George Strait And Neil Diamond Surge On Billboard Charts With Old Greatest Hit Albums
George Strait and Neil Diamond are proving that a musician’s greatest hits — and greatest hits albums — can have staying power even generations later.
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Both country and pop legends are climbing the Billboard 200 this month with compilations that first hit stores decades ago. Strait’s 2004 set “50 Number Ones” surged to No. 74 for the week of July 4, a ten-spot jump from No. 84 the week before, according to Parade. Diamond made a quieter move, with his 2014 collection “All-Time Greatest Hits” returning to the chart at No. 171, the outlet reported.
Strait’s run is the stronger of the two. The album has now spent 390 weeks on the Billboard 200 across its lifetime, according to Parade. It arrived in October 2004 and debuted at No. 1, according to Forbes. The set gathers his first 50 chart-topping singles, starting with ‘Fool Hearted Memory,’ Parade reported. (RELATED: Taylor Swift Tries To Win Back Country Crowd, Gets Brutal Reality Check)
Strait’s official website bills him as the artist with more No. 1 hits than anyone else in country music, and the compilation carries a 7-times multi-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
The current jump caps a long climb. “50 Number Ones” passed 350 weeks on the Billboard 200 last September, a first for any Strait album, and it reached that mark on steady streaming and sales, Forbes reported. Fans were moving roughly 11,300 equivalent units a week through the set at that point.
Diamond’s collection has its own staying power. The 23-track album first peaked at No. 15 and has racked up 56 weeks on the Billboard 200 since 2014, according to Parade. Its lead track is ‘Cracklin’ Rosie,’ the 1970 single that gave the 85-year-old his first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Diamond entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 and took home a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, the same year he stepped away from touring after a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, according to Parade. His music kept working without him on the road, as “Sweet Caroline” turned into a ballpark anthem at Boston Red Sox games and beyond, according to AllMusic.
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