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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
slightly OT: bestselling blues album of all time?
slightly OT: bestselling blues album of all time?
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kudzurunner
1765 posts
Aug 20, 2010
8:17 AM
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Wikipedia has a list of the "diamond" albums: 10 million or more sales. I scanned down it to see whether any blues artists show up. My quick scan tells me that Eric Clapton's UNPLUGGED album is the top selling blues album. Take a look and tell me what you think. This is an interesting list in its own right:
Michael Jackson Thriller 01982-11-30 November 30, 1982 29 million
Eagles Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) 01976-02-17 February 17, 1976 29 million
Pink Floyd Wall !The Wall 01979-11-28 November 28, 1979 23 million
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV 01971-11-08 November 8, 1971 23 million
AC/DC Back in Black 01980-07-21 July 21, 1980 22 million
Garth Brooks Double Live 01998-11-17 November 17, 1998 21 million
Billy Joel Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II 01985-06-28 June 28, 1985 21 million
Shania Twain Come on Over 01997-11-04 November 4, 1997 20 million
Beatles !The Beatles The Beatles 01968-11-25 November 25, 1968 19 million
Fleetwood Mac Rumours 01977-02-04 February 4, 1977 19 million
Guns N' Roses Appetite for Destruction 01987-07-21 July 21, 1987 18 million
Boston Boston 01976-08-25 August 25, 1976 17 million
Whitney Houston Bodyguard !The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album 01992-11-17 November 17, 1992 17 million
Garth Brooks No Fences 01990-08-27 August 27, 1990 16 million
Hootie & the Blowfish Cracked Rear View 01994-07-05 July 5, 1994 16 million
Elton John Elton John's Greatest Hits 01974-11-04 November 4, 1974 16 million
Eagles Hotel California 01976-11-08 November 8, 1976 16 million
Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill 01995-06-13 June 13, 1995 16 million
Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti 01975-03-03 March 3, 1975 16 million
Beatles !The Beatles 1967–1970 01973-04-02 April 2, 1973 16 million
Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon 01973-04-17 April 17, 1973 15 million
Journey Greatest Hits 01988-11-11 November 11, 1988 15 million
Metallica Metallica 01991-08-12 August 12, 1991 15 million
Bee Gees !The Bee Gees Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack) 01977-11-01 November 1, 1977 15 million
Santana Supernatural 01999-06-15 June 15, 1999 15 million
Beatles !The Beatles The Beatles 1962 - 1966 01973-04-02 April 2, 1973 15 million
Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. 01984-06-01 June 1, 1984 15 million
Britney Spears Baby One More Time !...Baby One More Time 01999-01-12 January 12, 1999 14 million
Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys 01997-08-21 August 21, 1997 14 million
Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell 01977-01-30 January 30, 1977 14 million
Garth Brooks Ropin' The Wind 01991-09-02 September 2, 1991 14 million
Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits 01972-06-20 June 20, 1972 14 million
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band Live 1975 - '85 01986-11-07 November 7, 1986 13 million
Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits 1974-1978 01978-11-15 November 15, 1978 13 million
Backstreet Boys Millennium 01999-05-18 May 18, 1999 13 million
Prince and The Revolution Purple Rain 01984-06-25 June 25, 1984 13 million
Pearl Jam Ten 01991-08-20 August 20, 1991 13 million
Whitney Houston Whitney Houston 01985-02-21 February 21, 1985 13 million
Kenny G Breathless 01992-10-20 October 20, 1992 12 million
(multiple artists) Forrest Gump 01994-06-17 June 17, 1994 12 million
Rolling Stones !The Rolling Stones Hot Rocks 01971-12-15 December 15, 1971 12 million
Def Leppard Hysteria 01987-08-03 August 3, 1987 12 million
Boyz II Men II 01994-08-23 August 23, 1994 12 million
Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits 01980-10-18 October 18, 1980 12 million
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II 01969-10-22 October 22, 1969 12 million
Phil Collins No Jacket Required 01985-04-15 April 15, 1985 12 million
Jewel Pieces of You 01995-02-13 February 13, 1995 12 million
Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet 01986-08-18 August 18, 1986 12 million
Shania Twain The Woman In Me 01995-02-07 February 7, 1995 12 million
Dixie Chicks Wide Open Spaces 01998-01-23 January 23, 1998 12 million
Beatles !The Beatles Abbey Road 01969-10-01 October 1, 1969 12 million
Matchbox Twenty Yourself or Someone Like You 01996-09-16 September 16, 1996 12 million
TLC CrazySexyCool 01994-11-15 November 15, 1994 11 million
Aerosmith Aerosmith's Greatest Hits 01980-10-19 October 19, 1980 11 million
Shania Twain Up! 02002-11-19 November 19, 2002 11 million
Kid Rock Devil Without a Cause 01998-08-04 August 4, 1998 11 million
(multiple artists) Dirty Dancing 01987-08-04 August 4, 1987 11 million
Eagles Eagles Greatest Hits Volume II 01982-10-22 October 22, 1982 11 million
Celine Dion Falling Into You 01996-03-02 March 2, 1996 11 million
Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy 01973-03-28 March 28, 1973 11 million
(multiple artists) Titanic 01997-11-07 November 7, 1997 11 million
OutKast Speakerboxxx/The Love Below 02003-09-23 September 23, 2003 11 million
Beatles !The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band 01967-06-02 June 2, 1967 11 million
NSYNC !'N Sync No Strings Attached 02000-03-21 March 21, 2000 11 million
James Taylor James Taylor's Greatest Hits 01976-10-29 October 29, 1976 11 million
Creed Human Clay 01999-09-28 September 28, 1999 11 million
Dixie Chicks Fly 01999-08-31 August 31, 1999 10 million
Garth Brooks Garth Brooks 01989-04-12 April 12, 1989 10 million
Patsy Cline Greatest Hits 01973-02-14 February 14, 1973 10 million
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Greatest Hits 01993-11-16 November 16, 1993 10 million
Linkin Park Hybrid Theory 02000-10-24 October 24, 2000 10 million
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin (box set) 01990-10-08 October 8, 1990 10 million
Bob Marley and The Wailers Legend 01984-07-24 July 24, 1984 10 million
Celine Dion Let's Talk About Love 01997-11-05 November 5, 1997 10 million
George Michael Faith 01987-10-30 October 30, 1987 10 million
ZZ Top Eliminator 01983-03-23 March 23, 1983 10 million
Beatles !The Beatles 1 02000-11-13 November 13, 2000 10 million
Van Halen 1984 01984-01-04 January 4, 1984 10 million
Doobie Brothers !The Doobie Brothers Best of the Doobies 01976-10-29 October 29, 1976 10 million
Lionel Richie Can't Slow Down 01983-10-14 October 14, 1983 10 million
Norah Jones Come Away with Me 02002-02-26 February 26, 2002 10 million
Usher Confessions 02004-03-23 March 23, 2004 10 million
Mariah Carey Daydream 01995-10-03 October 3, 1995 10 million
Green Day Dookie 01994-02-01 February 1, 1994 10 million
Notorious BIG !The Notorious B.I.G Life After Death 01997-03-25 March 25, 1997 10 million
Madonna Like a Virgin 01984-11-12 November 12, 1984 10 million
Eric Clapton Unplugged 01992-08-25 August 25, 1992 10 million
No Doubt Tragic Kingdom 01995-10-06 October 6, 1995 10 million
Billy Joel The Stranger 01977-01-09 January 9, 1977 10 million
Lion King !(multiple artists) The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 01994-04-27 April 27, 1994 10 million
U2 The Joshua Tree 01987-03-09 March 9, 1987 10 million
Madonna The Immaculate Collection 01990-11-13 November 13, 1990 10 million
Garth Brooks Hits !The Hits 01994-12-01 December 1, 1994 10 million
Doors !The Doors The Best of The Doors 01985-05-19 May 19, 1985 10 million
Carole King Tapestry 01971-01-30 January 30, 1971 10 million
Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life 01976-09-28 September 28, 1976 10 million
Garth Brooks Sevens 01997-11-01 November 1, 1997 10 million
Def Leppard Pyromania 01983-01-20 January 20, 1983 10 million
MC Hammer Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em 01990-02-12 February 12, 1990 10 million
Britney Spears Oops!... I Did It Again 02000-05-16 May 16, 2000 10 million
Nirvana Nevermind 01991-09-24 September 24, 1991 10 million
NSYNC !'N Sync NSYNC !*NSYNC 01998-03-24 March 24, 1998 10 million
Mariah Carey Music Box 01993-08-31 August 31, 1993 10 million
Van Halen
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toddlgreene
1685 posts
Aug 20, 2010
8:39 AM
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Would Blues Review or one of the other mags maintain a list of blues artists' releases with sales data?
