Forum
If you are lonesome tonight, you may have enough time to read the highly anticipated CSPC article of Elvis Presley... or you may not. His discography is so massive that at some point Chartmasters' team thought this work would never be completed. Now the challenge is on your side to go through all information available!
During the last few weeks, we already started to dig into his results. We used YouTube Insights to define his popularity all over the world, we understood the structure of his discography, we have put some order among all myths related to his sales, we clarified the RIAA coverage of his albums before setting up his album results in the US, we broke down both his global physical singles and EP sales, and we highlighted various strong sources of hidden sales. After doing all that, only one step remained: publish final results. Here they are. More than ever, I can only advise you to use the table of contents.
Elvis Presley's original albums sales
Elvis Presley (1956)
- America
- US - 1,060,000
- Canada - 70,000
- Argentina - 5,000
- Brazil - 10,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 30,000
- Japan - 20,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 15,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 290,000
- UK - 60,000
- France - 35,000
- Germany - 60,000
- Italy - 20,000
- Spain - 10,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 12,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,510,000
Elvis (1956)
- America
- US - 1,040,000
- Canada - 75,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 25,000
- Mexico - 5,000
- Asia - 45,000
- Japan - 30,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 12,500
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 460,000
- UK - 240,000
- France - 25,000
- Germany - 55,000
- Italy - 12,500
- Spain - 12,500
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 12,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,690,000
Loving You (1957)
- America
- US - 750,000
- Canada - 45,000
- Argentina - 5,000
- Brazil - 35,000
- Mexico - 7,500
- Asia - 30,000
- Japan - 20,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 15,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 360,000
- UK - 170,000
- France - 45,000
- Germany - 50,000
- Italy - 1,500
- Spain - 5,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 7,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,270,000
Elvis' Christmas Album (1957)
- America
- US - 3,300,000
- Canada - 120,000
- Argentina - 2,500
- Brazil - 12,500
- Mexico - 5,000
- Asia - 30,000
- Japan - 20,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 15,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 330,000
- UK - 160,000
- France - 15,000
- Germany - 55,000
- Italy - 2,500
- Spain - 1,500
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 15,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 3,850,000
King Creole (1958)
- America
- US - 600,000
- Canada - 40,000
- Argentina - 2,500
- Brazil - 15,000
- Mexico - 5,000
- Asia - 30,000
- Japan - 20,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 17,500
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 320,000
- UK - 140,000
- France - 35,000
- Germany - 45,000
- Italy - 1,500
- Spain - 12,500
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 7,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,050,000
A Date with Elvis (1959)
- America
- US - 250,000
- Canada - 12,500
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 7,500
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 10,000
- Japan - 5,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - 1,000
- Europe - 170,000
- UK - 75,000
- France - 10,000
- Germany - 30,000
- Italy - 1,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 7,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 460,000
Elvis Is Back! (1960)
- America
- US - 675,000
- Canada - 25,000
- Argentina - 5,000
- Brazil - 17,500
- Mexico - 7,500
- Asia - 37,500
- Japan - 25,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 7,500
- New Zealand - 2,000
- Europe - 370,000
- UK - 200,000
- France - 20,000
- Germany - 45,000
- Italy - 2,500
- Spain - 7,500
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 12,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,160,000
G.I. Blues (1960)
- America
- US - 1,625,000
- Canada - 85,000
- Argentina - 7,500
- Brazil - 35,000
- Mexico - 12,500
- Asia - 85,000
- Japan - 60,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 45,000
- New Zealand - 9,000
- Europe - 830,000
- UK - 525,000
- France - 20,000
- Germany - 80,000
- Italy - 5,000
- Spain - 5,000
- Sweden - 50,000
- Netherlands - 20,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 2,780,000
His Hand in Mine (1960)
- America
- US - 1,525,000
- Canada - 45,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 5,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 7,500
- Japan - 5,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 20,000
- New Zealand - 4,000
- Europe - 240,000
- UK - 150,000
- France - 7,500
- Germany - 25,00
- Italy - 2,000
- Spain - 2,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,870,000
Something for Everybody (1961)
- America
- US - 600,000
- Canada - 25,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 12,500
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 22,500
- Japan - 15,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 3,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 220,000
- UK - 120,000
- France - 15,000
- Germany - 25,000
- Italy - 2,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 7,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 900,000
Blue Hawaii (1961)
- America
- US - 3,175,000
- Canada - 180,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 30,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 310,000
- Japan - 225,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 60,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 820,000
- UK - 450,000
- France - 30,000
- Germany - 100,000
- Italy - 5,000
- Spain - 15,000
- Sweden - 60,000
- Netherlands - 20,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 4,650,000
Pot Luck (1962)
- America
- US - 450,000
- Canada - 30,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 15,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 45,000
- Japan - 30,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 3,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 300,000
- UK - 150,000
- France - 10,000
- Germany - 40,000
- Italy - 7,500
- Spain - 7,500
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 10,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 870,000
Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)
- America
- US - 775,000
- Canada - 35,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 12,500
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 45,000
- Japan - 30,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 250,000
- UK - 130,000
- France - 10,000
- Germany - 35,000
- Italy - 2,500
- Spain - 2,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 10,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,140,000
It Happened at the World's Fair (1963)
- America
- US - 375,000
- Canada - 15,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 12,500
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 20,000
- Japan - 15,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 3,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 160,000
- UK - 90,000
- France - 10,000
- Germany - 15,000
- Italy - 2,500
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 600,000
Fun in Acapulco (1963)
- America
- US - 425,000
- Canada - 25,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 17,500
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 22,500
- Japan - 15,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 12,500
- New Zealand - 2,500
- Europe - 190,000
- UK - 80,000
- France - 10,000
- Germany - 35,000
- Italy - 2,500
- Spain - 2,500
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 10,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 720,000
Kissin' Cousins (1964)
- America
- US - 350,000
- Canada - 17,500
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 15,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 30,000
- Japan - 20,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 160,000
- UK - 90,000
- France - 10,000
- Germany - 20,000
- Italy - 2,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 590,000
Roustabout (1964)
- America
- US - 625,000
- Canada - 10,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 15,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 15,000
- Japan - 10,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 17,500
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 120,000
- UK - 45,000
- France - 7,500
- Germany - 25,000
- Italy - 2,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 820,000
Girl Happy (1965)
- America
- US - 525,000
- Canada - 20,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 10,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 35,000
- Japan - 25,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 10,000
- New Zealand - 2,000
- Europe - 140,000
- UK - 75,000
- France - 7,500
- Germany - 20,000
- Italy - 3,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 760,000
Elvis For Everyone (1965)
- America
- US - 350,000
- Canada - 12,500
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 10,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 15,000
- Japan - 10,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 7,500
- New Zealand - 1,500
- Europe - 210,000
- UK - 90,000
- France - 7,500
- Germany - 50,000
- Italy - 1,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 10,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 620,000
Harum Scarum (1965)
- America
- US - 400,000
- Canada - 15,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 7,500
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 15,000
- Japan - 10,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 100,000
- UK - 35,000
- France - 10,000
- Germany - 20,000
- Italy - 1,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 550,000
Frankie and Johnny (1966)
- America
- US - 1,025,000
- Canada - 60,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 5,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 15,000
- Japan - 10,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 1,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 90,000
- UK - 35,000
- France - 12,500
- Germany - 15,000
- Italy - 2,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 2,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,210,000
Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966)
- America
- US - 250,000
- Canada - 25,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 5,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 15,000
- Japan - 10,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 120,000
- UK - 65,000
- France - 5,000
- Germany - 20,000
- Italy - 1,000
- Spain - 2,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 2,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 430,000
Spinout (1966)
- America
- US - 425,000
- Canada - 15,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 15,000
- Japan - 10,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 7,500
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 100,000
- UK - 30,000
- France - 12,500
- Germany - 25,000
- Italy - 1,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 570,000
How Great Thou Art (1967)
- America
- US - 3,050,000
- Canada - 100,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 42,500
- Japan - 30,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 280,000
- UK - 150,000
- France - 5,000
- Germany - 40,000
- Italy - 1,000
- Spain - 1,500
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 15,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 3,510,000
Double Trouble (1967)
- America
- US - 150,000
- Canada - 7,500
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 7,500
- Japan - 5,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 2,500
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 60,000
- UK - 20,000
- France - 2,500
- Germany - 15,000
- Italy - N/A
- Spain - N/A
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - N/A
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 230,000
Clambake (1967)
- America
- US - 215,000
- Canada - 7,500
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 7,500
- Japan - 5,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 3,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 50,000
- UK - 20,000
- France - 5,000
- Germany - 10,000
- Italy - N/A
- Spain - N/A
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 2,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 290,000
Speedway (1968)
- America
- US - 120,000
- Canada - 5,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 7,500
- Japan - 5,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 1,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 60,000
- UK - 15,000
- France - 2,500
- Germany - 15,000
- Italy - 2,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 200,000
From Elvis in Memphis (1969)
- America
