For centuries, opera reigned supreme, and the first record that sold one million copies is a composition you're likely unfamiliar with. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it's 'Vesti La Giubba', which translates to 'put on the costume'.
It wasn't until 1956 that an LP record sold over a million units. That record was Harry Belafonte's third studio album, titled Calypso and released by RCA Victor (catalog number LPM-1248).
"Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani was the first song in history to surpass 1 million downloads.
In 1963, the Beatles' song "She Loves You" became the best-selling single of all time in the UK. This record was broken in 1977 when Paul McCartney's subsequent band Wings surpassed it with "Mull of Kintyre", which also became the first song to sell 2 million copies in the UK.
Only 22 albums in history have sold 1 million copies in a single week — here they all are.
Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and Phil Collins are the only musicians to have sold over 100 million albums as a solo artist and member of a group. I remember Phil Collins.
Michael Jackson's Thriller, estimated to have sold 70 million copies worldwide, is the best-selling album ever. Jackson also currently has the highest number of albums on the list with five, Celine Dion has four, while the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Madonna and Whitney Houston each have three.
The White Album First Pressing
The four band members were each given one of the first four pressings of the album, and Ringo Starr's copy recently came to auction and dispelled rumors that John Lennon was given the very first copy; instead, it sold for an astronomical and record-breaking $790,000.
Today, 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' remains The Beatles' highest-selling physical single of all time, with no less than 12 million copies sold worldwide.
"Hey Jude" is still the biggest hit music of the Beatles' run, but it's the best-played song in Billboard chart history. The Beatles have no doubt about their status as best-selling artists on the planet, with 183 million albums certified in America alone.
Seven years ago, Drake became the first artist to have a song reach one billion plays on Spotify with his smash "One Dance," from the 2016 album "Views." As the streaming service has grown, songs can generate huge streaming numbers quickly.
Billion-View Club. An early metric of a video's popularity was the so-called Billion-View Club, denoting videos which had succeeded in reaching over 1 billion views since their initial upload. In December 2012, "Gangnam Style" became the first video to reach one billion views.
Spotify's most-streamed song for the longest period of time was "Shape of You" (2017) by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. As of June 2023, a total of 419 songs have surpassed one billion streams on Spotify, 35 have surpassed two billion, and just 2 have surpassed three billion in the platform's history.
1. "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.
The Guinness World Records named the holiday single "White Christmas" (1942) by Bing Crosby as the best-selling single worldwide. According to Guinness, "White Christmas" sold over 50 million copies. The single is known as the "best-selling single of all time".
Tears: Ken Dodd record outsold everyone but the Beatles in the 1960s.
Elvis' 14 chart-toppers spent a combined total of 62 weeks at #1 on the “Top/Hot 100,” while The Beatles' 20 #1s spent a total of 59 weeks in the top slot.
1. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) – 32 million copies sold.
Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) by the Eagles is the best-selling album of all time in the U.S.
25 by Adele is the fastest-selling album of all time in the US with 3,378,000 copies sold in its first seven days.
Over the course of Elvis' life, he achieved some of the highest accolades in music and film. It is estimated that more than one billion Elvis records have been sold worldwide, more than anyone in record industry history.