Thursday, November 01, 2012

Sonny & Cher's Best-Selling Records

We take a look at the exclusive record sale figures for Sonny & Cher's best-selling records.

All this month, we'll be celebrating the fact that it is 50 years since Sonny met Cher. To kick-start the proceedings, we take a look at the five best-selling singles from the duo as well as their three best-selling albums.

1. 'I Got You Babe'
Released in 1965, sold 2,788,081 copies

Sonny & Cher shot to fame - worldwide fame - in the summer of 1965 with their signature hit 'I Got You babe'. Penned by Sonny himself, the much-loved single spent three weeks atop the US Hot 100 and two weeks at number one in the UK - and scored impressive positions around the globe. Easily, the single - with all its 2-and-a-half million copies sold - remains the duo's greatest hit.

2. 'All I Ever Need Is You
Released in 1971, sold 1,373,975 copies

The duo made a big comeback in 1971 - following years of un-charting singles - with this hit, taken from its identically-titled parent album. One of a handful of the duo's hit singles that wasn't written by Sonny, the song was a transatlantic top ten hit - reaching number 7 in the US and 8 in the UK.

3. 'Little Man'
Released in 1966, sold 1,139,970 copies

Whilst this Sonny-penned single peaked at just number 21 in the US, it hit the top spot in several European countries - Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweeden - and reached the top ten in the important music markets France, Germany and the UK.

4. 'Baby Don't Go'
Released in 1965, sold 951,829 copies

Originally released in 1964 to little success, the single was re-released in 1965 to great success, following the success of 'I Got You Babe'. It reached the top spot in Canada, number 8 in the US and number 11 in the UK.

5. 'A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done'
Released in 1972, sold 942,114 copies

Perhaps a surprise entry here at number five - you'd probably expect 'The Beat Goes On' to be here instead - is the duo's second single from the album 'All I ever Need Is You'. The single reached number 8 in the US and number 3 in Canada.

Let's move onto albums...

1. 'Look At Us'
Released in 1965, sold 3,032,787 copies

Charting at number 2 - where it stayed for 8 weeks - in the US, the duo's first album was a tremendous success there. It stayed on the charts for an impressive 44 weeks. It also reached number 3 in Australia and number 7 in the UK. It showcased the hits 'I Got You babe', 'Just You', 'Sing C'est la Vie' and 'The Letter'.

2. 'All i Ever need Is You'
Released in 1972, sold 1,071,977 copies

With its two US top ten hits, its unsurprising that the Gold-certified 'All I Ever Need is You' is Sonny & Cher's second best-selling album. Its number 14 peak and 29-week run in the charts saw the album sell over a million copies in the US.

3. 'The Best of Sonny & Cher'
Released in 1967, sold 790,707 copies

Sonny & Cher's first compilation album reached number 23 in the US - whilst that isn't overly-impressive, it's 64 weeks on the charts sure is. Some of these weeks on the chart come from its re-entry in 1971.

Well, there you have it - Sonny & Cher's best-selling records!

3 comments:

  1. What about the Beat goes on?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Daniel,

    With all these countdowns on the UK Official chart I concluded that they must have exact numbers for S&C/Cher early records

    http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-biggest-selling-single-of-every-year-revealed-1952-1985-1699/

    So you could give it a go and contact them to get some info?
    Unless you already have :), cheers!

    ReplyDelete