Elvis Lives On!This past weekend marked 43 years since Elvis Presley left us. The King passed away on August 16, 1977 at the too-young age of 42, leaving an entire globe of fans mourning his passing. But Elvis, in reality, never really left. His legacy lives on with his many contributions to rock, pop music, and film. He still holds the record for the most Gold Album Awards awarded of any artist in RIAA history. He is a three-time Grammy award and was a Lifetime Achievement award winner by age 36. He has th...
The Best-Selling Albums From 1957-2020Here is a fascinating video depiction of the best-selling albums from 1957 through 2020. Note the start with what became the first RIAA Gold Album ever awarded (for Oklahoma!), the dominance of Elvis through the late 60s, and then the Beatles rise. You'll also note the fairly constant presence in the 70s of classics such as the various Beatles albums (especially Sgt. Pepper), Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon, various Zeppelin albums, Eagles Greatest Hits, Michael Jackson's Thril...
This Week In Music History Feb 28 - Mar 13The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! MAR 1: Happy 94th birthday to Harry Belafonte, born today in 1927! The singer, songwriter, actor, and activist had the first million selling LP by a single artist with his 1956 album Calypso. MAR 5: Today in 1963, Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, and Hawkshaw Hawkins were killed in a plane crash. Cline was one of the first country artist to successfully crossover into the po...
This Week In Music History Sept 6-12The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! SEPT 7: Happy birthday to Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, born today in 1951!🎂🎤🎸 The singer-songwriter and musician is one of the founders of the rock band the Pretenders, as well as the only constant member of the group. In 2005, Hynde along with her band mates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Photo credit: Harmony Gerber [https://creativecommons.or...
This Week In Music History Sept 27-Oct 3The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! SEPT 30: Sadly, the music world lost Helen Reddy and Mac Davis yesterday. Both singers were 78. Each contributed to music in the early 70’s, Reddy with her empowerment anthem “I Am Woman” and Davis with his songwriting crossover hits like “In The Ghetto”, written for Elvis. RIP😢 OCT 1: Today in 1984, Prince was at #1 with “Let’s Go Crazy”. 💜 It became his second time a...
This Week In Music History Aug 16-22The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! AUG 16: Today in 1977, Elvis Presley was found dead in his home.😢 The King became one of the most influential figures in music, not just for his singing, but for his style of performing and crossing over in different genres. RIP AUG 17: Today in 1969, the festival of all festivals, Woodstock, was in the midst of its last night! 🎶🎸🎶🎤🎶 And, what a last night it was - CSN...
Rare Doors RIAA Award To Jim Morrison Up For Sale [SOLD]Becoming friends with Jim Morrison in college at UCLA. Seeing his former college-mate rise to worldwide fame as the lead vocalist and poet laureate of The Doors. Spending good, and sometimes tumultuous, times with him in France years later. Photographing what would become some of the last images of him ever seen due to his untimely demise in 1971 at the young age of 27. Those are some of the unique experiences of Alain Ronay. Ronay, who hails from France and today is a naturalized American, ...
This Week In Music History May 31-Jun 6The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! JUNE 3: Today in 1953, Elvis Presley graduated high school. He was the first member of his family to do so! 👨🎓 His grad photo showed off the spit curl in the middle of his forehead which would become one of his trademarks. The promo photo shown here is from just one year later. JUNE 4: Today in 1978, Grease fever had taken over the nation and Olivia Newton-John and Jo...
This Week In History Sept 8-14The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. SEPT 9: Today in 1954, Elvis would play at the opening of a shopping center. None other than Johnny Cash was in the audience! The two future legends would meet for the first time. SEPT 10: Happy birthday to Joe Perry, born today in 1950!🎂🎸 He is a founding member and lead guitarist of Aerosmith. Perry is also a member of Hollywood Vampires. In the mid-1970s, Aerosmith became a success before the band would dec...
Who Was Awarded The First Gold Record?Who captured the first music industry gold record? Well, it depends on which type of gold record you're talking about. The earliest gold records were given out by recording companies who wanted to recognize and celebrate the achievements of artists whose music they had released. It's commonly thought that the first of these was awarded by RCA Victor's imprint Bluebird Records to Glenn Miller and His Orchestra in February 1942 to celebrate the sale of over 1 million copies of their...
This Week In Music History June 30-July 6The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. JUNE 30: Happy 70th birthday to Andy Scott of Sweet, born today in 1949!🎂🎸 He joined Sweet in 1970 as their lead guitarist and backing vocalist. He has recorded solo albums and was the organizer of Rock Against Cancer. Scott is a cancer survivor himself. In 1985, he and Mick Tucker re-formed Sweet with new members. It became “Andy Scott’s Sweet” after Tucker left in 1991. JULY 1: Happy birthday to Debbie Harry, born today in...
First RIAA Gold Album Issued 63 Years AgoThe RIAA in February 1958 ago issued its first Gold album award for the cast album recording of Oklahoma! sung by Gordon MacRae. The first Gold single went to Perry Como for "Catch A Falling Star" earlier that year. After that beginning, it wouldn't be long before one Elvis Presley would capture some gold with 146.5 million album awards over 101 separate Gold (or better) albums. Today, Elvis remains the artist who has earned the most Gold Album Awards of any artist in RIAA histor...
