Michael Jackson is still the King of Pop?

The month of August always has me feeling a sense of nostalgia for Michael Jackson. Of course, being the King of Pop, there isn’t anywhere that you can’t go to hear some of his songs over the four decades of his career. Including, having the distinction of being the best – selling album of all time, the album “Thriller”.

Or is it?

The questions continue to linger over whether Michael Jackson is still the king, however, what many people don’t know is that he has been jockeying this position with the Eagles with their album “Eagles / Their Greatest Hits 1971 – 1975”, according to the RIAA (Record Industry Association of America). The two albums have gone back and forth for the top spot since the 1980s, trading the lead five times. On August 20, 2018, the RIAA reported that the Eagles album was certified platinum 38 times over, while Michael Jackson’s thriller went platinum 34 times. So what does going platinum mean? It used to mean that a record sold 1 million copies. Now the Association says it will include streaming into the calculation, where 1500 songs or music video streams is equivalent to one album sale. This is for full albums only.

One important note; part of the reason that the Eagles surpassed Jackson is the fact that it had an extra 12 years of time to earn additional sales over “Thriller”, which was released in 1983. The Eagles spent nearly a decade as the best selling album of all time, until Thriller bypassed it in the aftermath of Jackson’s passing in 2009. Still, the Thriller album spent a record 37 nonconsecutive weeks at number one, from February 26, 1983, to April 14, 1984. Seven songs reached the top 10 on the pop charts, setting a record for the most top 10 singles from an album, winning 8 Grammy awards, being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, more importantly becoming a cultural phenomenon for African-Americans. But the Eagles were nothing to snooze at either.

Their group powered through disco in the mid-70s, which was no easy feat, not to mention number one songs like “Best Of My Love”, “One Of These Nights”, and top 10 singles like “Take It Easy”, “Witchy Woman”, which are part of the Eagles greatest hits. And, if you’re wondering who’s at number three under Michael Jackson? Well, it’s none other than the Eagles Hotel California. And while the top 10 may round out as a who’s who of great artists, the next artist that comes close in the R&B world is none other than Whitney Houston, with the soundtrack of “The Bodyguard”, that ranks number 15. The one thing however that all of these artists have in common, is that they are legends, and not just a part of music history, they’re a part of American history. I can assure you of one thing, for both of these legends, the battle may never be over.