- US - 800,000
- Canada - 40,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 10,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 60,000
- Japan - 40,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 10,000
- New Zealand - 2,000
- Europe - 370,000
- UK - 125,000
- France - 40,000
- Germany - 60,000
- Italy - 12,500
- Spain - 15,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 20,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,310,000
Back In Memphis (1969)
- America
- US - 175,000
- Canada - 15,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 20,000
- Japan - 15,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 2,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 40,000
- UK - 10,000
- France - 2,000
- Germany - 10,000
- Italy - 1,500
- Spain - 2,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 2,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 260,000
That's the Way It Is (1970)
- America
- US - 1,000,000
- Canada - 50,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 75,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 575,000
- Japan - 410,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 12,500
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 620,000
- UK - 330,000
- France - 40,000
- Germany - 80,000
- Italy - 15,000
- Spain - 15,000
- Sweden - 25,000
- Netherlands - 12,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 2,420,000
Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old) (1971)
- America
- US - 725,000
- Canada - 40,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 5,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 70,000
- Japan - 50,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 10,000
- New Zealand - 2,000
- Europe - 200,000
- UK - 70,000
- France - 10,000
- Germany - 40,000
- Italy - 5,000
- Spain - 15,000
- Sweden - 10,000
- Netherlands - 7,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,060,000
Love Letters from Elvis (1971)
- America
- US - 425,000
- Canada - 30,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 42,500
- Japan - 30,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 1,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 150,000
- UK - 50,000
- France - 10,000
- Germany - 40,000
- Italy - 1,500
- Spain - 2,000
- Sweden - 3,000
- Netherlands - 7,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 660,000
Elvis sings The Wonderful World of Christmas (1971)
- America
- US - 3,500,000
- Canada - 100,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 10,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 37,500
- Japan - 25,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 10,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 210,000
- UK - 30,000
- France - 15,000
- Germany - 75,000
- Italy - N/A
- Spain - 2,000
- Sweden - 5,000
- Netherlands - 25,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 3,900,000
Elvis Now (1972)
- America
- US - 550,000
- Canada - 30,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 30,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 15,000
- Japan - 10,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 100,000
- UK - 40,000
- France - 10,000
- Germany - 20,000
- Italy - 1,000
- Spain - 2,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 2,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 750,000
He Touched Me (1972)
- America
- US - 1,200,000
- Canada - 50,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 5,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 55,000
- Japan - 40,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 2,500
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 70,000
- UK - 25,000
- France - 2,500
- Germany - 20,000
- Italy - 1,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 2,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,400,000
Elvis (1973)
- America
- US - 350,000
- Canada - 30,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 10,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 17,5000
- Japan - 12,500
- Oceania
- Australia - 10,000
- New Zealand - 2,000
- Europe - 50,000
- UK - 30,000
- France - 5,000
- Germany - 5,000
- Italy - N/A
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 1,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 480,000
Raised on Rock / For Ol' Times Sake (1973)
- America
- US - 275,000
- Canada - 30,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 5,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 20,000
- Japan - 15,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 50,000
- UK - 20,000
- France - 5,000
- Germany - 10,000
- Italy - 1,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 1,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 400,000
Good Times (1974)
- America
- US - 225,000
- Canada - 15,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 15,000
- Japan - 10,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 3,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 80,000
- UK - 25,000
- France - 2,500
- Germany - 20,000
- Italy - 2,500
- Spain - 2,500
- Sweden - 2,500
- Netherlands - 3,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 350,000
Promised Land (1975)
- America
- US - 425,000
- Canada - 25,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 20,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 30,000
- Japan - 20,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 100,000
- UK - 45,000
- France - 5,000
- Germany - 10,000
- Italy - 5,000
- Spain - 2,500
- Sweden - 7,500
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 620,000
Today (1975)
- America
- US - 350,000
- Canada - 10,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 25,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 22,500
- Japan - 15,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 15,000
- New Zealand - 2,500
- Europe - 90,000
- UK - 35,000
- France - 2,500
- Germany - 10,000
- Italy - 2,500
- Spain - 5,000
- Sweden - 10,000
- Netherlands - 3,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 540,000
From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (1976)
- America
- US - 600,000
- Canada - 45,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 35,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 30,000
- Japan - 20,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 7,500
- New Zealand - 1,500
- Europe - 130,000
- UK - 50,000
- France - 20,000
- Germany - 15,000
- Italy - 2,500
- Spain - 5,000
- Sweden - 7,500
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 880,000
Moody Blue (1977)
- America
- US - 2,300,000
- Canada - 260,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 60,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 65,000
- Japan - 35,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 100,000
- New Zealand - 30,000
- Europe - 890,000
- UK - 280,000
- France - 175,000
- Germany - 100,000
- Italy - 25,000
- Spain - 5,000
- Sweden - 60,000
- Netherlands - 55,000
- Switzerland - 15,000
- Austria - 10,000
- Finland - 15,000
- World - 3,820,000
Original Album Sales - Comments
Presley's album discography of original material is made of 17 soundtracks, 2 Christmas albums, 3 gospel LPs and 20 studio efforts. That's a simplified way of seeing it. An album like A Date with Elvis mostly repackages former hits, although they had never been part of albums before. In the other side, several compilations, EPs and singles involved new songs that haven't been included into studio albums. To get the complete picture, one has to check his entire catalog.
That's exactly how these figures must be considered, as partial figures. At 53,15 million units sold across 42 LPs, one may not be impressed. But it's only the tip of the iceberg. Back in the 50s, album sales were still dreadful. The fact that Blue Hawaii sold 4,65 million units while being issued in 1961 is already amazing enough. The two Christmas efforts, How Great Though Art and Moody Blue all moved over 3,5 million too.
Obviously, these numbers refer only to the original albums and their reissues. Elvis' Christmas Album from 1970 isn't added to the original 1957 album for example. Now you are left wondering how much all these sets repackaging original material sold to see the real impact of Presley. You aren't left for long though since all answers are listed in upcoming sections!
1956 Elvis Presley - 1,510,000
1956 Elvis - 1,690,000
1957 Loving You - 1,270,000
1957 Elvis' Christmas Album - 3,850,000
1958 King Creole - 1,050,000
1959 A Date with Elvis - 460,000
1960 Elvis Is Back! - 1,160,000
1960 G.I. Blues - 2,780,000
1960 His Hand in Mine - 1,870,000
1961 Something for Everybody - 900,000
1961 Blue Hawaii - 4,650,000
1962 Pot Luck - 870,000
1962 Girls! Girls! Girls! - 1,140,000
1963 It Happened at the World's Fair - 600,000
1963 Fun in Acapulco - 720,000
1964 Kissin' Cousins - 590,000
1964 Roustabout - 820,000
1965 Girl Happy - 760,000
1965 Elvis For Everyone - 620,000
1965 Harum Scarum - 550,000
1966 Frankie and Johnny - 1,210,000
1966 Paradise, Hawaiian Style - 430,000
1966 Spinout - 570,000
1967 How Great Thou Art - 3,510,000
1967 Double Trouble - 230,000
1967 Clambake - 290,000
1968 Speedway - 200,000
1969 From Elvis in Memphis - 1,310,000
1969 Back In Memphis - 260,000
1970 That's the Way It Is - 2,420,000
1971 Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old) - 1,060,000
1971 Love Letters from Elvis - 660,000
1971 Elvis sings The Wonderful World of Christmas - 3,900,000
1972 Elvis Now - 750,000
1972 He Touched Me - 1,400,000
1973 Elvis (1973) - 480,000
1973 Raised on Rock / For Ol' Times Sake - 400,000
1974 Good Times - 350,000
1975 Promised Land - 620,000
1975 Today - 540,000
1976 From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee - 880,000
1977 Moody Blue - 3,820,000
Elvis Presley's physical singles sales
As a reminder, the weighting is done with a 10 to 3 ratio between one album and one physical single.
1956-59
If you heard about massive singles sales during the 50s by Presley, you may disappointed with these numbers. There is two things to consider though.
The first is that with over 10 million units sold from songs listed on this page, the total is already fairly big. It is led by the massive hit Teddy Bear that sold upwards 3 million copies.
The second, even more important, thing to consider is that back in the 50s big hits were left as stand-alone singles. They weren't incorporated into albums. Teddy Bear is the only song among Presley's Top 10 selling 50s singles that was part of a studio album. All remaining smashes like Don't Be Cruel and Heartbreak Hotel will appear inside the orphan section, the list that merges all singles issued outside of proper studio LPs.
Elvis Presley (1956) - 576,000 equivalent albums
Blue Suede Shoes - 910,000
I Got A Woman - 160,000
Tryin' To Get To You - 120,000
I'll Never Let You Go - 130,000
Blue Moon - 380,000
Money Honey - 220,000
Elvis (1956) - 49,000 equivalent albums
Rip It Up - 10,000
Love Me - 30,000
When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again - 5,000
Paralyzed - 110,000
Old Shep - 5,000
Remaining Singles - 2,500
Loving You (1957) - 1,002,000 equivalent albums
Mean Woman Blues - 20,000
(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear - 3,030,000
Party - 280,000
I Need You So - 10,000
Elvis' Christmas Album (1957) - 549,000 equivalent albums
Santa Claus Is Back In Town - 50,000
Blue Christmas - 1,590,000
Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me) - 140,000
White Christmas - 50,000
King Creole (1958) - 630,000 equivalent albums
Hard Headed Woman - 1,650,000
King Creole - 410,000
Lovel Doll - 40,000
A Date with Elvis (1959) - 393,000 equivalent albums
(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care - 70,000
Baby Let's Play House - 590,000
Good Rockin' Tonight - 570,000
I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine - 80,000
1960-62
The run of massive smash hits by Presley continued in 1960, but it continued to be so with orphan songs. He dropped as many as 3 huge #1 smashes that year in the US, but since none were part of his albums, the top selling song listed here is Wooden Heart that managed to sell near 2 million with sales abroad only.
Thus, the only proper global hit there is Can't Help Falling in Love. At nearly 2,5 million sales, the song one a strong seller back in the day but we will see soon enough that it is much more past hype.
Elvis Is Back! (1960) - 345,000 equivalent albums
Such a Night - 900,000
The GIrl of my Best Friend - 250,000
G.I. Blues (1960) - 708,000 equivalent albums
Wooden Heart - 1,960,000
G.I. Blues - 400,000
His Hand in Mine (1960) - 96,000 equivalent albums
Milky White Way - 120,000
Joshua Fit the Battle - 200,000
Something for Everybody (1961) - 87,000 equivalent albums
There's Always Me - 290,000
Blue Hawaii (1961) - 930,000 equivalent albums
Can't Help Falling in Love - 2,470,000
Blue Hawaii - 200,000
No More - 430,000
Pot Luck (1962) - 885,000 equivalent albums
Kiss Me Quick - 950,000
(Such an) Easy Question - 770,000
I'm Yours - 940,000
Suspicion - 290,000
1962-65
Although it got blocked for 5 weeks at #2 in the US by the Four Seasons' Big Girls Don't Cry, the song Return to Sender shifted a tremendous 3 million units in total, half of which came from the US.
