The Eagles have upstaged Michael Jackson. As it was revealed , the classic Los Angeles-based rock band rocked its way to the top of the charts this week, as they hold the title for the highest-selling album of all-time with Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, which outgrossed Jackson's iconic Thriller album. While there's no denying that The Eagles have an impressively large following, the "Hotel California" band found a way to beat the "Beat It" star in the all-time category, and that's an incredible feat. Here's what we know about the latest musical accomplishment from The Eagles.
As it was proclaimed by The Recording Industry Association of America to The Associated Press (via NBC News) this early week, The Eagles are now certified 38x platinum with Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, which means that the beloved 1976 album sold 38 million copies in both sales and streams. In an age of rampant music bootlegging, that's an impressive accomplishment on its own. But the record association went on to note that The Eagles have surpassed the late Michael Jackson's Thriller, which is now officially in second place with 33x platinum. Furthermore, Michael Jackson is now currently sandwiched in-between two separate Eagle albums, as the Recording Industry Association of America noted that Hotel California, the album The Eagles released the following year in 1977, is the third highest-selling album of all-time at 26x platinum. It's a good week for fans of The Eagles.
Music fans can argue all day over whether or not The Eagles produced finer albums than Michael Jackson in quality. But when it comes to sales, The Eagles now hold the throne in the charts. This is the first time the RIAA has tallied sales for The Eagles since 2006, when it was then 29x platinum. The sales and streams for Thriller, meanwhile, were last updated last year. Unless there was a massive influx of sales in 2018 for Michael Jackson's work that is currently unaccounted for by the RIAA, The Eagles are now the top-selling band of all-time. That's certainly no small feat to host.
To celebrate the astonishing achievement and to thank each and every one of the fans and followers for everything they did to hoist The Eagles to the top of the legacy charts, guitarist Don Hanley released the following statement to the press.
We are grateful for our families, our management, our crew, the people at radio and, most of all, the loyal fans who have stuck with us through the ups and downs of 46 years. It's been quite a ride.
That's an understatement. While Michael Jackson is no longer the top-selling music artist on this prestigious chart, the King of Pop has an achievement that the Eagles haven't unlocked: he's featured on Drake's latest top-selling album. As it was reported at the time of its release, the rapper's newest studio album, Scorpion, features an unfinished MJ song that features accompaniment from Drake himself on the B-side of the album. It might not be much consolation, but at least it's something for Michael Jackson fans, right? Again, that's something the fans can argue among themselves. In the meantime, we'll keep you posted on the latest developments with The Eagles and Michael Jackson's legacy here at CinemaBlend.
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