Who's bigger? MJ or The Beatles?
- Thread starter Trekker4747
- Start date
Here, I've got some more audited RIAA (U.S. only) numbers:
Including singles, EPs (extended play--3-5 songs) and LPs (long play--full album):
Elvis Presley - 158.1 million
The Beatles - 156 million
Michael Jackson - 74 million
LPs (albums) only:
The Beatles - 132 million
Garth Brooks - 101 million
Elvis Presley - 100.6 million
Michael Jackson - 61.5 million
It's singles where Elvis just blasts past everyone else due to the medium which was sold in their respective eras (only old people bought albums in the '50s because teenagers couldn't afford them and only bought singles). The Beatles were the album generation and their generation (the Baby Boomers) currently holds a lot of the bias for the album medium. Michael was the MTV generation. Now, we've entered the .mp3/iPod generation. Which, ironically, is back to the selling of singles.
Another interesting factoid... Elvis' Jailhouse Rock production number (the scene shows the shooting of a "music video" inside of the film) is considered part of the inspiration for the music video concept and Elvis' '68 Comeback Special was the inspiration for MTV Unplugged.
Including singles, EPs (extended play--3-5 songs) and LPs (long play--full album):
Elvis Presley - 158.1 million
The Beatles - 156 million
Michael Jackson - 74 million
LPs (albums) only:
The Beatles - 132 million
Garth Brooks - 101 million
Elvis Presley - 100.6 million
Michael Jackson - 61.5 million
It's singles where Elvis just blasts past everyone else due to the medium which was sold in their respective eras (only old people bought albums in the '50s because teenagers couldn't afford them and only bought singles). The Beatles were the album generation and their generation (the Baby Boomers) currently holds a lot of the bias for the album medium. Michael was the MTV generation. Now, we've entered the .mp3/iPod generation. Which, ironically, is back to the selling of singles.
Another interesting factoid... Elvis' Jailhouse Rock production number (the scene shows the shooting of a "music video" inside of the film) is considered part of the inspiration for the music video concept and Elvis' '68 Comeback Special was the inspiration for MTV Unplugged.
For you Beatles fans:
An unfinished song that John was working on around the time of his death. It's enough to send chills down your spine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZfNsOn7b94
An unfinished song that John was working on around the time of his death. It's enough to send chills down your spine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZfNsOn7b94
Re: Who's bigger? MJ or The Beetles?
Because calling 1980's white teenaged-shopping-mall girls 'marketedly gullable' is racist now? Who the hell do you think bought all those Thriller albums? Back then, the 'Motown Crowd' was distancing themselves from Jackson because he was 'turning white'.
Because calling 1980's white teenaged-shopping-mall girls 'marketedly gullable' is racist now? Who the hell do you think bought all those Thriller albums? Back then, the 'Motown Crowd' was distancing themselves from Jackson because he was 'turning white'.
Re: Who's bigger? MJ or The Beetles?
You remember incorrectly. The quote is a deliberate 'out of context' statement where a reporter mentioned to them that one of their albums (forget which one) sold more copies than Gideon's Bible that year.
The reply was a rather shocked and incredulous "We're bigger than Jesus?" And, Lennon really screwed up defending himself in interviews afterwards, where it was hitting him (and the others) that they were INDEED outselling and having more influence than religions, etc, largely due to the influence of television.
You remember incorrectly. The quote is a deliberate 'out of context' statement where a reporter mentioned to them that one of their albums (forget which one) sold more copies than Gideon's Bible that year.
The reply was a rather shocked and incredulous "We're bigger than Jesus?" And, Lennon really screwed up defending himself in interviews afterwards, where it was hitting him (and the others) that they were INDEED outselling and having more influence than religions, etc, largely due to the influence of television.
Sean Connery is bigger than all of them.
He was in my bed last night, I know.
He was in my bed last night, I know.
The Beatles were a gigantic influence on rock & roll as a whole, which ultimately spawned many new great groups in many subgenres of rock.
As far as Michael Jackson goes as a pioneer of his brand of pop music, it begins & ends with him. He was the only one to do it well. Hell, I BLAME him for demonstrating the market for pop hacks like Britney Spears.
As far as Michael Jackson goes as a pioneer of his brand of pop music, it begins & ends with him. He was the only one to do it well. Hell, I BLAME him for demonstrating the market for pop hacks like Britney Spears.
I think it was more that Thriller's success was so big that all the larger studios did the 'bandwagon' thing once and for all. After that album, whenever someone did a big hit, you would get dozens of 'me too' 'artists' (to use the term very loosely) , boy bands, and so on.