After the orphan hit (You're) The Devil In Disguise from 1963, the run of insane sellers ended for Presley, but the King was still able to shift more or less a million copies with most of its singles.
Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) - 942,000 equivalent albums
Return to Sender - 3,110,000
The Walls Have Ears - 30,000
It Happened at the World's Fair (1963) - 306,000 equivalent albums
One Broken Heart for Sale - 1,020,000
Fun in Acapulco (1963) - 480,000 equivalent albums
Bossa Nova Baby - 1,430,000
Mexico - 170,000
Kissin' Cousins (1964) - 285,000 equivalent albums
Kissin' Cousins - 950,000
Roustabout (1964) - 0 equivalent album
No physical single released.
Girl Happy (1965) - 450,000 equivalent albums
Do the Clam - 900,000
Puppet on a String - 600,000
1965-67
Success was no more a guarantee for new Presley singles by 1965. The British invasion changed the music industry forever in 1964 and now the US legend was missing the Top 10 more often than not. Thus, several of his albums had no physical single to support them in order to not reduce their own sales.
He was still pulling some huge hits from time to time though. One of them was Crying in the Chapel. First released as a stand alone single in 1965, that #3 song in the US sold over 2,3 million units. It was then added to the track list of the gospel classic How Great Thou Art.
Elvis For Everyone (1965) - 0 equivalent album
No physical single released.
Harum Scarum (1965) - 0 equivalent album
No physical single released.
Frankie and Johnny (1966) - 225,000 equivalent albums
Frankie and Johnny - 750,000
Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966) - 0 equivalent album
No physical single released.
Spinout (1966) - 129,000 equivalent albums
Spinout - 430,000
How Great Thou Art (1967) - 756,000 equivalent albums
How Great Thou Art - 150,000
Crying in the Chapel - 2,370,000
1967-70
From the start of 1966 to mid 1968, Presley charted with 21 singles inside the US Hot 100 but none of them managed to peak higher than #28. Singles sales were high by then though and his songs were selling more than suggested by their chart runs. The singer wasn't hyped anymore, getting low airplay, but still keeping a good-sized pool of regular buyers.
After 4 full years with no Top 10 hit, he came back in great fashion with In the Ghetto. The song smashed in most markets, ultimately breaking 3 million global sales. It also paved the way to a new era of hits, including the #1 orphan song Suspicious Minds that we will meet in the appropriate section.
Even if he had good successes with some soundtracks, most notably Blue Hawaii, Presley was still struggling to found his public in Japan. It all changed thanks to the #1 hit there You Don't Have to Say You Love Me that sold a stunning 400,000 copies in this market.
Double Trouble (1967) - 90,000 equivalent albums
Long Legged Girl (With the Short Dress On) - 210,000
Blue River - 90,000
Clambake (1967) - 309,000 equivalent albums
Guitar Man - 660,000
Big Boss Man - 370,000
Speedway (1968) - 90,000 equivalent albums
Your Time Hasn't Come Yet, Baby - 300,000
From Elvis in Memphis (1969) - 909,000 equivalent albums
In the Ghetto - 3,030,000
Back In Memphis (1969) - 0 equivalent album
No physical single released.
That's the Way It Is (1970) - 831,000 equivalent albums
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me - 1,570,000
I've Lost You - 820,000
I Just Can't Help Believin' - 380,000
1971-73
From 1971 the profile of Presley changed. He wasn't a hit maker anymore. Instead, his albums were selling a lot of copies through budget lines, making singles less attractive. With the exception of Burning Love, a #2 hit in 1972, he never saw the top 10 again with his 27 last charted singles.
Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old) (1971) - 279,000 equivalent albums
I Really Don't Want to Know - 930,000
Love Letters from Elvis (1971) - 315,000 equivalent albums
Love Letters - 730,000
Life - 320,000
Elvis sings The Wonderful World of Christmas (1971) - 96,000 equivalent albums
It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You) - 110,000
Merry Christmas Baby - 210,000
Elvis Now (1972) - 171,000 equivalent albums
Until It's Time for You to Go - 570,000
He Touched Me (1972) - 33,000 equivalent albums
He Touched Me - 110,000
Elvis (1973) - 2,000 equivalent albums
Fool - 5,000
1973-77
It took his passing away to see Presley selling a million again with a physical single. That one was Way Down which went as high as 2,68 million. Extracts from the album Moody Blue pushed the total to 51 million physical singles. As you can guess, the largest part of his sales on this format come from remaining hits...
Raised on Rock / For Ol' Times Sake (1973) - 132,000 equivalent albums
Raised on Rock - 320,000
Are You Sincere - 120,000
Good Times (1974) - 402,000 equivalent albums
Loving Arms - 150,000
I've Got a Thing About You Baby - 350,000
My Boy - 840,000
Promised Land (1975) - 369,000 equivalent albums
Promised Land - 670,000
If You Talk in Your Sleep - 560,000
Today (1975) - 201,000 equivalent albums
T-R-O-U-B-L-E - 340,000
I Can Help - 120,000
Bringin' It Back - 140,000
Green, Green Grass Of Home - 70,000
From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (1976) - 114,000 equivalent albums
Hurt - 350,000
The Last Farewell - 30,000
Moody Blue (1977) - 1,149,000 equivalent albums
Unchained Melody - 280,000
Way Down - 2,680,000
Moody Blue - 870,000
Orphan songs
Early Sun singles moved about half a million a piece thanks to fans collecting the frequent reissues. The real deal started with Heartbreak Hotel. That 3,15 million selling hit was only the first of an immaculate string of smashes. Don't Be Cruel / Hound Dog, Love Me Tender, Jailhouse Rock, All Shook Up, It's Now Or Never, Are You Lonesome Tonight?, Surrender , Good Luck Charm, You're The Devil In Disguise, and more made the count of sales achieved by Presley increase faster than anyone else's in the music industry.
Even though the success rate of his singles has dropped after the first 7 years madness, the rocker remained an impressive seller. In later years, both Suspicious Minds and Burning Love topped 2 million. Combined, these orphan singles sold upwards 84 million units to put the artist's total at a mind blowing 135 million.
Orphan - 25,247,000 equivalent albums
That's All Right - 590,000
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - 50,000
Mystery Train - 410,00
You're a Heartbreaker - 380,000
Shake, Rattle And Roll - 420,000
Heartbreak Hotel - 3,150,000
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You - 1,710,000
Don't Be Cruel - 5,390,000
Love Me Tender - 3,600,000
Too Much - 1,660,000
Jailhouse Rock - 4,010,000
All Shook Up - 3,740,000
Don't - 1,840,000
Wear My Ring Around Your Neck - 1,590,000
One Night - 1,770,000
(Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I - 2,090,000
A Big Hunk Of Love - 1,440,000
Stuck On You - 2,250,000
It's Now Or Never - 5,420,000
Are You Lonesome Tonight? - 4,450,000
A Mess Of Blues - 500,000
Surrender - 2,670,000
I Feel So Bad - 1,050,000
(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame - 1,630,000
Good Luck Charm - 2,840,000
She's Not You - 1,790,000
King Of The Whole Wide World - 150,000
You're The Devil In Disguise - 2,600,000
I Got Lucky - 20,000
Viva Las Vegas - 1,370,000
Ain't That Loving You Baby - 1,180,000
Tell Me Why - 730,000
If Every Day Was Like Christmas - 500,000
Indescribably Blue - 460,000
You Gotta Stop - 30,000
U.S. Male - 490,000
You'll Never Walk Alone - 170,000
A Little Less Conversation - 190,000 (Original) + 1,640,000 (JXL)
If I Can Dream - 1,110,000
Memories - 510,000
Clean Up Your Own Back Yard - 650,000
Suspicious Minds - 2,800,000
Don't Cry Daddy - 1,670,000
Kentucky Rain - 1,040,000
The Wonder Of You - 2,100,000
Rags To Riches - 660,000
Heartbreak Hotel / Hound Dog - 130,000
I'm Leavin' - 510,000
It's Only Love - 330,000
An American Trilogy - 460,000
Burning Love - 2,290,000
Separate Ways / Always On My Mind - 1,050,000
Steamroller Blues - 700,000
Polk Salad Annie - 110,000
My Way - 1,060,000
You Gave Me A Mountain - 2,500
It's Only Love - 260,000
The Sound Of Your Cry - 20,000
The Elvis Medley - 260,000
From the Waist Up - 2,500
The Twelfth Of Never - 40,000
America the Beautiful - 140,000
Rubberneckin' - 280,000
Elvis Presley's digital singles sales
As a reminder, the weighting is done with a 10 to 1,5 ratio between one album and one digital single.
1956-59
While both first albums of Presley are cult because they perfectly summarize the rock 'n' roll era, they do not contain the most remembered hits of the singer. From these 50s LPs, the highest selling song during the iTunes era has been expectedly Blue Christmas with well over a million sales. Remaining songs from Elvis' Christmas Album also broke the 7 digits milestone.
Elvis Presley (1956) - 122,000 equivalent albums
Blue Suede Shoes - 510,000
Remaining tracks - 300,000
Elvis (1956) - 33,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 220,000
Loving You (1957) - 97,500 equivalent albums
Loving You - 80,000
Remaining tracks - 200,000
Elvis' Christmas Album (1957) - 365,000 equivalent albums
Santa Claus Is Back In Town - 190,000
Here Comes Santa Claus - 250,000
Blue Christmas - 1,280,000
Silent Night - 170,000
(There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me) - 190,000
Remaining tracks - 350,000
King Creole (1958) - 97,500 equivalent albums
King Creole - 130,000
Hard Headed Woman - 230,000
Trouble - 150,000
Remaining tracks - 140,000
A Date with Elvis (1959) - 52,500 equivalent albums
Baby Let's Play House - 150,000
Remaining tracks - 200,000
1960-62
The main responsible of both the initial smash of Blue Hawaii and the lasting appeal of this record is Can't Help Falling in Love. This lasting appeal is also very visible in its downloads. At 2,55 million, this is the highest selling song of the artist in this format.
