List of best-selling singles in the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of best selling singles in the United States that have been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America. All of these singles have sold over 2 million copies, meaning they are all multi-platinum singles. For more information on what makes a platinum single or album, see RIAA certification.

1 Important Notes about RIAA certification
2 What makes a single?
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Important Notes about RIAA certification

The RIAA only certifies a record if that record company pays for its official certification; some companies do not consider this an important distinction and will not request certifications unless pressed by its active, still saleable artists. A full and complete list of RIAA-certified recordings would be a very incomplete list of popular American music.

The RIAA only certifies a particular recording of a song. For example, sales of Elton John's original "Candle in the Wind" single are not counted towards the 1997 version's official total.

Retroactive RIAA certification only goes back to 1958; thus, a record like Bing Crosby's "White Christmas," released in 1942 and reported in 1963 as having sold 30 million copies, and currently listed by the Guinness Book of World Records at 50 million sales, would not be eligible. Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" is assumed to have sold more than 25 million copies since 1955. According to Billboard Magazine's statistician Joel Whitburn, other pre-1958 singles that would be affected by this cutoff point include Gene Autry's "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (8 million sales reported); Crosby's "Silent Night" (7 million); Vernon Dalhart's "The Prisoner's Song" (7 million); the Mills Brothers' "Paper Doll" (6 million); Patti Page's "The Tennessee Waltz" (6 million); Gene Austin's "My Blue Heaven" (5 million); and Ben Selvin's "Dardanella" (5 million); and another 21 single releases in the 2-3 million range. (That is, assuming their respective record companies would elect to bear the optional expense of an official RIAA certification. It is unlikely, for example, that Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which absorbed RCA Records, which in turn had long ago purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, now sees any particular advantage in precisely determining the sales for Selvin's 1920 smash hit on Victor Records.) The first officially RIAA-certified million-selling single was Perry Como's "Catch a Falling Star," in March 1958.

The Bee Gees have the most entries on the list (writing, singing)

[edit] 10 million and over:

"Candle In The Wind 1997" (Princess Diana Tribute), Elton John

10 milion and over

[edit] What makes a single?

In music, a single is a song considered commercially viable enough by the artist and record company to be released separately from an album, usually featuring on an album as well.

For more information, see single.

[edit] See also

For information about what makes a platinum album, see RIAA certification
Lists of best-selling albums

[edit] External links

RIAA Website
Billboard Magazine - a magazine that publishes weekly music rankings

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Categories: Music-related lists | Lists of best seller songs

List of best-selling singles in the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] Important Notes about RIAA certification

[edit] 10 million and over:

[edit] Over 8 million:

[edit] Over 5 million: in alphabetical order

[edit] Over 4 million: in alphabetical order

[edit] Over 3 million: in alphabetical order

[edit] Over 2 million: in alphabetical order

[edit] What makes a single?

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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