Before Thriller came out

analogue

Proud Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
8,234
Points
113
What was the biggest selling album of all time then?
 
I believe it was the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack at 27.5 million copies...
 
Saturday Night Fever by the Bee Gees (and assorted artists) and The Wall by Pink Floyd were battling for the top spot when Thriller came out.
 
the beatles or elvis presley maybe , i don't thnik that this record existed before
 
Saturday night fever.. Its even mentioned at the 1984 Guinness party when thriller became #1
 
the beatles or elvis presley maybe , i don't thnik that this record existed before

Nah, dude. Elvis didn't sell 10 million copies of one album until recently. The Beatles got like six albums that did 10-15 million copies but the Bee Gees and Pink Floyd had the world's best-selling albums before Thriller.
 
I don't think that there was an album very successful and hugely publicized since Thriller came out at least it's not to my knowledge.
 
FYI: This is now...


ALBUMS

ALL TIME CHART


jackson-michael-thriller.jpg

1 Michael Jackson - Thriller Epic - 1983
2
Eagles - Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 Asylum - 1976
3
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV Atlantic - 1971
4 Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon Harvest - 1973
5
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours Warner Bros. - 1977
6 Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Parlophone / Capitol - 1967
7
AC/DC - Back In BlackAtlantic - 1980
8
Soundtrack - Saturday Night Fever RSO - 1978
9
Shania Twain - Come On Over Mercury - 1997
10
Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill Maverick / Sire - 1995
 
It was Saturday Night Fever before Thriller, but The Eagles Greatest Hits and The Bodyguard soundtrack has now passed up SNF.
 
saturday Night fever and the Irony is that MJ was in the Studio listening to tracks with the Bee Gees when that album was being put together and MJ has said that thriller was inspired by Fever and he has a deep connecting with the Gibbs.
 
Very true! Now that you mention it, even the white suit on the cover of Thriller is very Saturday Night Feverish. That white suit seems to be a lucky omen for successful albums, apparently. :)
 
The white suit, interesting.

Um...o.k...I have a question, please don't laugh...but....:unsure:


....when you open the cover of Thriller, as he petting the cub, there's some water on the floor...tile I mean. Did the cub pee? Or is it just water from the tap or something...:huh:

I don't know.....in fact, where was that picture taken? Anyone know for sure? It looks like it's in a bath room? ^_^

Just wondering. ^_^
 
BUT, all you remember that Off the Wall was the BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM By A BLACK ARTIST at its time. I hate to put things in a black/white category, but to be honest, before Thriller, that's how the world was seen. Black vs. White. No crossover whatsoever. Look at that chart and you will see what I mean.
 
BUT, all you remember that Off the Wall was the BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM By A BLACK ARTIST at its time. I hate to put things in a black/white category, but to be honest, before Thriller, that's how the world was seen. Black vs. White. No crossover whatsoever. Look at that chart and you will see what I mean.

R&B artist is more like it.

I think Stevie's SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE now registers as the best-selling album by a black artist during that time period. It was selling massively huge by the time OTW came out. Motown just certified SONGS too because it was released a year before the RIAA finally got allowed to audit that album correctly. It had been uncertified until recently. Also lemme remind you Michael's albums kept selling after its initial release, that's why albums like OTW and Thriller got updated sales figures the way they are. Could've been the same with Stevie, it being a double album but you get my drift. No other R&B artist was selling records the way they were. What Thriller did was it finally got Michael out of that "R&B artist" bubble.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top