Elvis Lives On!
This past weekend marked 43 years since Elvis Presley left us. The King passed away on August 16, 1977 at the too-young age of 42, leaving an entire globe of fans mourning his passing. But Elvis, in reality, never really left. His legacy lives on with his many contributions to rock, pop music, and film. He still holds the record for the most Gold Album Awards awarded of any artist in RIAA history. He is a three-time Grammy award and was a Lifetime Achievement award winner by age 36. He has th...
The Best-Selling Albums From 1957-2020
Here is a fascinating video depiction of the best-selling albums from 1957 through 2020. Note the start with what became the first RIAA Gold Album ever awarded (for Oklahoma!), the dominance of Elvis through the late 60s, and then the Beatles rise. You'll also note the fairly constant presence in the 70s of classics such as the various Beatles albums (especially Sgt. Pepper), Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon, various Zeppelin albums, Eagles Greatest Hits, Michael Jackson's Thril...
This Week In Music History Feb 28 - Mar 13
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! MAR 1: Happy 94th birthday to Harry Belafonte, born today in 1927! The singer, songwriter, actor, and activist had the first million selling LP by a single artist with his 1956 album Calypso. MAR 5: Today in 1963, Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, and Hawkshaw Hawkins were killed in a plane crash. Cline was one of the first country artist to successfully crossover into the po...
This Week In Music History Sept 6-12
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! SEPT 7: Happy birthday to Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, born today in 1951!🎂🎤🎸 The singer-songwriter and musician is one of the founders of the rock band the Pretenders, as well as the only constant member of the group. In 2005, Hynde along with her band mates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Photo credit: Harmony Gerber [https://creativecommons.or...
This Week In Music History Sept 27-Oct 3
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! SEPT 30: Sadly, the music world lost Helen Reddy and Mac Davis yesterday. Both singers were 78. Each contributed to music in the early 70’s, Reddy with her empowerment anthem “I Am Woman” and Davis with his songwriting crossover hits like “In The Ghetto”, written for Elvis. RIP😢 OCT 1: Today in 1984, Prince was at #1 with “Let’s Go Crazy”. 💜 It became his second time a...
This Week In Music History Aug 16-22
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! AUG 16: Today in 1977, Elvis Presley was found dead in his home.😢 The King became one of the most influential figures in music, not just for his singing, but for his style of performing and crossing over in different genres. RIP AUG 17: Today in 1969, the festival of all festivals, Woodstock, was in the midst of its last night! 🎶🎸🎶🎤🎶 And, what a last night it was - CSN...
Rare Doors RIAA Award To Jim Morrison Up For Sale [SOLD]
Becoming friends with Jim Morrison in college at UCLA. Seeing his former college-mate rise to worldwide fame as the lead vocalist and poet laureate of The Doors. Spending good, and sometimes tumultuous, times with him in France years later. Photographing what would become some of the last images of him ever seen due to his untimely demise in 1971 at the young age of 27. Those are some of the unique experiences of Alain Ronay. Ronay, who hails from France and today is a naturalized American, ...
This Week In Music History May 31-Jun 6
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! JUNE 3: Today in 1953, Elvis Presley graduated high school. He was the first member of his family to do so! 👨🎓 His grad photo showed off the spit curl in the middle of his forehead which would become one of his trademarks. The promo photo shown here is from just one year later. JUNE 4: Today in 1978, Grease fever had taken over the nation and Olivia Newton-John and Jo...
This Week In History Sept 8-14
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. SEPT 9: Today in 1954, Elvis would play at the opening of a shopping center. None other than Johnny Cash was in the audience! The two future legends would meet for the first time. SEPT 10: Happy birthday to Joe Perry, born today in 1950!🎂🎸 He is a founding member and lead guitarist of Aerosmith. Perry is also a member of Hollywood Vampires. In the mid-1970s, Aerosmith became a success before the band would dec...
Who Was Awarded The First Gold Record?
Who captured the first music industry gold record? Well, it depends on which type of gold record you're talking about. The earliest gold records were given out by recording companies who wanted to recognize and celebrate the achievements of artists whose music they had released. It's commonly thought that the first of these was awarded by RCA Victor's imprint Bluebird Records to Glenn Miller and His Orchestra in February 1942 to celebrate the sale of over 1 million copies of their...
This Week In Music History June 30-July 6
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. JUNE 30: Happy 70th birthday to Andy Scott of Sweet, born today in 1949!🎂🎸 He joined Sweet in 1970 as their lead guitarist and backing vocalist. He has recorded solo albums and was the organizer of Rock Against Cancer. Scott is a cancer survivor himself. In 1985, he and Mick Tucker re-formed Sweet with new members. It became “Andy Scott’s Sweet” after Tucker left in 1991. JULY 1: Happy birthday to Debbie Harry, born today in...
First RIAA Gold Album Issued 63 Years Ago
The RIAA in February 1958 ago issued its first Gold album award for the cast album recording of Oklahoma! sung by Gordon MacRae. The first Gold single went to Perry Como for "Catch A Falling Star" earlier that year. After that beginning, it wouldn't be long before one Elvis Presley would capture some gold with 146.5 million album awards over 101 separate Gold (or better) albums. Today, Elvis remains the artist who has earned the most Gold Album Awards of any artist in RIAA histor...