Jackson didn't really give us the 'boy bands', though they're definately a throwback to the Jackson 5. Britney, though, grew out of another 'pop sensation' from the later 1980s... Madonna.
Jackson didn't really give us the 'boy bands', though they're definately a throwback to the Jackson 5. Britney, though, grew out of another 'pop sensation' from the later 1980s... Madonna.
Re: Who's bigger? MJ or The Beetles?
Watch the background of this vid and you'll see John had Jesus playing bass for him at one point . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e7AQQTONvg
Watch the background of this vid and you'll see John had Jesus playing bass for him at one point . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e7AQQTONvg
Kind of obvious now but I never thought of it before. Michael Jackson dressed like he was a member of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band! With his brightly colored military jackets.
LMAO@ Elvis being an innovator. The fact is his whole shtick was a poor imitation of Chuck Berry (the true King of Rock N'Roll) which he co-opted and sold to racist white masses of the time. Even Tommy Mottola, who use to head Sony Music, said a record company's wet dream (he didn't use wet dream) is a white male artist that can do "black" music. Without Chuck Berry and Little Richard there would be no Elvis.
And anyone who wants to claim otherwise explain why during that time period, record companies would have to repackage albums of their black artists with cover art of white people if they wanted to sell in white record stores?
And anyone who wants to claim otherwise explain why during that time period, record companies would have to repackage albums of their black artists with cover art of white people if they wanted to sell in white record stores?
^^^
I'd argue that Buddy Holly was a MUCH more creative innovator than Elvis. The addition of strings and orchestral instruments that he was experimenting with at the time of his death was considered outlandish for "rock'n'roll" music at that time.
And Buddy was ONLY 21 when he died. A TRUE genius and a direct inspiration to all the Beatles. Yes, to a man they LOVED Elvis but it was Buddy Holly's approach that inspired their approach to CREATING music.
And absolutely, without Chuck Berry and Little Richard, modern music would NOT be remotely the same. Elvis was a POPULARIZING force and, perhaps the single most dynamic performer. He was NOT a creative genius the caliber of these others though.
I'd argue that Buddy Holly was a MUCH more creative innovator than Elvis. The addition of strings and orchestral instruments that he was experimenting with at the time of his death was considered outlandish for "rock'n'roll" music at that time.
And Buddy was ONLY 21 when he died. A TRUE genius and a direct inspiration to all the Beatles. Yes, to a man they LOVED Elvis but it was Buddy Holly's approach that inspired their approach to CREATING music.
And absolutely, without Chuck Berry and Little Richard, modern music would NOT be remotely the same. Elvis was a POPULARIZING force and, perhaps the single most dynamic performer. He was NOT a creative genius the caliber of these others though.
You need to look up Sam Phillips, Sun Records and Elvis Presley. You're really missing an understanding of what rock'n'roll is and how it started. F.Y.I. Rock'n'roll has more ingredients than just the blues. At it's start, it was blues, country and gospel (and in equal amounts). White music was as influential on rock'n'roll as black music was. That is the truth of its beginnings.
Chuck Berry started after Elvis (recording first in 1955). Little Richard was still a blues artist beforehand. Buddy Holly was a country artist before seeing Elvis perform in Lubbock in 1955 (Elvis had already been recording rockabilly for a year).
http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvis_not_racist.shtml
http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/peter_guralnick_elvis_racist.shtml
Chuck Berry started after Elvis (recording first in 1955). Little Richard was still a blues artist beforehand. Buddy Holly was a country artist before seeing Elvis perform in Lubbock in 1955 (Elvis had already been recording rockabilly for a year).
http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvis_not_racist.shtml
http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/peter_guralnick_elvis_racist.shtml
Chuck Berry began his career in 1948, Elvis began his career in 1953. Chuck Berry had his first hit with ''Maybelline'' in 1955, Elvis first hit was ''Heartbreak Hotel'' in 1956. I firmly believe the only reason Elvis was able to popularize Rock N'Roll was based on his skin color, had he been born black he wouldn't have gotten 1/10 of the attention he did. That's simply the truth of that time.
Elvis' first hit in the South was That's All Right/Blue Moon Of Kentucky. Heartbreak Hotel was after the move to RCA, which allowed him to get national and international exposure. Sam Phillips used the money from the sale of Elvis to RCA (for at the time, the biggest price RCA had ever paid to get a star) to get Sun Records out of debt and of course, he was able to get more exposure for the likes of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison (all Sun talent).
The fact remains that Chuck didn't record until 1955. Buddy Holly was a country artist who hadn't even formed the Crickets yet when he saw Elvis perform in Lubbock in 1955. It was Elvis' performance in Lubbock that inspired him to become a rock'n'roll performer.