Elvis Is Back! (1960) - 57,000 equivalent albums
Fever - 170,000
Reconsider Baby - 110,000
Remaining tracks - 100,000
G.I. Blues (1960) - 61,500 equivalent albums
Wooden Heart - 210,000
Remaining tracks - 200,000
His Hand in Mine (1960) - 15,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 100,000
Something for Everybody (1961) - 18,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 120,000
Blue Hawaii (1961) - 420,000 equivalent albums
Can't Help Falling in Love - 2,550,000
Remaining tracks - 250,000
Pot Luck (1962) - 34,500 equivalent albums
Kiss Me Quick - 190,000
Remaining tracks - 40,000
1962-65
While Return to Sender remains popular up to this day, the reputation of soundtracks from the mid-60s is dramatic. Songs from these albums have been unable to gain traction in later years, which results into low digital figures.
Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) - 78,000 equivalent albums
Return to Sender - 500,000
Remaining tracks - 20,000
It Happened at the World's Fair (1963) - 3,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 20,000
Fun in Acapulco (1963) - 24,000 equivalent albums
Bossa Nova Baby - 130,000
Remaining tracks - 30,000
Kissin' Cousins (1964) - 3,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 20,000
Roustabout (1964) - 1,500 equivalent albums
All tracks - 10,000
Girl Happy (1965) - 3,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 20,000
1965-67
The run of forgettable soundtracks continued a few more years. How Great Thou Art was the light in the middle of a dark period. Its songs are decent sellers in download although this format isn't their best strength.
Elvis For Everyone (1965) - 7,500 equivalent albums
All tracks - 50,000
Harum Scarum (1965) - 0 equivalent albums
All tracks - 0
Frankie and Johnny (1966) - 1,500 equivalent albums
All tracks - 10,000
Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966) - 3,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 20,000
Spinout (1966) - 15,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 100,000
How Great Thou Art (1967) - 60,000 equivalent albums
How Great Thou Art - 190,000
Crying in the Chapel - 260,000
Remaining tracks - 60,000
1967-70
Presley recovered his fame thanks to the success of In the Ghetto. The song remains hot with 770,000 downloads and ringtones. Home of multiple covers of well known songs, That's the Way it Is performs well in digital platforms and approaches 100,000 equivalent album sales from downloads.
Double Trouble (1967) - 1,500 equivalent albums
All tracks - 10,000
Clambake (1967) - 21,000 equivalent albums
Big Boss Man - 110,000
Remaining tracks - 30,000
Speedway (1968) - 1,500 equivalent albums
All tracks - 10,000
From Elvis in Memphis (1969) - 122,000 equivalent albums
In the Ghetto - 770,000
Remaining tracks - 40,000
Back In Memphis (1969) - 9,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 60,000
That's the Way It Is (1970) - 90,000 equivalent albums
I Just Can't Help Believin' - 90,000
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - 100,000
Bridge Over Troubled Water - 160,000
Remaining tracks - 250,000
1971-73
The only songs that remain somewhat relevant in digital formats from these albums are Christmas songs and the classic religious song Amazing Grace.
Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old) (1971) - 15,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 100,000
Love Letters from Elvis (1971) - 7,500 equivalent albums
All tracks - 50,000
Elvis sings The Wonderful World of Christmas (1971) - 30,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 200,000
Elvis Now (1972) - 15,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 100,000
He Touched Me (1972) - 42,000 equivalent albums
Amazing Grace - 240,000
Remaining tracks - 40,000
Elvis (1973) - 4,500 equivalent albums
All tracks - 30,000
1973-77
Downloads of 1973-1977 albums reflect their original sales, although hits from Moody Blue aren't as popular as in 1977 for obvious reasons.
Raised on Rock / For Ol' Times Sake (1973) - 7,500 equivalent albums
All tracks - 50,000
Good Times (1974) - 27,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 180,000
Promised Land (1975) - 22,500 equivalent albums
All tracks - 150,000
Today (1975) - 19,500 equivalent albums
And I Love You So - 100,000
Remaining tracks - 30,000
From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (1976) - 21,000 equivalent albums
All tracks - 140,000
Moody Blue (1977) - 52,500 equivalent albums
Unchained Melody - 80,000
Way Down - 190,000
Remaining tracks - 80,000
Orphan songs
Many songs from this list remain popular.
Suspicious Minds and A Little Less Conversation both crack 2 million downloads which is a great accomplishment for catalog tunes. There is more since 5 additional tracks top 1 million and 7 others are over half a million. Ironically, both 5-million selling singles in physical formats, Hound Dog and It's Now or Never, belong to this latter category.
The total of downloads and ringtones is increased to a very solid 37,5 million thanks to all these successful songs.
Orphan - 3,513,000 equivalent albums
That's All Right - 250,000
Mystery Train - 150,000
I Was The One - 150,000
All Shook Up - 910,000
Are You Lonesome Tonight? - 780,000
Hound Dog - 1,320,000
Suspicious Minds - 2,290,000
Heartbreak Hotel - 1,000,000
Jailhouse Rock - 1,820,000
Love Me Tender - 1,060,000
One Night - 230,000
Memories - 150,000
If I Can Dream - 290,000
Burning Love - 1,300,000
Don't Be Cruel - 620,000
It's Now Or Never - 860,000
Stuck On You - 500,000
Surrender - 190,000
(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame - 220,000
Little Sister - 190,000
Good Luck Charm - 210,000
She's Not You - 190,000
Treat Me Nice - 100,000
A Little Less Conversation - 2,180,000
The Wonder Of You - 450,000
Follow That Dream - 110,000
An American Trilogy - 290,000
Always On My Mind - 630,000
A Big Hunk Of Love - 230,000
(Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I - 190,000
You're The Devil In Disguise - 550,000
You Gave Me A Mountain - 270,000
My Way - 300,000
Too Much - 300,000
Don't - 230,000
Viva Las Vegas - 420,000
Kentucky Rain - 290,000
Remaining tracks - 2,200,000
Elvis Presley's streaming sales
Streaming is made up of audio and video streams. Our CSPC methodology now includes both to better reflect the real popularity of each track. The main source of data for each avenue is respectively Spotify and YouTube. As detailed in the Fixing Log article, Spotify represents 157 million of the 272 million users of streaming platforms, while YouTube is pretty much the only video platform generating some revenue for the industry. Below is the equivalence set on the aforementioned article:
Audio Stream - 1500 plays equal 1 album unit
Video Stream - 11,750 views equal 1 album unit
Equivalent Albums Sales (EAS) = 272/157 * Spotify streams / 1500 + YouTube views / 11750
Streaming Part 1
While streams of most former singles like the strong #1 hit Teddy Bear are mostly disappointing, except Blue Suede Shoes which generates a solid 45,000 EAS, the consistency shown by these 3 albums is quite good. For example, most tracks from the debut album are at more than 1 million at Spotify. Of course numbers aren't incredible on a per-track basis but one needs to keep in mind that listening to a 800 plus tracks catalog takes a lot of time and ultimately reduces the average of plays.
Streaming Part 2
The evergreen Elvis' Christmas Album has very good streams when we consider that we are talking about an album from 1957. It stands at 220,000 EAS with half of that tally produced by Blue Christmas.
Former hit single Hard Headed Woman doesn't perform too well but at over 20,000 EAS a piece King Creole and A Date with Elvis show good results overall.
Streaming Part 3
Fan-favorite Elvis Is Back! doesn't really confirm its status with streams. Its results are in line with the remaining albums from its era. It still outperforms G.I. Blues which is surprisingly low. While it was a massive success back in the day, this soundtrack and is songs, especially Wooden Heart, lost a lot of strength through the years. The gospel effort His Hand In Mine sold very well in pure units but it doesn't feel that comfortable in the digital era. At 13,000 EAS, it has the lowest streaming appeal among Presley's first 11 LPs.
Streaming Part 4
Can't Help Falling In Love shines in the middle of various unremarkable performers. With 161 million streams on Spotify and 355 million on YouTube, it's the most streamed song of the King. It's also one of the 15 most streamed songs from the 60s. The song is up to 216,000 EAS and continues to rise at fast pace.
Streaming Part 5
Return to Sender performs well with almost 24,000 EAS on its own. Remaining tracks have results that fell to new lows for the artist as years pass. As many 36 out of 48 songs from these 4 albums fail to reach 100,000 streams on Spotify, with Barefoot Ballad standing at an awful 25,000 plays.
Streaming Part 6
A large run of depressing statistics. When It Rain, It Really Pours is the only song out of these 4 albums that reaches even 1 million Spotify streams.
Streaming Part 7
More of the same up to Spinout. How Great Thou Art is already more relevant on streaming platforms. With 24,000 EAS it is at the same level as his earlier albums. Crying in the Chapel still disappoints at 7,000 EAS.
Streaming Part 8
Here comes the light. After 14 consecutive albums with no song at 10 million or more on Spotify, In the Ghetto crashes at 59 million plus 107 million from YouTube. It is good enough for a solid 77,000 EAS for the single while the album From Elvis in Memphis closes at 83,000.
Streaming Part 9
While the remaining trio of albums doesn't perform well, That's the Way it Is has various consistent tracks which pushes it up to 64,000 EAS. Bridge Over Troubled Water does especially well on YouTube with 42 million views.
Streaming Part 10
Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas isn't as successful as Elvis' Christmas Album. It lacks a hit of the size of Blue Christmas, which limits its streaming count to 16,000 EAS. Among the next 3 albums, the largest track is easily Amazing Grace at almost 10,000 EAS.
