Elvis Presley hit singles

This is a list of hit singles by Elvis Presley. The US charts are explored in detail. For|a list of Presley's international singles |Elvis Presley international hit singles While it is not the only measure, the number of hits an artist had is an important indicator of success and popular impact. The number of hits Elvis Presley had in the US became a topic of discussion in several news articles when it was announced by "Billboard" magazine in April of 2008 that Mariah Carey and Madonna had surpassed Elvis Presley in the number of "Number 1" and "Top Ten" hits, with 18 and 37 hits respectively. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003784083 - Mariah, Madonna Make Billboard Chart History ] ]
Both of these claims were disputed by music historian Joel Whitburn and Elvis Presley Enterprises. Whitburn lists Elvis as having 18 number 1 hits (placing him in a tie with Mariah Carey at that time) and 38 top ten hits (one more than Madonna at that time). [cite news | first = Joel | last = Whitburn | title = Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 | url = ISBN 0-89820-172-1 | work = | publisher = Record Research Inc | date = | accessdate = | language = | quote = ] Elvis Presley Enterprises claims Elvis had 40 top ten hits. [ [http://www.elvis.com/ - Official Elvis Presley Web Page ] ] The differences depend on whether a double-sided hit single is counted as one hit single, or two hit songs.
Before the age of Compact Discs and digital music downloads, singles were released on vinyl 45 RPM records, with one song on each side (an A-side and a B-side or flip side). Both songs of many Elvis singles became hits and were listed on the charts. "Hound Dog / Don't Be Cruel" was a double sided hit single that topped the Billboard Sales chart for 11 weeks in 1956. At the time, "Hound Dog" was listed as the number 1 A-side for the first 5 weeks, and "Don't Be Cruel" was listed as the number 1 A-side for the last 6 weeks. Now Billboard lists it as a single double sided hit. This article lists Elvis Presley’s hits, both A-sides and B-sides, on the Billboard singles charts (Pop/Hot 100, Country, Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary, and Rhythm and Blues), as well as rival music publications, Cash Box and Record World.
Another measure of an artist’s popular impact is sales. While Elvis is recognized by many in the recording industry as the best selling artist of all time, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) stirred up controversy in November 2007 when it named country singer Garth Brooks as the best selling solo artist in US history . [ [http://www.riaa.com/newsitem.php?id=FD3FAA5C-B993-0852-CBA4-71A29CABC50D&searchterms=garth&terminclude=&termexact= - RIAA Presents Garth Brooks With Special Career Award Representing Highest Selling Solo Artist ] ] The RIAA is the recording industry’s official certifiing body for sales of recordings in the US.
Elvis Presley Enterprises has disputed the RIAA’s claim, pointing out several ommissions in the RIAA’s figures. [ [http://www.elvis.com/elvisology/faq/faq.asp?qid=8 - Status of Elvis' record sales and gold & platinum record award certifications ] ] The RIAA bases its claim on album sales only, and does not include single sales in determining the highest selling solo artist, despite the fact that the RIAA also certifies single sales. While Elvis’ album sales are significant, as can be seen in the tables below, Elvis’ single sales were also significant. During much of Elvis’ career in the 1950’s and 1960’s, single sales were considered the primary market for the industry, while albums were a secondary market. It was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that albums became the primary market for the industry.
RIAA does not certify sales of less than 500,000 units for albums and singles. [ [http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php - RIAA Gold and Platinum ] ] Elvis has had numerous albums and singles which have sold hundreds of thousands of units each but have not reached the 500,000 threshold. Taken together, these could add up to millions in total sales that are not recognized by the RIAA.
RIAA sales certifications are not automatic. The record company must pay a fee and request an audit from the RIAA in order to certify sales. During Elvis’ life, RCA submitted few of Elvis’ recordings for RIAA certification. Instead of paying for RIAA certification, RCA and other companies would simply award their own “Gold Record” to artists based on their internal sales figures. As a consequence, some of Elvis’ early sales information has been lost. RCA and BMG have researched archives and old files in an effort to reconstruct Elvis’ sales figures. This has led to Elvis receiving numerous RIAA certifications posthumously. [ [http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS - RIAA Elvis Presley Certifications ] ]