The first night that That's All Right and Blue Moon Of Kentucky were played on the radio, nobody had seen Elvis. People didn't have a clue what he looked like. People actually thought he was BLACK because of his voice. They didn't find out that he was white until he started performing on stage (and they were actually surprised about it).
The point was that Elvis broke color barriers. The radio stations who played those two songs... The country audiences hearing Blue Moon Of Kentucky thought it sounded too bluesy to be bluegrass and the blues audience hearing That's All Right thought it sounded too country to be the blues. And yet, the reactions from both audiences was so overwhelming that Elvis had to be pulled out of hiding from the dark movie theater by his parents for a radio interview. He thought he was going to be run out of town for what he did to both songs.
That's the difference and why Elvis integrated music. White people could sing with blues influences and black people could sing with country influences--both of which were integral to rock'n'roll along with gospel. After this initial fusion made possible by Elvis and his racially ambiguous voice that effortlessly combined genres naturally, artists added every musical genre they could into the mix.
The fact remains that Chuck didn't record until 1955. Buddy Holly was a country artist who hadn't even formed the Crickets yet when he saw Elvis perform in Lubbock in 1955. It was Elvis' performance in Lubbock that inspired him to become a rock'n'roll performer.
The first night that That's All Right and Blue Moon Of Kentucky were played on the radio, nobody had seen Elvis. People didn't have a clue what he looked like. People actually thought he was BLACK because of his voice. They didn't find out that he was white until he started performing on stage (and they were actually surprised about it).
The point was that Elvis broke color barriers. The radio stations who played those two songs... The country audiences hearing Blue Moon Of Kentucky thought it sounded too bluesy to be bluegrass and the blues audience hearing That's All Right thought it sounded too country to be the blues. And yet, the reactions from both audiences was so overwhelming that Elvis had to be pulled out of hiding from the dark movie theater by his parents for a radio interview. He thought he was going to be run out of town for what he did to both songs.
That's the difference and why Elvis integrated music. White people could sing with blues influences and black people could sing with country influences--both of which were integral to rock'n'roll along with gospel. After this initial fusion made possible by Elvis and his racially ambiguous voice that effortlessly combined genres naturally, artists added every musical genre they could into the mix.
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Re: Who's bigger? MJ or The Beetles?
The Beatles pretty much suck and never did the moonwalk so my vote goes to Michael Jackson.
The Beatles pretty much suck and never did the moonwalk so my vote goes to Michael Jackson.
Re: Who's bigger? MJ or The Beetles?
^^
Nah, you see, the mere fact that we're considering the impact of a man who died LAST WEEK with that of a band which broke up nearly FORTY YEARS AGO kind of demonstrates their relative contributions.
^^
Nah, you see, the mere fact that we're considering the impact of a man who died LAST WEEK with that of a band which broke up nearly FORTY YEARS AGO kind of demonstrates their relative contributions.
Re: Who's bigger? MJ or The Beetles?
Well, I would say it is a massive compliment to MJ. Not unlike that which Ricky Rubio has received in comparisons to Pete Maravich.
Well, I would say it is a massive compliment to MJ. Not unlike that which Ricky Rubio has received in comparisons to Pete Maravich.
BlackestPanther
Lieutenant Commander
Michael Jackson stole most of his dance moves from a particular dance sequence in "The Little Prince". The Little Prince was Michael's favorite book, so it's only natural that he would have seen the movie when it came out and would want to immitate it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8mJsgPj1iU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8mJsgPj1iU
The "moonwalk" has its precedent in James Brown. Michael Jackson didn't invent it. It's just the backslide.
James Brown was quite famous for the backslide and was the person who popularized it in a big way. http://worlddance.suite101.com/article.cfm/moonwalk
Elvis actually does a backslide in the performance of Viva Las Vegas in 1964. You can see the move at 1:20 in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYSGOlfm1e4
And apparently, it's been around longer even than James Brown... It looks like it's been around for a great long while: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxZcLWAmdco
Bill Bailey apparently was the first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VbPd2iu4bg
James Brown was quite famous for the backslide and was the person who popularized it in a big way. http://worlddance.suite101.com/article.cfm/moonwalk
Elvis actually does a backslide in the performance of Viva Las Vegas in 1964. You can see the move at 1:20 in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYSGOlfm1e4
And apparently, it's been around longer even than James Brown... It looks like it's been around for a great long while: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxZcLWAmdco
Bill Bailey apparently was the first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VbPd2iu4bg
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