Streaming Part 11
It's interesting to notice that even if the mid-70s are seen as bad ones for Presley in terms of new recordings' success, streams of these albums are nowhere near as low as the ones from the mid-60s soundtracks. While some songs from that era dropped to under 20,000 streams on Spotify, none from Good Times and Promised Land goes under 640,000 which is kind of impressive. Both albums add for 19,000 and 16,000 EAS, respectively.
Streaming Part 12
Both Today and From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee continue the string of surprisingly decent performs, both topping 10,000 EAS. Moody Blue benefits from its popular songs Unchained Melody, Way Down and the title track to hit 30,000. None of these singles is really on its own though.
Streaming Part 13 - Orphan songs
Here comes the massive block of orphan songs which include plenty of former groundbreaking smashes.
Some disappoint as of now. My Way, Don't, Too Much, Surrender, You'll Never Walk Alone among others fail to reach 10 million streams on Spotify which doesn't look good considering how many LPs they sold in the past.
Then, there is also a lot of evergreen tunes. Both Jailhouse Rock and Suspicious Minds recently topped 100 million streams on Spotify and 250 million on YouTube. At their end, A Little Less Conversation, Hound Dog, and Burning Love are over 50 million on the former platform. Strong performers also include Always On My Mind, Heartbreak Hotel, Don't Be Cruel, Love Me Tender, All Shook Up, It's Now Or Never, and You're The Devil In Disguise, all inside the 30,000-66,000 EAS range.
All these solid hits create an EAS total of 1,27 million. Just like with physical singles and downloads, orphan songs combine for a higher total than all tracks from his 42 albums. Merged, these ones stand at 1,14 million EAS from streams.
Full Length related record Sales
It sounds fairly logical to add together weighted sales of one era - studio album, physical singles, downloads, streams - to get the full picture of an album's popularity. For older releases though, they also generate sales of various live, music videos and compilation albums.
All those packaging-only records do not create value, they exploit the value originating from the parent studio album of each of its tracks instead. Inevitably, when such compilations are issued, this downgrades catalog sales of the original LP. Thus, to perfectly gauge the worth of these releases, we need to re-assign sales proportionally to its contribution of all the compilations which feature its songs. The following table explains this method.
Compilations #1: Major Compilations Series
How to understand this table? If you check this example, these figures mean Elvis' Golden Records sold 8,800,000 units worldwide. Then, the second statistics column means streams of all the songs included on this package add for 441,187 EAS.
The second part at the right of the table shows how many streams are coming from each original album as well as the share they represent. Thus, streaming figures tell us Loving You songs are responsible for 4% of the Elvis' Golden Records tracklist attractiveness. In other words, it generated 357,000 of its 8,800,000 album sales. Eventually, we apply this methodology to all compilations.
The first run of Golden Records compilations was compiled to put together all orphan singles dropped by the King. That's why the huge majority of the 15,71 million sales obtained by its 5 volumes are driven by orphan tunes.
In 1987, these older packages were replaced by new ones, The Number Hits and The Top Ten Hits. They sold most of their copies in the US since other compilations came out elsewhere. With the exception of Can't Help Falling In Love, they were massively powered by orphan titles too.
The same is true for 30 #1 Hits and 2nd to None which became the new go-to compilations for the masses in 2002/2003. The former sold a stunning 13,4 million units, the highest selling album of the artist's career. While we are only getting started with compilations, this set of greatest hits records already add for over 36 million sales!
Compilations #2: Original Camden Albums
During the 70s, Camden (later sold by Pickwick, then Camden anew) records fueled Presley's total sales. The strongest of them was undoubtedly the reissue Elvis' Christmas Album from 1970 which recently became his first US Diamond album. Unsurprisingly, we can see that most of its appeal comes from the original Elvis' Christmas Album with its two new songs making little difference.
Ironically, the second top seller from this list also sold mostly on the back of Elvis' Christmas Album. You'll Never Walk Alone is close to 4 million units. We can see that it was no direct competition to the gospel LPs, His Hand In Mine, How Great Thou Art and He Touched Me.
Remaining Camden recordings largely exploit tracks previously available on EPs only, making them rare by early 70s since that format was over. The main exception is Burning Love which sold well thanks to the newly released title track which was the last big hit of Presley during his lifetime.
Compilations #3: Million sellers 1973-1985
By 1973, Presley was still able to register hits but he was first regarded as an immense artist due to his back catalog. While Camden did a tremendous job selling his least appealing tracks, the main hits were packaged into high-value double LPs everywhere in 1973/1974. They were titled differently here and there. Elvis in North America, 40 Greatest Hits in the UK, Elvis Forever in continental Europe, etc. Combined, these similar compilations sold nearly 9 million units. More packages of the same kind from the same era added a pair of millions more, but we will meet them later on.
All of them follow similar patterns in terms of strength provider. About 60% of their attractiveness is made of orphan songs while Blue Hawaii comes second with over 20%. Then, From Elvis In Memphis is a distant third thanks to the powerful In The Ghetto.
Compilations #4: Million sellers 1987-2007
All these releases are million sellers in spite of limited availability for most of them. All Time Greatest Hits and The Essential Collection sold very well in the UK and some other markets, basically on the back of the same songs. Through these compilations, we can also see the boom of the gospel market during the 90s. Amazing Grace sold 1,28 million units with 89% of its appeal coming from Elvis' Christmas Album and the 3 original gospel LPs. In recent times, it was replaced by Ultimate Gospel which follows the same patterns and has itself sold pretty much the same.
The Essential Elvis Presley is on its way to hit 2 million. The result of an extensive series of The Essential albums by Sony Music artists, it is one of the most comprehensive compilations of the singer, covering hits from 15 albums plus various orphan songs.
Compilations #5: Half Million sellers 1969-1987
A full string of albums with over half a million sales. Some were US only releases, others never came to the light in that country, but all sold significant numbers. They follow the standard pattern with most sales coming from orphan songs, followed by Blue Hawaii.
There is one notable exception which is The Sun Collection. Focused on songs initially recorded for the Sun label, before the move to RCA in late 1955, it was the first of countless packages themed around that period. That 1975 edition sold 830,000 units on its own.
Compilations #6: Half Million sellers 1997-2016
More and more great selling compilations, all of which continue to follow the same distribution pattern. We already noticed the increase of interest in gospel compilations, now we can see multiple love-themed records. With time, RCA (then Sony) understood the catalog of Presley was worthy enough to sell compilations that do not cannibalize his entire discography but instead focus on love, gospel, Christmas, rock, R&B or movie songs.
Compilations #7: 400,000 to 499,999
A very diverse set of records, from the early For LP Fans Only to a pair of 2006 themed compilations. As we get into lower sellers, we will see more and more albums that do not cover Presley's entire career but instead a specific part of it.
Compilations #8: 300,000 to 399,999 ; Years 1981-1992
More diverse compilations, including the USSR unique release That's All Right from 1988. Also appearing is the first volume of the 5 Essential Elvis series.
Compilations #9: 300,000 to 399,999 ; Years 1997-2013
Country themed records have also been selling well during the last few decades. They largely use songs from the period 1971-1976. With them, we also see the arrival of Time Life series albums.
Compilations #10: 250,000 to 299,999
Compilations #11: 200,000 to 249,999
Compilations #12: Under 200,000 sales
To avoid never ending screenshots for albums which haven't sold that many individually, below is the list of remaining compilations with under 200,000 sales. Macros and sales patterns of all of them have been calculated still and are added into final totals.
Most of these albums got local releases, if you have doubts about a compilation, feel free to ask for clarifications inside the comments section since we have stored links to track lists of all of them.
Please notice that while compilations under 200,000 sales a piece wouldn't make a difference for most artists, here they add for an unbelievable 15,91 million!
Compilations #13: Christmas
With sales of 19 million units for both original christmas albums plus the 1970 Camden reissue of the first one, Presley was already a monster seller in that area. There have been much more records exploiting these recordings though. Here are 12,7 million additional sales, more than 90% of which are fueled by Elvis' Christmas Album from 1957.
Live Albums #1: Million sellers
There is no longer any need to prove the skills of Presley as a performer. This reputation shot 10 distinct live albums issued over the span of a decade to sell upwards a million copies. Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite is the highest seller at almost 5 million global units. Can't Help Falling In Love, an inevitable performance on most of his shows, is largely responsible for the 25,8 million sales of these packages.
Live Albums #2: Over 250,000 sales
If no live album topped a million since 1977, several performed quite well still. The highest seller is 1997's An Afternoon in the Garden that got a strong second life in early 2010s. We notice that several 70s live albums from this list miss Can't Help Falling In Love, which is a part of the reason why they failed to sell a million unlike the other live sets from the same period.
Live Albums #3: Remaining live outputs
Music Videos #1: 1982-1992
Please note that sales of music videos combine all formats, VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray. It's hard to sell a million units with this kind of products but Presley did it in great fashion with both Aloha from Hawaii and 68' Comeback Special over 1,6 million units to date. The explosion of YouTube downgraded a lot the appeal of physical records of music videos but they can still hit 2 million at some point in the future. Naturally, their popularity emerges from the same songs than live albums of the same name.
Music Videos #2: 1997-2002
Music Videos #3: 2003-2009
All 3 volumes of The Great Performances were packaged together in 2002 only to sell 210,000 units on top of their initial 650,000 sales combined. In the same way, the various forms of He Touched Me did wonders since their release, hitting a million.
Before the collapse of the DVD market Presley managed to get 4 more great selling music videos from 2005 to 2007.
Box sets #1: Half a million sellers
Very few artists have been able to pull similar numbers with extensive box sets. Presley has been impressive in that matter. From Candlelite, Reader's Digest or from the Masters series, the result has been the same: these packages sold extremely well.
