/articles.aspx?command=show&item=11
Here is his conclusion but read the full article if you can it is quite interesting.
Conclusion
So I feel that it now seems safe to say that known sales of Presley records have now passed that coveted billion - albeit up to 25 years later than his record company first claimed that he had! Indeed if you like the 'lost' sales which I previously mentioned-that might be anything up to another 100 million who knows - can stand as some sort of further buffer against any error in these calculations but there is little doubt in my mind that Elvis Presley has become the one and only person to sell a billion copies of his recorded works. All of which places him several hundred million ahead of anyone else. As a BMG executive once remarked it's not close. And nobody else is at the races. Despite Michael Jackson's recent claims I frankly doubt that the gloved one is anywhere near the Beatles (600 million) far less Elvis.
To those fans who will protest that this feature is somehow letting the side down I say sorry, but it is not my fault that in the past your expectations - and mine - were raised so high. As for any doubters in the media whose support inclines to other artists well fine ? let us see your statistics and estimates, but until they are produced then there is little more to say. Even in his afterlife Elvis continues to reign supreme. Amen to that.
But finally please remember that statistics alone do not prove that any particular recording artist or group can be said to be the best of all time. Certainly in terms of hard facts and figures it might be argued that Elvis was the greatest artist or act we have seen so far - but anything else is just an opinion not a fact. And as for the continuing Beatles v Elvis debate it is surely a flawed one. How can you sensibly compare a group of people to one especially when their music is as different as chalk and cheese? Whereas Elvis' claim to musical prowess was based on the magnificent instrument that was his voice not to mention his extraordinary interpretative powers, both of which continually served to inspire his session musicians to raise their game to new heights, that of the Beatles rests on their superb song writing skills and inventiveness. In more ways than one these two greats came from a different place. Let it finally rest there I say.