This list makes it real obvious that blues isn't mainstream. :-(
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Crescent City Harmonica Club
Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
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harpdude61
310 posts
Aug 20, 2010
8:43 AM
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I thought Clapton's all Blues album "From the Cradle" was better.
ZZ Top would probably be the next closest to blues as a band, but Eliminator was produced to get radio and disco play.
Good to see AC/DC so high.
Most all of these albums were before the internet and stealing the music..but that's another thread.
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harpdude61
311 posts
Aug 20, 2010
9:02 AM
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I didn't see Miles on the list.
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bluemoose
267 posts
Aug 20, 2010
9:21 AM
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Hummm.....if you only have maybe 4 or 5 albums from this list that's a good thing right?
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5F6H
282 posts
Aug 20, 2010
9:28 AM
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Adam, yes, I'd agree, I had also recognised EC unplugged as the best selling blues album.
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harmonicanick
850 posts
Aug 20, 2010
9:38 AM
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The one that upsets me but does not surprise me is Fleetwood Mac - rumours.
I used to see them regularily in London in the late '60's and they were raw and I mean very raw blues, absolutely uncompromising and utterly brilliant in small clubs.
Whatever happened to Jeremy Spencer?
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Honkin On Bobo
365 posts
Aug 20, 2010
10:23 AM
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HA! It will personally disappoint me if this thread doesn't reach into the hundreds of comments. EVERYBODY loves to argue about what amounts to personal taste. We already have our first comment from moose which implies if you like a lot of the music in this list it's a BAD thing.
Re: clapton. I'm not suprised his unplugged is there. I think it's an awesome CD, as is the Me and Mr. Johnson CD. I know, they're all blues covers, he not doing anything new, etc., but I love them nontheless. I've listened to a lot of the originals of those songs and to me he does a great job of "making them his own". Also, EC goes out of his way to PAY TRIBUTE to the old bluesmen for what they produced. I saw an interview in which he said it would be a "life's work" to try and copy exactly the way Robert Johnson played and admitted that even he's not there. I think he has a deep love and respect for those guys. Funny thing is, I like those CD's much more than I liked Cream, which puts me about 180 degrees from Adam regarding EC. But hey that's what makes the world go 'round right.
Now for some real fun, from the above list here are the artists whose albums/CD's I either own or would like to:
Beatles
Eagles
Led Zeppelin
AC/DC
Billy Joel
Fleetwood Mac
Santana
Bruce Springsteen
Pearl Jam
The Rolling Stones
Aerosmith
Tom Petty
ZZ Top
Doobie Brothers
Clapton
The Doors
Carole King
Van Halen
Stevie Wonder
For better or worse, I came to the blues via Rock and Roll. The hardcore blues aficionado's will now whup me upside the head.
Have at it boys.....and ladies.
Last Edited by on Aug 20, 2010 11:02 AM
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htownfess
154 posts
Aug 20, 2010
10:25 AM
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Hey, that means that if each of the roughly 4000 MBH forum members buys just 2500 copies apiece, Adam's forthcoming solo CD debut has a chance at knocking Clapton off the top spot!
Sorry, Adam, couldn't resist :)
The number that would really interest me is the highest-selling album by someone who has been more strictly a blues artist for their entire career. Would it be something like B.B.'s Riding with the King? Or Robert Cray's Strong Persuader? I don't know whether landmark blues records like Live at the Regal or Downhome Blues have gone platinum worldwide at this point. Going gold worldwide is probably doing really well for a classic blues album.
Last Edited by on Aug 20, 2010 10:31 AM
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kudzurunner
1767 posts
Aug 20, 2010
10:37 AM
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htown: I agree with you. Clapton's album here is "blues," but I'd like to know about blues. Your hunches about which would be in the top 10 make a lot of sense. Maybe Jeff Healey and Stevie Ray, too? 1980-1985 were huge for those guys.
