Assertion that Elvis Presley had an extra number one hit hinges on technicality
By Matthew B. Zeidman
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/5/08 – Earlier this week, Elvis Presley fans were saddened when the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s longstanding record for most number one singles was surpassed by modern R&B staple Mariah Carey. The late singer’s estate isn’t going down without a fight, however, claiming on Elvis.com that one of Presley’s hits actually counts as two.
The record at the heart of the controversy is the “Don’t Be Cruel”/”Hound Dog” vinyl single, which was released in 1956. Because both hit songs were released on the same disc and “Billboard” magazine’s current chart of record, the Billboard Hot 100, wasn’t around to document the distinct popularity of both songs, the combination release was written off by the magazine’s experts as a single success.
Despite the disagreement with Elvis’ estate and fans, “Billboard” still considers Carey, 38, the official record-holder, according to a Friday statement given to the “Los Angeles Times,” with 18 number one singles stretching from 1990 to 2008.
Presley, 42, scored his first number one hit in 1956, with “Heartbreak Hotel,” and his last in 1969, with “Suspicious Minds.” The singer, who came to fame as an early rock music pioneer, frightening parents everywhere with his unfamiliar sound and gyrating dance moves, passed away in 1977 of health problems magnified by an addiction to prescription drugs.
42 responses so far ↓
1 Madonna Daugherty // Apr 5, 2008 at 8:23 am
I came in America recently, but I fell in love with Prseley. He is too good and no one can compete with him. Carrie may take more medals, but it does not prove that she is better than Elvis. Moreover, see her fiascos that too count.
2 Christina Dietz // Apr 5, 2008 at 8:29 am
Elvis’ songs represent his generation more than Mariah Carey’s songs represent her generation. On the other hand it is more difficult today to leverage your fame into the number one position over and over.
So both artists have something to be proud of, and both will be remembered for their best work for a long time to come.
3 valeria // Apr 5, 2008 at 10:11 am
Elvis rimane il più grande.
se Mariah entra nella storia.
Elvis è la storia della musica.poi non esiste solo l’America. in Gran Bretagna il record è suo.Mariah è solo grande negli States, Elvis è grande nel mondo.
4 tiziana // Apr 5, 2008 at 10:19 am
VIVA ELVIS
THE KING IN THE WORLD.
I’M ITALIAN, AND DON’T KNOW THE MUSIC OF MARIAH. ONLY AMERICAN KNOWS HER MUSIC.
THE WORLD LOVES ELVIS MUSIC
VIVA ELVIS
FOREVER
5 MickeyJoe.com // Apr 5, 2008 at 10:25 am
If Mariah were smart, she would get to the studio immediately and record a cover of “Don’t Be Cruel”/”Hound Dog”.
6 lola // Apr 5, 2008 at 10:35 am
ELVIS IS THE KING OF MUSIC
7 lola // Apr 5, 2008 at 10:38 am
Mariah????????????
certo che siete strani voi americani.
Una sola cosa buona ha l’America: ELVIS
il resto è spazzatura
8 lola // Apr 5, 2008 at 10:47 am
the only thing good have America: ELVIS
THE REST IS RUBBISH
ITALY
9 Bridget // Apr 5, 2008 at 12:34 pm
OK so let me get this correct, Elvis releases 18 #1 songs and went to war and back in 13 years and Mariah Carey releases 18 #1 songs in 18 years while never being out of the limelight and this is supposed to be surpassing The KING. Don’t get me wrong I grew up with Elvis songs being played and have lived my teen and adult life with Mariah Carey being a part of it. She is a great singer, however the two are not comparable. Let me know when someone hits 18 #1 songs in 13 years and then I will be impressed.
Peace!
10 Judy // Apr 5, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Let us see where Mariah is 30 years after her demise.That is the real test!!
11 judas // Apr 5, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Elvis is by no means as influential as Michael Jackson — every new act today is inspired by MJ no one ever references Elvis except old fogiies living in the past. MJ can outdance Elvis 10 to 1 and Mariah can outsing Elvis 20 to 1. Elvis had his time but MJ and Mariah are way way bigger in the overall scheme of things
12 bianca // Apr 6, 2008 at 5:24 am
no biggie. mariah doesn’t make music to intentionally beat the king. it just happens. it’s something that mc fans should be proud of, but i personally will not mind wherever position in the history list mariah will be. i just enjoy her music and will always do.
anyway, just wondering, “my all/breakdown” single was # 1 back then. does this mean that mariah has 19, given the 2 songs were so popular at that time? i’m not following the chart rules….sorry.
