Aerosmith Pump Up Sales
Who said rock & roll is for kids? Once again it’s veteran rockers who are dominating the Recording Industry Association of America’s certifications for February. This month it’s Aerosmith, the Beatles — no surprise there — and Cat Stevens who have increased their sales with the help of Greatest Hits albums.
Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits gave the band their first-ever Diamond award (sales of ten million). A few of the Boston band’s other titles also received a boost in sales. Classics Live reached platinum (sales of one million) status, Rocks jumped from three to four million, and Get Your Wings reached triple platinum. This brings the band’s total sales to 59.5 million making them the tenth-highest certified artist in music history.
Not to be outdone are the Beatles, whose 1 jumped up from five to seven times platinum. In addition, The Beatles was certified at nineteen million, The Beatles 1962-1966 reached fifteen million, The Beatles 1967-1970 reached sixteen million, Abbey Road hit twelve million and Beatles for Sale and the sixteen-disc Multiselection Box Set reached platinum status. This brings the Beatles’ album certifications to a whopping 163.5 million units.
Cat Stevens Greatest Hits hit four times platinum, Stevens’ Teaser & the Firecat went three times platinum and Buddha & the Chocolate Box made it to platinum status. Meanwhile, two other Stevens’ anthology sets went gold, Footsteps In The Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 and The Very Best of Cat Stevens.
Believe it or not, B.B. King earned his first ever multi-platinum award for his collaboration with Eric Clapton on Ridin’ With the King, which reached the two million mark. And country legend, George Strait, is still going strong with another gold record for his most recent, self-titled release. This is Strait’s twenty-seventh gold record, bringing his total certifications to a hefty 50 million.
Some youngsters also managed to grab some certifications this month. David Gray’s White Ladder received a platinum award. Jennifer Lopez’s follow-up to On the 6, J. Lo went platinum. Despite no discernible radio singles, Radiohead’s Kid A went platinum as did the debut record Parachutes from U.K. labelmates Coldplay. Moby’s Play reached the two million mark.
Shaggy is backing up his album title with sales, as Hotshot, his first record for MCA, reached quadruple platinum. Best New Artist Grammy nominees Jill Scott and Brad Paisley both reached platinum for Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds, Volume 1 and Who Needs Pictures, respectively.