Box sets #2: 250,000 units sellers
Box sets #3: 100,000 units sellers
Box sets #4: Under 100,000 units
As for lower selling compilations, these box sets aren't detailed but factored in all calculations.
Multi-Albums Box sets: With multiplier
Following box sets package together various previously available albums into a single package, but still with every original disc into it. Thus, these sales are assigned to every album inside the box as detailed below.
Multi-Albums Box sets: Without multiplier
Following box sets package together various previously available albums into a single package and into a single CD. Thus, these sales are considered as one only and spread as per the value of the track list.
Extended Plays
Detailed EPs sales can be found inside this article.
Up to 1960
From 1961 onwards
Remaining albums
These albums include interview records, various loopholes, the Follow that Dream collection as well as various series like 100% Elvis and Agora Series. Linked articles detail how these figures were arrived to.
Bonus: Compilation Albums Sales
Elvis' Golden Records (1958)
- America
- US - 6,750,000
- Canada - 460,000
- Argentina - 10,000
- Brazil - 50,000
- Mexico - 20,000
- Asia - 250,000
- Japan - 175,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 50,000
- New Zealand - 10,000
- Europe - 1,120,000
- UK - 550,000
- France - 70,000
- Germany - 135,000
- Italy - 25,000
- Spain - 60,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 25,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 8,800,000
50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong (Elvis' Golden Records, Vol. 2) (1959)
- America
- US - 1,550,000
- Canada - 150,000
- Argentina - 5,000
- Brazil - 20,000
- Mexico - 10,000
- Asia - 90,000
- Japan - 60,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 12,500
- New Zealand - 2,500
- Europe - 670,000
- UK - 300,000
- France - 50,000
- Germany - 120,000
- Italy - 17,500
- Spain - 7,500
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 15,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 2,540,000
Elvis' Golden Records, Vol. 3 (1963)
- America
- US - 1,800,000
- Canada - 115,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 5,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 85,000
- Japan - 60,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 35,000
- New Zealand - 7,000
- Europe - 420,000
- UK - 200,000
- France - 50,000
- Germany - 45,000
- Italy - 15,000
- Spain - 7,500
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 10,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 2,490,000
Singer Presents Elvis Singing "Flaming Star" And Others (1968)
- America
- US - 1,400,000
- Canada - 120,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 5,000
- Japan - 0
- Oceania
- Australia - 35,000
- New Zealand - 7,000
- Europe - 560,000
- UK - 150,000
- France - 130,000
- Germany - 100,000
- Italy - 2,500
- Spain - 0
- Sweden - 10,000
- Netherlands - 40,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 2,150,000
Elvis' Christmas Album (1970)
- America
- US - 10,050,000
- Canada - 300,000
- Argentina - 0
- Brazil - 0
- Mexico - 0
- Asia - 5,000
- Japan - 0
- Oceania
- Australia - 30,000
- New Zealand - 5,000
- Europe - 860,000
- UK - 550,000
- France - 0
- Germany - 100,000
- Italy - 10,000
- Spain - 0
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 12,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 11,320,000
You'll Never Walk Alone (1971)
- America
- US - 3,150,000
- Canada - 105,000
- Argentina - 0
- Brazil - 0
- Mexico - 0
- Asia - 5,000
- Japan - 0
- Oceania
- Australia - 20,000
- New Zealand - 4,000
- Europe - 660,000
- UK - 325,000
- France - 150,000
- Germany - 50,000
- Italy - 10,000
- Spain - 0
- Sweden - 10,000
- Netherlands - 7,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 3,980,000
Burning Love And Hits From His Movies Vol. 2 (1972)
- America
- US - 2,600,000
- Canada - 150,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 110,000
- Japan - 80,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 10,000
- New Zealand - 2,000
- Europe - 210,000
- UK - 80,000
- France - 25,000
- Germany - 35,000
- Italy - 2,000
- Spain - 15,000
- Sweden - 5,000
- Netherlands - 5,00
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 3,110,000
Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden (1972)
- America
- US - 3,250,000
- Canada - 150,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 100,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 250,000
- Japan - 180,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 30,000
- New Zealand - 6,000
- Europe - 430,000
- UK - 250,000
- France - 50,000
- Germany - 30,000
- Italy - 10,000
- Spain - 10,000
- Sweden - 10,000
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 4,320,000
Separate Ways (1972)
- America
- US - 1,450,000
- Canada - 110,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 22,500
- Japan - 15,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 15,000
- New Zealand - 3,000
- Europe - 540,000
- UK - 375,000
- France - 15,000
- Germany - 65,000
- Italy - 0
- Spain - 0
- Sweden - 7,500
- Netherlands - 7,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 2,170,000
A Legendary Performer - Volume 1 (1973)
- America
- US - 3,000,000
- Canada - 210,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 30,000
- Japan - 20,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 20,000
- New Zealand - 5,000
- Europe - 120,000
- UK - 60,000
- France - 0
- Germany - 15,000
- Italy - 15,000
- Spain - 2,500
- Sweden - 5,000
- Netherlands - 2,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 3,410,000
Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite (1973)
- America
- US - 3,325,000
- Canada - 230,000
- Argentina - 30,000
- Brazil - 100,000
- Mexico - 30,000
- Asia - 285,000
- Japan - 200,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 45,000
- New Zealand - 7,500
- Europe - 820,000
- UK - 275,000
- France - 70,000
- Germany - 175,000
- Italy - 15,000
- Spain - 25,000
- Sweden - 40,000
- Netherlands - 35,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 4,940,000
Elvis (Commemorative Album) (1973)
- America
- US - 3,450,000
- Canada - 440,000
- World - 3,890,000
40 Greatest Hits (1974)
- America
- US - 0
- Canada - 0
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 175,000
- Mexico - 0
- Asia - 50,000
- Japan - 0
- Oceania
- Australia - 0
- New Zealand - 0
- Europe - 2,200,000
- UK - 1,350,000
- France - 25,000
- Germany - 275,000
- Italy - 50,000
- Spain - 15,000
- Sweden - 0
- Netherlands - 90,000
- Switzerland - 75,000
- Austria - 75,000
- Finland - 0
- World - 2,620,000
Elvis Forever (1974)
- Europe - 2,480,000
- UK - 10,000
- France - 500,000
- Germany - 625,000
- Italy - 125,000
- Spain - 50,000
- Sweden - 165,000
- Netherlands - 280,000
- Switzerland - 55,000
- Austria - 55,000
- Finland - 40,000
- World - 2,480,000
Pure Gold (1975)
- America
- US - 2,250,000
- Canada - 85,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 20,000
- Japan - 10,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 170,000
- UK - 0
- France - 0
- Germany - 25,000
- Italy - 50,000
- Spain - 25,000
- Sweden - 15,000
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 2,580,000
A Legendary Performer - Volume 2 (1976)
- America
- US - 2,125,000
- Canada - 135,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 20,000
- Japan - 15,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - N/A
- Europe - 90,000
- UK - 45,000
- France - 0
- Germany - 15,000
- Italy - 5,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - 7,000
- Netherlands - 0
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 2,390,000
Elvis In Concert (1977)
- America
- US - 1,600,000
- Canada - 210,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 30,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 30,000
- Japan - 20,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 50,000
- New Zealand - 10,000
- Europe - 390,000
- UK - 140,000
- France - 80,000
- Germany - 10,000
- Italy - 12,500
- Spain - 2,000
- Sweden - 35,000
- Netherlands - 35,000
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 2,370,000
It's Christmas Time (1985)
- America
- US - 3,750,000
- Canada - 50,000
- World - 3,800,000
The Number One Hits (1987)
- America
- US - 3,125,000
- Canada - 80,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 22,500
- Japan - 15,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 20,000
- New Zealand - 3,000
- Europe - 50,000
- UK - N/A
- France - N/A
- Germany - N/A
- Italy - N/A
- Spain - N/A
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - N/A
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 3,320,000
The Top Ten Hits (1987)
- America
- US - 2,050,000
- Canada - 50,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - N/A
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 15,000
- Japan - 10,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 12,500
- New Zealand - 2,000
- Europe - 30,000
- UK - 5,000
- France - N/A
- Germany - 10,000
- Italy - 5,000
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - N/A
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 2,170,000
ELV1S 30 #1 Hits (2002)
- America
- US - 5,600,000
- Canada - 775,000
- Argentina - 80,000
- Brazil - 325,000
- Mexico - 110,000
- Asia - 770,000
- Japan - 310,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 510,000
- New Zealand - 75,000
- Europe - 4,950,000
- UK - 1,825,000
- France - 355,000
- Germany - 730,000
- Italy - 265,000
- Spain - 265,000
- Sweden - 225,000
- Netherlands - 170,000
- Switzerland - 130,000
- Austria - 100,000
- Finland - 91,000
- World - 13,400,000
Elvis 2nd To None (2003)
- America
- US - 1,075,000
- Canada - 150,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 65,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 90,000
- Japan - 45,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 50,000
- New Zealand - 7,500
- Europe - 620,000
- UK - 265,000
- France - 30,000
- Germany - 80,000
- Italy - 12,500
- Spain - 20,000
- Sweden - 37,500
- Netherlands - 17,500
- Switzerland - 20,000
- Austria - 25,000
- Finland - 17,000
- World - 2,120,000
Full Length related records Sales – Summary
Here is the most underestimated indicator of an album’s success – the amount of compilation sales of all kinds it generated. Due to the dependency of sales of the original studio albums on these releases, they are a key piece of the jigsaw.
Since most popular studio albums were released once the LP market had boomed already, they are often identified thanks to their own sales. For an album issued in 1961 that was exploited through hundreds of packages though sales of the original LP are almost pointless. Blue Hawaii sold bucket loads in its time. If that amount wasn't impressive anymore 20 years later, its amazing success is confirmed by the incredible number of compilation sales it powered. The total is up to a massive 23,2 million.