13 Sharon // Apr 6, 2008 at 11:31 am
Well done Mariah in topping the charts again in America. Elvis Presley is known the world over and has topped the charts in every country that has a chart at some point- they just cannot be compared – 30 years after losing him and Elvis still makes the charts -look at what he did here in the UK – the man rocked in the 50s, 60s and 70s and he is still the man now!
14 Bogart // Apr 6, 2008 at 2:29 pm
who are these people, do they have no idea about history. It
doses not matter how many hits Carey has, Elvis is light years beyond them. Answer this how many hit movies has Carey or Micheal Jackson been in. Elvis was one
of the biggest box office film stars of the 50′s and 60′s. When did Carey or Micheal Jackson take out two years out of the peak of their career to serve in the
US Army. Elvis did. How would have Carey or Jackson faired without MTV. VH1 and all the music videos pushing and promoting their on 24 hour channels. Elvis only had Ed Sullivan, and even then he was censored. How many historians have ranked Carey among the most influential
people of the last one hundred years. The history channel ranked Elvis as the 72nd most influential person of the last two thousand years, ahead of people like FDR and Ronald Regan. Point is, Elvis was a monumental historial figure who impacted
a wide range of things, and did all this in a mere 42 years. Carey is nothing more
than a simple entertainer, whose success is as much due to the advances in commercialism and technology as anything. Besides. where is she in the ultimate, music sales. Elvis is in the billions, last I saw Carey was not even in the ball park of that.
15 Sharon Carr // Apr 6, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Briget was right. Elvis had 18# 1 songs over 13 years. In that time he had time to spend 2 years in the army and wasted numerous years doing movies. If it wasn’t for the movies, how many more #1 songs would he have scored. People has also got to realise and compare the population in the 1950′s to the population of today. Seeing that the population is bigger today, what took Mariah so long then? Elvis was about 21 yrs old with his first hit. How old was Mariah? The whole world knows and remembers Elvis, I cannot say the same for Mariah Carey. Elvis is a single named star, needing one name only. Mariah Carey isn’t. Does Mariah Carey now plan to meet the president also? Naturally the population is a lot larger now compared to the 1950′s, and there will be more people aound to be able to support her. If Elvis was still alive, there would be more people supporting him also, as new generations are growing up all the time appreciating his music and becoming new fans. Will this happen to Mariah also?
Long live Elvis, Always
Sharon
16 Den // Apr 6, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Why is Judas bringing Michael Jackson in to the argument? To say he is more influencial than Elvis is the most naive and untrue statement I have ever heard! Jackson is great and may have influenced many of todays artist, but they will not be remembered in 10 years time. Elvis influenced countless artist that have stood the test of time, including the Beatles! Face facts, Elvis is Music. To quote John Lennon , “Before Elvis there was nothing”. Mariah Carey can not compete with the King.
17 Christina Dietz // Apr 6, 2008 at 4:50 pm
I guess everybody who posted here has a good point. Nice thoughts.
Christina Dietz
18 Jonathan // Apr 6, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Oh please I knew Elvis fans would start whining like little kids when Mariah reached her 18th #1. Too bad when she gets her second #1 from the album and possibly even more, it’ll be THAT much more embarassing to Elvis fans. I used to respect this artist, but now that I’ve seen what sore losers they are I honestly don’t like what I’m seeing. Listen. All artists have different influence on pop culture. Elvis was the first king of rock and roll. Michael Jackson became one of the most prominent and successful african american artist. Mariah Carey has been cited as having the greatest voice ever.
19 Jonathan // Apr 6, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Mariah Carey was 20 when she had her first hit, Vision of Love, in 1990. And I don’t see how your argument is relevant, Mariah had 15 #1 hits in 10 years. And what you may not realize is that she had to go through the horrendous years of ‘teen pop’, where every frickin teenager was being a Britney/Christina wannabe. Elvis lived in a time where he virtually had no competition. Mariah’s living in a time where there are SO many artists releasing singles and albums even though they may not sell much. I mean honestly, you could make a whole packet of one hit wonders nowadays. And apparently, Mariah still has a solid fan base. Eighteen years and STILL producing hits shows incredible longevity.
