Jane Fonda presenting Jackson with a Platinum Award for “Thriller” in February, 1983
Wanna be startin’ somethin'
Michael Jackson’s death didn’t just dominate the news last week, but also the Billboard charts
Top 10 Pop Catalog Albums this week
1. Michael Jackson “Number Ones” 108,000 units sold this week 2. Michael Jackson “The Essential Michael Jackson” 102,000 units sold this week 3. Michael Jackson “Thriller” 101,000 units sold this week 4. Michael Jackson “Off the Wall” 33,000 units sold this week 5. The Jackson 5 “The Ultimate Collection” 18,000 units sold this week 6. Michael Jackson “Bad” 17,000 units sold this week 7. Michael Jackson “Dangerous” 14,000 units sold this week 8. Michael Jackson “Greatest Hits: HIStory - Volume 1” 12,000 units sold this week 9. Michael Jackson “The Ultimate Collection” 11,000 units sold this week 10. Various Artists “Woodstock” original motion picture soundtrack 8,000 units sold this week
NOTE: According to Billboard, catalog albums are ineligible to appear on the Billboard 200 albums chart, though they can chart on the all-encompassing Top Comprehensive Albums list, where Jackson occupied the top three spots.
Billboard Magazine
NEWS. Though nearly every bizarre facet of Jackson’s personal life threatens to taint how he is remembered, it seems the record-buying public could care less. Sales for his “Number Ones” compilation were at 108,000 this past week, an increase of 2,340 percent over the previous week, and when Billboard posted their charts yesterday the album was at No. 1 on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart.
That’s not all. Albums featuring Jackson occupied an unprecedented nine of the top 10 slots on that chart (see sidebar), and he sold a total of 415,000 albums, 58 percent of which were digital downloads.
While he was alive, Jackson made many career moves to ensure his legacy would be as solid and huge as the statue of him on the cover of his “HIStory” album. He gladly accepted the “King of Pop” title Elizabeth Taylor bestowed upon him when presenting him with an “artist of the decade” award in 1989. He married into rock royalty when he wed Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of the original King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. He was a fashion innovator and he recorded the best-selling album of all time, “Thriller.”
Steve Knopper, in his book “Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age,” cites “Thriller” as the album that pulled the record industry out of its first major slump at the advent of the compact disc. Knopper is pragmatic about the sales that were announced yesterday.
“I’m not surprised, death always sells records,” he said. “I doubt Michael can save the record industry again. 415,000 is a lot of sales in one week but I fully expect it to drop off next week (or, if not, the following one) now that the media coverage has subsided.”
But media coverage seems to continue as newer details about the nature of Jackson’s death surface, as do controversial theories about who his children’s real parents.
ABC News anchor Martin Bashir, on the night Jackson died, delivered a special “Nightline” devoted to the star. He spoke about how his year following and interviewing Jackson for a 2003 documentary changed both of their lives, and he replayed some of the stranger clips from that show, including a portion where Jackson went on an extravagant shopping spree, and a segment where the singer openly discussed his sleepovers with children.
But Bashir may have put it best, mere hours after the star’s death, when he said that he believes Jackson’s “musical genius will dominate his legacy.”