What can we say about Elvis' Christmas Album then? If it sold under 4 million units by itself, that's simply due to the number of distinct albums that replace it through the years. These albums moved an insane 30,55 million units thanks to its songs.
Remaining albums are nowhere near this super strong top 2. Elvis Presley and From Elvis In Memphis are still up to a highly respectable figure of 5 million units generated through secondary packages.
Of course, there is an elephant in the room. We tend to focus on studio albums, but the orphan folder of Presley is just out of this world. These songs are responsible for an absurd 119 million sales worth of compilations. Considering how many monster hits this section involves, it isn't even surprising. To know better which tracks exactly produced these sales, the songs ranking at the end of the article will be enlightening.
Full Length related records Sales – Summary per format
These figures are near record breaking in every section. Presley is ranked from #1 to #3 among the top artists ever for all these types of recordings. He has serious competitors for all. The Beatles sold an insane number of compilations too, a similar one. Mannheim Steamroller are unmatched Christmas giants. Michael Jackson is the all-time leader in the music video field. Eric Clapton has been stunning with his live recordings. Presley stands near to or above them in all categories and also sold more box sets, EPs, collections and loopholes than anyone else. This should be added to his massive physical singles sales too. His all-around strength is mind blowing, no matter how we look at it.
BONUS: Total Album (all types) Sales per Country
- America
- US - 154,985,000
- Canada - 10,465,000
- Argentina - 235,000
- Brazil - 2,860,000
- Mexico - 370,000
- Asia - 7,335,000
- Japan - 4,770,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 3,625,000
- New Zealand - 635,000
- Europe - 58,445,000
- UK - 26,585,000
- France - 5,710,000
- Germany - 8,195,000
- Italy - 1,220,000
- Spain - 1,430,000
- Sweden - 2,135,000
- Netherlands - 2,125,000
- Switzerland - 1,020,000
- Austria - 1,000,000
- Finland - 660,000
- World - 244,475,000
Please note that some of the countries totals may be slightly incomplete when the figure is N/A for minor releases. Countries with too much missing information to be precise enough are listed as N/A.
ELVIS PRESLEY CAREER CSPC RESULTS
So, after checking all the figures, how many overall equivalent album sales has each album by Elvis Presley achieved? Well, at this point we hardly need to add up all of the figures defined in this article!
[xyz-ips snippet="updatedCSPCalbums"]
Conclusions
The career of Presley wasn't always linear. Indeed, he had had various flops. Some of his albums like Harum Scarum and Elvis (from 1973) barely reach half a million units factoring in all formats. We are speaking about an artist that released 42 albums over 22 years and still issued well over half of his successful singles with orphan songs.
That's why looking at one figure only for him is such an error. The volume of his sales speaks. Think about it that way: how many artists topped 1 million equivalent album sales with 31 LPs and still moved almost 150 million units with orphan songs?
Among his top albums there is Elvis, Loving You, G.I. Blues, That's the Way It Is, Elvis sings The Wonderful World of Christmas, and Moody Blue, all of which fall into the 4 to 6 million ballpark. On his personal top 5 feature Elvis Presley, How Great Thou Art and From Elvis in Memphis at over 7 million a piece.
As successful as they have been these albums can't compete with the top 2. Elvis' Christmas Album and Blue Hawaii, each in a very different category, accumulated insane sales through the years and various releases. Their value has been strong enough to trigger sales of 35,5 million and 29,4 million equivalent album sales, respectively.
Then comes the orphan folder. It closes just a shy of 150 million. Basically, his orphan songs alone moved more equivalent album sales than entire discographies of artists as huge as Phil Collins and Billy Joel.
The final total for the King comes at 314,0 million EAS up to date. While the Beatles still quite a lot ahead at 405,7 million, a strong revival as the one from 2002 could possibly shot him ahead of Michael Jackson who's on 323,7 million. These trio of artists are on a category of their own since the fourth highest ever, Madonna, is much lower at 241,1 million.
To go deeper...
Thanks to our new ASR (Artist Success Rating) concept, we know that his sales represent 48,12 million times the purchase of her full catalog. It's the equivalent of 48,12 million people buying an average of 6,53 albums from him. It falls perfectly in line with our article about the structure of his discography that pointed out that there are 6 different Elvis Presleys.
Both indicators of 48,12 million sales of his entire catalog spread over the equivalent of 314,0 million imply an ASR of 696. That makes him the fourth most successful artist of all-time behind aforementioned Michael Jackson (1000) and the Beatles (915), but also Queen (723). Hard fans and casual buyers of all these artists need less purchases to be satisfied than Presley's. That's why their ASR is higher in comparison to their cumulative EAS.
As usual, feel free to comment and / or ask a question!
Sources: IFPI, Spotify, YouTube, Discogs, Chartmasters.org, RCA, Sony, Pickwick, Camden, Memphis Recording Service, Billboard, Elvisoncd, Biwa, elvisnews, worldwideelvis, elvispresleyftd, elvispresleyshop, EIN, BuzzAngle, Time-Life, Kworb, Hanboo, Earthslayer, Ernst Jorgensen, Michael Omansky, Agora SA, RIAA, Soundscan, OCC, BPI, Not Now Music, RPM, SNEP, Oricon, RIAJ, PROMUSICAE, AFP, FIMI, NVPI, IRMA, ARIA, RIANZ, Music Week, Amprofon, MercadoLivre, ABPD, CAPIF, CRIA, IFOP, GFK, IFPI (DE, DK, NO, AT, FI, SW), Sverigetopplistan, LA Times, Reuters, Le Monde, Nashville Post.
Special thanks to Anthony Blanchard and Hernan Lopez for their massive contribution.
ELVIS PRESLEY CAREER CSPC RESULTS - PER YEAR
As previously mentioned, there is an elephant in the room of Presley's statistics. The unreal success of his stand-alone singles deflates the interest of sales combined per album. To solve this case, this page treats his CSPC results per year of production. The year considered is the first year that saw a single come out, as a single or inside an album, whatever came first.
To really understand the impact of the rock legend, the graph below compares him with the Beatles. This highlights an insane fact.
There is no error: the material issued by Presley in 1957 is more valuable than the production of the Beatles in any year. While the Fab Four shocked the world thanks to their immaculate run from start to finish, they peaked in 1965 when their records produced value worth of 63,25 million up to now. Presley's output from 1957 tops that figure since it generated 65,82 million equivalent album sales. This also tops peaks of the Bee Gees, Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and more. All acts included, Presley's 1957 output is the third most valuable of all-time behind catalogs of the Eagles from 1976 and Michael Jackson from 1982.
Many people think he reached monster sales thanks to his never ending discography but the fact is that his records were insanely successful. His sales haven't been achieved on the back of zillions of tracks from dark years. Instead, his great periods were magnificent.
In fact, his years 1956/1957, 1960/1961, 1969 and 1972 all top 20 million. His songs first issued in these seasons add for over 210 million, which is more than the full careers of Elton John and Led Zeppelin. No need to say that the fact he managed these bright results in a period spread over 17 years is all the more impressive. He also did at least 1,4 million every year from 1954 to 1977. On top of that, it's worth noting that Presley served the US Army from March 1958 to March 1960, which stopped his traction. Incredibly, he managed to return to massive sales instantly.
The following graph also shows how dominant Presley has been. It doesn't matter to see which year is referred to by each color, instead the size of blocks reflects the impact an artist had.
ELVIS PRESLEY'S BIGGEST TRACKS
The list is compiled in album equivalent sales generated by each song. Therefore, these figures are not merged units of singles formats. Instead, it includes weighted sales of the song's physical single, download, ringtone and streaming as well as its share among sales of all albums on which it is featured.
