Who are the top record sellers?

Ebony, June, 1996 by Muriel L. Whetstone

Since the early '80s, 10 major recording artists have sold more thin 325 million CDs, cassettes, albums and single records in the U.S., according to figures obtained from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Almost half of the records sold were released by three artists--Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.

Michael Jackson, who has sold 62 million albums and singles, heads the list. Much of Jackson's retail success can be attributed to Thriller, which is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling album in history. The majority of CD's U.S. sales occurred between 1985 and September 29, 1994, when the RIAA certified it as having sold 24 million copies. RIAA figures may not tally with figures cited by individual artists whose tabulations of U.S. sales may be based on different accounting methods.

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According to RIAA figures, three other Jackson albums have sold more than 20 million copies combined in the U.S.

Whitney Houston, who is sold 51 million records since 1985in the U.S., according to RIAA figures, broke records when The Bodyguard CD sold 15 million copies. The CD's most popular single, I Will Always Love You, has sold 4 million copies.

Most recently, evidence of Houston's Midas touch appeared again with the release of the movie sountrack, Waiting To Exhale, CD features her three singles, Exhale (Shoop, Shoop), Why Does It Hurt So Bad and Count On Me, which she recorded with gospel singer CeCe Winans and co-wrote with producer Kenneth (Babyface) Edmonds.

Mariah Carey hasn't looked back since 1990 when she released her self-titled debut album, Mariah Carey. Third on the list of Top 10 record sellers, according to RIAA figures, Carey has sold 39.5 million copies. Her 1993 CD, Music Box, featuring the hit singles, Hero and Dreamlover, accounts for 9 million copies sold.

While the Music Box CD is her biggest success so far, Carey threatens to break her own sales record with the release Daydream. As of April, the CD has sold 7 million copies, and its most talked-about singles, Fantasy and One Sweet Day, which she recorded with the group Boyz II Men, have each reached the 2 million mark.

For years purple passion has coursed its may through millions of records sold by the artist formerly known as Prince. Since 1981, he has released 16 CDs and sold a total of 33.5 million records, which includes several award-winning singles, according to figures supplied by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Janet Jackson, who has sold 19 million copies of four albums released since 1986, is next on the Top 10 list. Add to her CD sales figure single record sales of 9.5 million and her U.S. sales total amounts to 28.5 million copies, according to RIAA figures.

Jackson's first three albums, Control, Rhythm Nation 1814 and janet., sold 5 to 6 million units each. And her latest effort, Design of a Decade: 1986/1996, a compilation of her greatest hits, has sold 2 million copies since its October release.

Like janet Jackson, the group Boyz II Men is also a crossover success story and their records sell well among R&B and pop music lovers alike. With only three albums under their belts, Cooleyhighharmony, Boyz II Men II and Christmas Interpretations, Boyz II Men are No. 6 on the list with combined U.S. sales figures of 27 million copies sold.

Hammer, who recently filed bankruptcy, scored in the early '90s with Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em. Since its 1991 release, the album has sold 10 million copies. And the group TLC is positioned at No. 8, despite releasing only two albums--Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip and Crazysexycool.

Sade, who has released five albums since her 1985 debut, is No. 9 on the Top 10 record sellers' list, according to RIAA figures. Her biggest sellers, Diamond Life and Love Deluxe, have sold 4 million copies each.

Tied for 10th place are Luther Vandross and Lionel Richie. Richie has sold 10 million copies of his 1983 CD Can't Slow Down. Vandross has released 10 CDs since 1981 and most have earned him either platinum or double-platinum status. In addition, many of Vandross' singles, from Give Me The Reason to Here and Now to Power of Love/Love Power have become R&B standards.

As these sales figures indicate, Vandross and the other Top 10 record sellers, like Nat King Cole and Billy Eckstine before them, have made an enormous impact on the development of the recording industry in America and abroad.