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Record Sales
It is estimated that Elvis Presley has sold over one billion
record units worldwide, more than anyone in record industry
history. In America alone, Elvis has had 150 different albums and
singles that have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum
by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with more
certifications expected as research into his past record sales
continues and as current sales go on. Research is also underway to
document his record sales achievements in other countries. It is
estimated that 40% of Elvis' total record sales have been outside
the United States.
International Acclaim
Elvis Presley’s trophy room at Graceland is filled with gold
and platinum records and awards of all kinds from around the
world. Some of the countries represented are: Norway, Yugoslavia,
Japan, Australia, South Africa, England, Sweden, Germany, France,
Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It is interesting to
note that, except for a handful of movie soundtrack songs, Elvis
did not record in other languages, and, except for five shows in
three Canadian cities in 1957, he did not perform in concert
outside the United States. Still, his recordings and films
enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, popularity all over the globe, and
he is known throughout the world by his first name.
Record Chart Statistics
Elvis has had no less than 149 songs to appear on
Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Chart in America. Of these, 114 were in
the top forty, 40 were in the top ten, and 18 went to number one.
His number one singles spent a total of 80 weeks at number one. He
has also had over 90 charted albums with ten of them reaching
number one. These figures are only for the pop charts, and only in
America. He was also a leading artist in the American country,
R&B, and gospel fields, and his chart success in other countries
was substantial.
Historic Television Appearances
In 1956, Elvis made his network television debut with the
first of his six appearances on Stage Show, a weekly variety
program hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. He followed these with
two appearances on The Milton Berle Show, the second of which
included a performance of Hound Dog that was so provocative (for
that time, anyway) that it caused a national scandal. Elvis next
appeared on The Steve Allen Show, with Allen mocking the sensation
of the Berle appearance by having Elvis dress in a tuxedo,
eliminate his usual physical gyrations, and sing Hound Dog to a
Basset Hound. Ed Sullivan had once said he would never have the
controversial singer on his top-rated show, but that was before
the week that Elvis’ appearance on Steve Allen had surpassed
Sullivan’s ratings. Sullivan paid Elvis $50,000 to make three
appearances on his show, which was, at the time, more money than
any performer had ever been paid to appear on a network variety
program. When Elvis made his third Sullivan appearance in January
of 1957, Ed Sullivan surprised Elvis by telling him on camera that
his show had never had a better experience with a name act, and
said “I wanted to say to Elvis and the country that this is a real
decent, fine boy.” It was on this very same Sullivan appearance
that Elvis was shown on camera from the waist up only, one of
early television history’s most memorable moments. Elvis’ next
network television appearance was in 1960, when Frank Sinatra gave
his variety show a “Welcome Home, Elvis” theme to herald Elvis’
return from the army. Elvis was paid $125,000 to appear - again,
making history.
The Silver Screen
Elvis starred in 31 feature films as an actor and two
theatrically released concert documentary films, all of which
enjoyed financial success. For a number of years he was one of
Hollywood’s top box office draws and one of its highest-paid
actors. His two most critically acclaimed films, Jailhouse Rock
(1957) and King Creole (1958) have become classics of their era.
His movies and concert films enjoy a healthy life today in
television syndication and home video sales and rentals. Some of
his top-selling music came from his movies. Eleven of his movie
soundtrack albums went to the top ten, and of those, four went to
number one. The soundtrack for G.I. Blues (1960), was number one
on the Billboard Top 100 album chart for 10 weeks and remained on
the chart for 111 weeks. The album from Blue Hawaii was number one
for 20 weeks and was on the chart for 79 weeks.
Television Specials
Elvis Presley’s three network television specials - Elvis
(1968) , Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii, via Satellite (1973), and Elvis
in Concert (1977) - stand among the most highly rated specials of
their time. His 1968 special, Elvis , is one of the most
critically acclaimed music specials of all time. His 1973 special,
Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii, via Satellite , was seen in 40
countries by 1 billion to 1.5 billion people and made television
history. It was seen on television in more American homes than
man’s first walk on the moon.
The Concert Stage
When Elvis returned to the live stage after the success of
his 1968 television special and the wrap-up of his Hollywood movie
contract obligations, he opened at the International Hotel in Las
Vegas in the summer of 1969 for a 4-week, 57-show engagement that
broke all existing Las Vegas attendance records. He returned to
the International a few months later in early 1970, during the
slow winter season in Vegas, and broke his own attendance record.
Right after that came a record-breaking six-show engagement at the
Astrodome in Houston, where Elvis played to a total of 207,494
people. Elvis took his elaborate live show on the road in the
latter part of 1970 for his first concert tour since 1957.
Throughout the 1970’s Elvis toured America, breaking box office
records right and left, and continued to play an engagement or two
per year in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. Among the outstanding
highlights of this period was in 1972, when Elvis performed four
sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. During his “concert
years” from 1969 to 1977, Elvis gave nearly 1,100 concert
performances.
Grammy Awards
Elvis received 14 Grammy nominations from the National
Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). His three wins
were for gospel recordings - the album How Great Thou Art (1967),
the album He Touched Me (1972) and his live Memphis concert
recording of the song How Great Thou Art (1974). In 1971, NARAS
also recognized him with their Lifetime Achievement Award (known
then as the Bing Crosby Award ...in honor of its first recipient).
Elvis was 36 years old at the time. Five of Elvis' recordings have
been inducted into the NARAS Hall of Fame - his original 1956
recordings of Hound Dog (inducted 1988) and Heartbreak Hotel
(inducted 1995), his original 1954 recording of That's All Right
(inducted 1998), his original 1969 recording of Suspicious Minds
(inducted 1999), and his original 1956 recording of Don't Be Cruel
(inducted 2002). The Hall of Fame recognizes "early recordings of
lasting, qualitative or historical significance," with many
inductees being recordings that were created and released before
the 1958 inception of NARAS and the Grammy Awards.