1. 1961 - Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling in Love [Blue Hawaii] - 27,580,000
2. 1957 - Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock [Orphan] - 18,700,000
3. 1957 - Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 17,310,000
4. 1969 - Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds [Orphan] - 13,880,000
5. 1956 - Elvis Presley - Hound Dog [Orphan] - 10,300,000
6. 1972 - Elvis Presley - Burning Love [Orphan] - 8,560,000
7. 1969 - Elvis Presley - In the Ghetto [From Elvis in Memphis] - 7,750,000
8. 1956 - Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender [Orphan] - 6,970,000
9. 1956 - Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel [Orphan] - 6,570,000
10. 1956 - Elvis Presley - Don't Be Cruel [Orphan] - 6,010,000
11. 1972 - Elvis Presley - Always On My Mind [Orphan] - 5,640,000
12. 1956 - Elvis Presley - Blue Suede Shoes [Elvis Presley] - 5,080,000
13. 1968 - Elvis Presley - A Little Less Conversation [Orphan] - 5,030,000
14. 1957 - Elvis Presley - All Shook Up [Orphan] - 4,960,000
15. 1960 - Elvis Presley - It's Now Or Never [Orphan] - 4,940,000
16. 1960 - Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight? [Orphan] - 4,380,000
17. 1962 - Elvis Presley - Return to Sender [Girls! Girls! Girls!] - 3,380,000
18. 1967 - Elvis Presley - How Great Thou Art [How Great Thou Art] - 3,120,000
19. 1957 - Elvis Presley - (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear [Loving You] - 3,060,000
20. 1957 - Elvis Presley - Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 2,960,000
21. 1957 - Elvis Presley - (There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me) [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 2,870,000
22. 1963 - Elvis Presley - You're The Devil In Disguise [Orphan] - 2,800,000
23. 1965 - Elvis Presley - Crying in the Chapel [How Great Thou Art] - 2,690,000
24. 1970 - Elvis Presley - The Wonder Of You [Orphan] - 2,590,000
25. 1956 - Elvis Presley - Love Me [Elvis] - 2,110,000
25. 1954 - Elvis Presley - That's All Right [Orphan] - 2,110,000
27. 1960 - Elvis Presley - Stuck On You [Orphan] - 2,050,000
28. 1960 - Elvis Presley - Wooden Heart [G.I. Blues] - 2,000,000
29. 1972 - Elvis Presley - Amazing Grace [He Touched Me] - 1,960,000
30. 1968 - Elvis Presley - If I Can Dream [Orphan] - 1,890,000
31. 1959 - Elvis Presley - A Big Hunk Of Love [Orphan] - 1,790,000
32. 1957 - Elvis Presley - Santa Claus Is Back In Town [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 1,780,000
33. 1957 - Elvis Presley - Silent Night [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 1,750,000
33. 1977 - Elvis Presley - Way Down [Moody Blue] - 1,750,000
35. 1958 - Elvis Presley - Don't [Orphan] - 1,720,000
36. 1967 - Elvis Presley - Guitar Man [Clambake] - 1,680,000
37. 1958 - Elvis Presley - One Night [Orphan] - 1,610,000
38. 1977 - Elvis Presley - Unchained Melody [Moody Blue] - 1,590,000
39. 1957 - Elvis Presley - O Little Town Of Bethlehem [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 1,570,000
40. 1957 - Elvis Presley - White Christmas [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 1,560,000
41. 1962 - Elvis Presley - Good Luck Charm [Orphan] - 1,500,000
42. 1959 - Elvis Presley - (Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I [Orphan] - 1,430,000
43. 1961 - Elvis Presley - Surrender [Orphan] - 1,410,000
44. 1958 - Elvis Presley - King Creole [King Creole] - 1,350,000
45. 1963 - Elvis Presley - Bossa Nova Baby [Fun in Acapulco] - 1,340,000
46. 1976 - Elvis Presley - Moody Blue [Moody Blue] - 1,300,000
46. 1964 - Elvis Presley - Viva Las Vegas [Orphan] - 1,300,000
48. 1957 - Elvis Presley - I'll Be Home For Christmas [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 1,290,000
49. 1957 - Elvis Presley - Take My Hand, Precious Lord [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 1,280,000
50. 1956 - Elvis Presley - I Want You, I Need You, I Love You [Orphan] - 1,230,000
51. 1960 - Elvis Presley - Fever [Elvis Is Back!] - 1,190,000
51. 1970 - Elvis Presley - You Don't Have to Say You Love Me [That's the Way It Is] - 1,190,000
53. 1961 - Elvis Presley - Flaming Star [Orphan] - 1,180,000
53. 1957 - Elvis Presley - I Believe [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 1,180,000
55. 1958 - Elvis Presley - Hard Headed Woman [King Creole] - 1,160,000
56. 1960 - Elvis Presley - Pocketful of Rainbows [G.I. Blues] - 1,120,000
57. 1957 - Elvis Presley - Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me) [Elvis' Christmas Album] - 1,110,000
58. 1962 - Elvis Presley - Follow That Dream [Orphan] - 1,070,000
59. 1968 - Elvis Presley - You'll Never Walk Alone [Orphan] - 1,020,000
60. 1973 - Elvis Presley - My Way [Orphan] - 1,010,000
RECORDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
- At 35,532,000 EAS, Elvis' Christmas Album is the most successful Christmas album of all time.
- At 35,532,000 EAS, Elvis' Christmas Album is the most successful album from the 50s.
- At 29,422,000 EAS, Blue Hawaii is the most successful album from 1961.
- At 7,646,000 EAS, Elvis Presley is among the 3 most successful albums from 1956.
- At 7,243,000 EAS, How Great Thou Art is among the 20 most successful albums from 1967.
- At 8,146,000 EAS, From Elvis In Memphis is among the 20 most successful albums from 1969.
- At 10,300,000 EAS, Hound Dog is the most successful song from 1956.
- At 6,970,000 EAS, Love Me Tender is among the 5 most successful songs from 1956.
- At 6,570,000 EAS, Heartbreak Hotel is among the 5 most successful songs from 1956.
- At 6,010,000 EAS, Don't Be Cruel is among the 5 most successful songs from 1956.
- At 18,700,000 EAS, Jailhouse Rock is the most successful song from 1957.
- At 17,310,000 EAS, Blue Christmas is the 2nd most successful song from the 1957.
- At 4,960,000 EAS, All Shook Up is among the 5 most successful songs from 1957.
- At 4,940,000 EAS, It's Now Or Never is among the 5 most successful songs from 1960.
- At 27,580,000 EAS, Can't Help Falling In Love is the most successful song from 1961.
- At 13,880,000 EAS, Suspicious Minds is among the 5 most successful songs from 1969.
- At 7,750,000 EAS, In The Ghetto is among the 10 most successful songs from 1969.
- At 8,560,000 EAS, Burning Love is among the 10 most successful songs from 1972.
- At 18,700,000 EAS, Jailhouse Rock is the most successful song from the 50s.
- At 17,310,000 EAS, Blue Christmas is the 2nd most successful song from the 50s.
- At 27,580,000 EAS, Can't Help Falling In Love is the 2nd most successful song from the 60s.
- At 27,580,000 EAS, Can't Help Falling In Love is among the 10 most successful songs of all-time.
- At 127,149,000 EAS, Elvis Presley is the most successful artist of the 50s
- At 131,658,000 EAS, Elvis Presley is the 2nd most successful artist of the 60s
- At 65,824,000 EAS from 1957's material, Elvis Presley has the 3rd most successful annual output of all-time.
- At 244,475,000 pure album sales, Elvis Presley is the 2nd highest seller of all-time.
- At 154,985,000 pure album sales, Elvis Presley is the 2nd highest seller of all-time in the US.
- At 10,465,000 pure album sales, Elvis Presley is the 5th highest seller of all-time in Canada.
- At 26,585,000 pure album sales, Elvis Presley is the 3rd highest seller of all-time in the UK.
- At 2,135,000 pure album sales, Elvis Presley is the 3rd highest foreign seller of all-time in Sweden.
- At 58,445,000 pure album sales, Elvis Presley is the 11th highest seller of all-time in Europe.
- At 135,203,000 physical singles sales, Elvis Presley is the 1st/2nd* highest seller of all-time
- At 15,875,000 EPs sales, Elvis Presley is the highest seller of all-time.
*Ranking pending Bing Crosby's study.
NB: EAS means Equivalent Album Sales.
We have more for you...
... checking out the upcoming artists or even voting for them!
... about Elvis Presley
... about similar artists
... about best-selling artists, albums, and singles
149+ million on orphan... It stands to reason being as he came from the singles era.
Hi , While his CSPC Units 312.3 M
Can you tell us how many his Records Sold?
Thank you ! For Great Work!
Gets to show how big the Beatles were. They are miles ahead of everyone. Still very surprised Queen are so high on ASR. They are more successful than Elvis. Well done to completing his analysis. That was awful lot of work.
Hi,
Thank you and congratulations for this article, and all the others about Elvis, because this must have been a lot lot of work! 132 pages, best score 😂
This is very interesting to know that he's behind Beatles and, indeed, he never sold 1 billion records!
Do you think he can surpasses Jackson? Does Elvis' catalog sold more than Jackson's one?
First of all - major thank you for the analysis!
Secondly, i was pretty close, estimating him at around 320m EAS.
"At 26,585,000 pure album sales, Elvis Presley is the 3rd highest seller of all-time in the UK."
Any chance to get a top 10, or at least a top 5?
Hi Zack!
He sold over 405 million physical records: 244,5 million albums, 135,2 million singles, 15,9 million EPs, and 9,6 million music videos. Many of his albums had multiple discs, I haven't all multi-discs explicitely identified, but the ones I have had for 59 million more discs which pushes his totals of units sold to 464 million if we decide to go that way. Then, he also sold over 35 million downloads / ringtones.
Indeed Jake!
I really think that the billion sales myths ultimately downgrade achievements of Elvis / Beatles. We end up thinking "oh, so they haven't sold anywhere near to 1 billion", while in reality their results are absolutely insane. If Beatles' EAS were sold at an average of $12 (can be higher), we are looking at a gross of $5 billion from music records alone. It's people, like you and me, giving $5 billion only to listen to their music. You can get 243,000 cars at $20k a piece with that much money. Sales of Madonna are already super impressive, that only highlights how incredibly successful the Top 3 has been to crush her by that much!
Hi Gonzalex!
We already used long lists with no assignment details to avoid more pages, and 'remaining albums' folders to avoid adding 500+ more albums that would have push the article to 300+ pages using the usual norms!
Elvis sells more albums in countries were he is the biggest on a yearly basis (mainly US / UK), then Jackson tops him in most remaining markets. In total they must be fairly close. The latter takes the lead in terms of EAS thanks to bigger streaming results. That being said, their sales will have the usual occasional boosts from time to time, so we never know!
Wow! You deserve some kind of medal for this astonishing work on what's one of the (if not the) world's largest catalog for a single artist.
The king's appeal is totally unprecedented for his era! What comes as a surprise is his rather weak sales in Latin America (with the exception of Brazil) even though there was a strong Argentinian market at the time.
Also there's a typo on page 112 regarding Swedish sales.
And a big thanks for doing this!! 🙂
Hi Dan!
Precise numbers only for acts studied so far:
01 The Beatles 33,140,000
02 Queen 26,695,000
03 Elvis Presley 26,585,000
04 Michael Jackson 26,275,000
05 Madonna 22,980,000
--- Rod Stewart & Robbie Williams ---
08 ABBA 19,645,000
09 David Bowie 19,045,000
10 U2 18,575,000
11 Elton John 18,170,000
12 Rolling Stones 17,405,000
13 Oasis 17,205,000
14 Pink Floyd 16,390,000
--- Phil Collins & Frank Sinatra & Cliff Richard 15+ million each ---
Thanks Al 😉
The typo is fixed! Elvis was big in both Brazil and Chile but fairly weaker elsewhere. It must be said that totals per country include only a few albums for both Argentina and Mexico, he sold about 800,000 and 900,000 on them, respectively, plus 800,000 from remaining Latin American countries.