USA Singles and Chart Information

Chart positions displayed here are taken from the following sources:
* Before the implementation of the Hot 100, "Billboard" magazine produced four singles charts each week: "Best Sellers in Stores", "Most Played by Jockeys" (radio airplay), "Most Played in Jukeboxes" and "Top 100". Of the four charts the Sales chart was the most prominent. The "Top 100" was an early version of the Pop Singles or Hot 100 which was produced from 1955 until the premiere of the Pop Singles chart, which occurred on the week ending August 4 1958. The "Country & Western" and "Rhythm & Blues" charts were printed by Billboard to denote the top singles in those genres. In 1961 Billboard added the Easy Listening charts (Adult Contemporary Singles) which lists the most popular songs played on "lite-pop" and adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. [cite news | first = Joel | last = Whitburn | title = Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 | url = ISBN 0-89820-172-1 | work = | publisher = Record Research Inc | date = | accessdate = | language = | quote = ]
*“Cash Box” magazine published singles charts until 1996, when it ceased publication. It resumed as a web-based publication in 2006. It initially published a Top 50 chart. The chart expanded to a Top 60 on 4/13/1957, Top 75 on 6/21/1958, and a Top 100 on 9/13/1958. Cash Box charts were sales charts until the late 1970’s when it began publishing combined sales and airplay charts similar to Billboard. [ [http://www.cashboxmagazine.com - Cash Box ] ]
*Recording Industry Association of America: courtesy RIAA. The RIAA certifies sales of recordings in the US. Sales certification levels: Gold (G) sales in excess of 500,000 units, Platinum (P) sales in excess of 1 million units, Multi-Platinum (M) sales in excess of 2 million (number indicates sales in millions). [ [http://http://www.riaa.com - RIAA ] ]

Abbreviations for charts:
*BB SALES: Billboard Top Sellers in Stores (chart ended 10/13/1958)
*BB AIR: Billboard Most Played By Jockeys (chart ended 7/28/1958)
*BB JB: Billboard Most Played In Jukeboxes (chart ended 6/17/1957)
*BB TOP: Billboard Top 100 pop singles (chart ended 7/28/1958)
*BB CW SALES: Billboard Top Selling Country and Western singles (chart ended 1958)
*BB CW AIR: Billboard Top Most Played Country and Western singles (chart ended 1958)
*BB CW JB: Billboard Most Played Country and Western In Jukeboxes (chart ended 1957)
*BB RB SALES: Billboard Top Selling Rhythm and Blues singles (chart ended 1958)
*BB RB AIR: Billboard Top Most Played Rhythm and Blues singles (chart ended 1958)
*BB RB JB: Billboard Most Played Rhythm and Blues in Jukeboxes (chart ended 1957)
*CB: Cash Box Magazine Top Singles (chart ended 1996)
*CB CW: Cash Box Magazine Top Country & Western Singles (chart ended 1996)
*RIAA: "Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sales certification"

The numbers below represent the highest position for a song on each respective chart. 45 rpm singles were normally released with one song on each side, The "A-side" was generally considered to be the primary side, while the "B-side" or "flip-side" was considered secondary. Elvis frequently had both sides become hits and appear on the charts. The sides and their chart positions are distinguished by a " / ", A-side / B-side. Extended Plays (EP) usually had two songs per side and would sometimes make the singles chart. Song titles in bold reached number 1 in the US on at least one national chart. The numbers in parentheses are the number of weeks that a song remained at number 1.

1954-1958

Elvis Presley's first five singles were released by Sun Records and were regional hits in the Southern US.

1968-1977

Elvis begins his musical comeback in late 1968 with his NBC TV Special. He dies in 1977.
In 1969 Billboard stops listing B-side hits separately on their charts. Instead if both sides of a single become hits, they are listed as a single entry on the chart (A-side/B-side).
In the late 1970’s, Cash Box changes from a sales only chart to a combined sales and radio airplay similar to Billboard.

Global Chart List

References

External links

* [http://www.elvis.com/ Elvis Presley Enterprises] - Official site of the Elvis Presley brand.
* [http://jamesleeky.tripod.com/elvispresleytop40hitsworldwide/index.html/ Elvis Presley Top 40 Hits World Wide]
* [http://tsort.info/music/index.htm The World's Music Charts]