How about narrowing it down: the top-selling blues album by an African American blues artist? The question is, do you count Ray Charles?
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groyster1
372 posts
Aug 20, 2010
10:58 AM
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@harpdude agree from the cradle was far superior to unplugged
@harmonicanick the original fleetwood mac with peter green was a great blues band fleetwood mac with the girls was pure commercial top 20 crap(my opinion mind you)
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harpdude61
312 posts
Aug 20, 2010
11:36 AM
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The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and ZZ Top are all blues influenced rock bands. All three have lead singers that play harmonica. Shame they don't play it more...but they don't belong on a blues list.
SRV was big for awhile. Like ZZ Top, his old stuff is better. More blues , less mass appeal music.
Adam, my first blues album was Briefcase Full of Blues by The Blues Brothers. I bet it is pretty high on the list. SNL in the late seventie might have been the first time I saw blues on TV.
Ray Charles is RnB to me.
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htownfess
155 posts
Aug 20, 2010
11:47 AM
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I think it's a much clearer discussion if we exclude blues-rock, with all due respect to the great examples thereof. Blues-rock maintained a mainstream radio audience/market since its emergence, while blues only rarely crossed over during the same period (use 1965 as an arbitrary starting date). That's why I didn't mention the Fabulous Thunderbirds' Tuff Enuff record, which was a platinum album but probably over the tipping point where I'd have to call it a blues-rock record (even if that was a direction they'd started in on their previous record, and though I might change my mind if I listened to Tuff Enuff again right now). So I'd exclude the big sellers from Jeff Healey and SRV, except the latter's In the Beginning (1980 live show).
In other words, primarily blues albums by primarily blues artists, excepting someone like Ray Charles early on, before he diversifies further. Then you're talking mainly about the real penetration/crossover of blues for the African American market into the mainstream U.S. and world markets.
Because that's the brilliant thing about Strong Persuader--the producers guessed that if they took the Malaco Records sound and foregrounded the guitar more than Malaco did, the result might be a hit with white audiences that were oblivious to the Malaco stuff (especially with a strong set of songs and a signature minor-key sound).
I'm not trying to say that white artists can't do blues, I'm saying their straight-blues albums or singles seldom got marketed very hard. Even Fleetwood Mac might have been high visibility early in their career--prominent singles and tours--without selling as many albums as we'd think.
One thing that came to mind in this was something I read to the effect that Mike Bloomfield, IIRC, bragged bigtime on selling something like four or five thousand copies apiece of the James Cotton albums on Verve that MB had had a hand in, and that the initial pressing of 25,000 copies of the first Butterfield album was considered a huge gamble in that light. Those Cotton albums were very influential in the U.S. blues harp community, let alone the Butterfield debut. That shows how big a difference a genuine crossover could be.
I'll allow Briefcase Full of Blues--the programming of blues + soul + etc. is enough like what a working blues band/artist was likely to be doing to get gigs at that time.
Last Edited by on Aug 20, 2010 11:51 AM
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harmonicanick
854 posts
Aug 20, 2010
2:20 PM
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I would argue that U2 'the joshua tree' is the one, has it not got a wonderful 'parchman farm'
This track turned my 9 year old granddaughter on to the blues and believe you me that is something given what these youngsters listen to (god I sound like a right old fogie!)have mercy :-)
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LittleJoeSamson
416 posts
Aug 20, 2010
2:53 PM
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Just offhand...I see more copies around of the Muddy Waters London Sessions than anything else.
John Mayall & the BB's "Beano" also pretty evident.
Both albums straight ahead Blues.
"From the Cradle" definitive. Kim Wilson's "My Blues" even better (IMO).
Led Zep II prolly highest here of Blues "based" or derivative that is on this list.
Still, there's alot of good music on the list...even if it's not Blues.
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groyster1
375 posts
Aug 20, 2010
2:57 PM
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amen harmonicanick
would love to turn very young children onto blues music love what billy branch has done with chicago youth
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groyster1
376 posts
Aug 20, 2010
3:00 PM
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would anybody consider Layla to be blues,after all its a passionate song about unrequited love-did that ever give me the blues in my youth
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