One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the
Nation
The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce (the Jaycees)
named Elvis One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for
1970 in a ceremony on January 16, 1971, one of Elvis’ proudest
moments. This award has been given since 1938 and has honored men
of achievement in all areas of endeavor - sports, government,
science, medicine, entertainment, etc. It recognizes outstanding
personal achievement and the exemplification of the opportunities
available in the free enterprise system, along with patriotism,
humanitarianism, and community service. (In the 1980's,
eligibility was opened to women as well as men, and the award has
since been presented to the year's Ten Outstanding Young
Americans.)
Charitable Endeavors
Elvis Presley was famous for giving away Cadillacs, cash and
jewelry, often on the spur of the moment. But, the true depth and
breadth of his generosity and community involvement is not so
widely known.
In 1961, Elvis
gave a benefit concert at Bloch Arena in Hawaii that raised over
$65,000 toward the building of the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at
Pearl Harbor. The resulting publicity gave new life to the
fund-raising effort, which had, by then, lost its momentum. The
memorial opened a year later.
Audience
tickets for his 1973 Aloha from Hawaii television special and its
pre-broadcast rehearsal show carried no price, as each audience
member was asked to pay whatever he or she could. The performances
and concert merchandise sales were a benefit raising $75,000 for
the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in Hawaii.
Each
year, for many years, Elvis gave $1,000 or more to each of fifty
Memphis-area charities, but also continually made many other
charitable donations in Memphis and around the country.
Most of Elvis’
philanthropic endeavors received no publicity at all. Throughout
his adult life, for friends, for family, and for total strangers,
he quietly paid hospital bills, bought homes, supported families,
paid off debts, and much more.
Elvis' legacy
of generosity continues through the work of the Elvis Presley
Charitable Foundation, which is the philanthropic branch of Elvis
Presley Enterprises, Inc. and the creator of the Elvis Presley
Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of Memphis. The
tradition of giving also continues through the work of the Elvis
fan clubs worldwide, most of which are heavily involved in
charitable endeavors in Elvis' memory.
Graceland Mansion
Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home and refuge for twenty years,
is one of the most visited homes in America today, now attracting
over 600,000 visitors annually. It is also the most famous home in
America after the White House. In 1991, Graceland Mansion was
placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Elvis Stamp
In 1992, the U.S. Postal Service announced that Elvis’ image
would be used for a commemorative postage stamp. The Postal
Service narrowed the artwork choices down to two images - one of
Elvis in the 1950’s as a sizzling young rocker, and one of him as
a still-svelte concert superstar in his 1973 Aloha from Hawaii
special. In an unprecedented move, the USPS put the decision to
the American people and distributed ballots coast to coast. Over
1.2 million votes were cast, and the image of the young rocker
won. The stamp was released on January 8, 1993, with extravagant
first day of issue ceremonies at Graceland. The Elvis stamp is the
most widely publicized stamp issue in the history of the U.S.
Postal Service, and it is the top selling commemorative postage
stamp of all time. The USPS printed 500 million of them, three
times the usual print run for a commemorative stamp. Several
countries outside the USA also have issued Elvis stamps over the
years.
Special Posthumous Honors
The 1984 W.C. Handy Award from the Blues Foundation in
Memphis recognized Elvis for "keeping the blues alive in his music
- rock and roll." The Academy of Country Music's first Golden Hat
Award presented in 1984 recognized Elvis' influence on country
music. In 1986, Elvis was among the first group of inductees into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1987, Elvis was honored with
the first posthumous presentation of the Award of Merit by the
American Music Awards, 1987. In 1998, Elvis received the Country
Music Association's highest honor, induction into the Country
Music Hall of Fame. In 2001, Elvis was inducted into the Gospel
Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame. With that honor,
Elvis is the only person, so far, to become a member of all three
of these halls of fame - Rock and Roll, Country and Gospel.
Generations of Fans
Currently, there are over 625 active Elvis fan clubs
worldwide. Elvis' popularity is at an all-time high, and his
legacy continues to reach new audiences. Half of Graceland's
visitorship is age 35 and under.
A New Concert Career
On August 16, 1997, Elvis, via video, starred in an
extravagant concert production entitled Elvis in Concert '97 at
the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee, accompanied live on
stage by over thirty of his former bandmates and the Memphis
Symphony Orchestra. The show played before a capacity crowd of
fans who had come to Memphis from around the world to commemorate
the twentieth anniversary of Elvis' death. Elvis broke the
Mid-South Coliseum's all-time record dollar figure for box office
sales. This concert was the prototype for the 1998/99 touring
production Elvis - The Concert. By being the first performer ever
to headline a live concert tour while no longer living, Elvis made
history again. The March 1998 tour included a three-show smash
engagement at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The August 1998
tour included the excitement of Elvis' "return" to the Las Vegas
Hilton with an eight-show engagement. The January/ February 1999
European tour opened with a sell-out at London's Wembley Arena
and, in effect, marked Elvis' first-ever concerts outside of North
America. The show continues to tour periodically.
Recent U.K. Number
1 Singles Re-Released Records
Elvis has sold over
750,000+ singles in 4 months.
One Night" was the UK’s 1000th UK #1
Elvis is the only artist to have hit the #1 spot 21 times.
No artist has ever had 3 different #1 singles in one month.
Elvis has now had more Top 3 singles in a year than other artist.
Presley has enjoyed more Top 10 entries than any other artist with
77.
The releases generated 28,000 column cm’s of PR with an
advertising value of £2.3 million.
The PR campaign reached over 32 million consumers in the UK.
Information from
Elvis Presley Enterprises
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