20 Marc // Apr 6, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Elvis is an icon but I wouldn’t compare the two. Maybe Elvis would have had more number 1 hits if he didn’t devote his life to drugs and other salacious behaviors. On the other hand, Mariah is a very positive role model, she may dress a bit seductively, but she doesn’t whore it up like Madonna or other “artists” who have to rely on other means to get by. Congrats MIMI, I look forward to #19 and beyond! (imagine the uproar when she surpasses the Beatles! – AND IT WILL HAPPEN)
21 Rayven // Apr 6, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Bridget on 5th April wrote that “she will be impressed if someone scored 18 number one hits in 13 years like elvis did, then only she will be impressed. Well Bridget, you see that was a long time ago. There wasn’t much competition (music genre wise) as there is today. Mariah carey’s achievement is far more great! Why? Well mariah is 38 and among more popular artist like beyonce, britney, christina, justin she still manages to get the number one spot. Whitney, Celine, Madonna who are around the same age group as mariah, are losing their hit status and its highly unlikely that they will be covering the number one spot anymore (unless they duet with their younger conterpart, say like with justin, which madonna recently did)..and also 18 number one hits in 18 years isn’t bad either…and furthermore unlike madonna, britney, celine, christina who just sing – mariah writes her own songs…i mean come one, she wrote, produced, and sang her number one hits!!…who does these things these days..no one!! This puts her behind paul macartney and john lennon as songwriter with most number one hits. Another achievment. She still holds the record as the longest stay at number one with One Sweet Day at 16 weeks!!..She holds the record as the only female artist in history to have two number one’s debut at the number one spot with Fantasy and Honey. Also she surpassed Elvis in securing a more cummulative weeks at number one spot. See, shes making number one’s and she is staying there. Mariah’s album is not released yet, and she is already number one. At 38 (and if continues to go on like madonna) she is poised to easily surpass the Beattles and, and have 30 number one hits and more!!!…like Marc on April 6th said “AND IT WILL HAPPEN”
22 jackyboy // Apr 6, 2008 at 10:12 pm
I’ll just say this once. Elvis is and was the King of Rock’n Roll, all this comparison B.S. between MC and Elvis is ridiculous! Are you people honestly trying to compare the two? You MC fans need to put down the nitrous tank and turn off the MTV! If millions of people love shit sandwiches does that make them delicious…? NO! They still taste like shit.
P.S.
Elvis could out pelvis MC anyday…
23 Butterfly-Fan // Apr 6, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Really, you shouldn’t be comparing the two, because they are both great, and both had struggles to overcome, and in th end, didn’t they persevere (I don’t know about Elvis.) Elvis ruled the 50s-60s, while Mariah ruled the 90s, isn’t that enough? they both influence alot of people, so, let’s just call it truce, cause honestly, I think f he were alive today, he wouldn’t care, and neither would MC.
24 Mark Willson // Apr 30, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Remember, technology was different back then. Only record players. Economy was different then…less affluent. So, she is not even close by the period’s standards. Long live the King!
25 LvsFan // May 1, 2008 at 7:42 pm
The US population alone has more than doubled since Elvis hit the scene. Teens had far less autonomy back then. Churches & some DJs denounced him, even had record-burning spectacles). Parents exercised far more control over kids, & often forbade Elvis music as “dirty”. Also, one 45 record cost 99 cents, just about the same as the minimum wage at the time–one dollar was real money. Not even counting all the other advantages Carey has to sell music (MTV, downloads, etc), simple record-sales numbers can’t be compared–it would take an economist to figure out exactly the socio-economic differences alone — but: No Comparison! — well, except maybe the Beatles, whom many parents also hated.
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41 Mickey Filbeck // Aug 28, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Elvis’s music has continued to sell even up to this date..Let’s be honest about this…There is no way that any entertainer could have outsold him even though he died in 1977. If you don’t believe me then ask RCA… He is still a major source of income for them.
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