Cash leads Country resurgence on Billboard chart

14 July 2006 - 09:37:52

 

 

Country music is on a roll, with more than 36m albums sold in the first half of 2006, an increase of 17.7% over the prior year, against trend in a market which declined by 4.2%, writes Alan Jones. The genre continues to prosper, with American V: A Hundred Highways, the latest posthumous release from Johnny Cash, debuting in pole position this week.

 

Cash’s only previous number one, At San Quentin, topped the chart nearly 37 years ago, and has been certified for sales of 3m, making it his joint biggest seller, alongside Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison. Cash’s most recent album prior to American V, the compilation The Legend Of Johnny Cash reached number five last Autumn, and has thus far sold 1,881,305.

 

Although any number one album is worth having, American V’s sales - just 88,336 - were typical of the market in a very lacklustre week. It’s the lowest tally for a number one album for 180 weeks, and accounts for less than 1% of an overall album market of 9.5m last week - which itself marks a 14.5% dip on the same week in 2005.

 

Cash’s album is the third number one in a matter of weeks to be produced by Rick Rubin, following The Dixie Chicks’ Taking The Long Way and The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Stadium Arcadium. Rubin is also producing upcoming albums by Kid Rock, Metallica and Linkin Park, so may double his tally before the year is out, if all are delivered on time.

 

Aside from American V, the only new entries to the album chart this week are rockers Rise Against’s The Sufferer & The Witness (number 10, 48,327 sales), the Pirates Of The Caribbean soundtrack (number 24, 30,154 sales) and Latin star Diana Reyes’ Las No 1 De La Reina (number 143, 5,962 sales).

 

Corinne Bailey Rae remains the top Brit, while her self-titled debut album continues its slow decline. It slips 18-20, with sales off 15% at 31,926.

 

Keane’s Under The Iron Sea, which debuted at number four a fortnight ago, continues its rapid retreat, falling 20-31 with sales down 38% to 22,666.

 

James Blunt’s Back To Bedlam enjoys mixed fortunes, its sales dipping 14% to 21,385 even as it climbs 38-34.

 

KT Tunstall’s Eye To The Telescope sold just eight fewer copies than Back To Bedlam, and responds to discounting by jumping 52-35, with sales up 17%, completing the UK presence in the Top 50.

 

The Hot 100 singles chart is fairly quiet too, with Nelly Furtado continuing to lead the way with Promiscuous, Gnarls Barkley closing 3-2 with Crazy, and five new entries, of which the highest is Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack at number 90.

The Hot 100 singles chart is fairly quiet too, with Nelly Furtado continuing to lead the way with Promiscuous, Gnarls Barkley closing 3-2 with Crazy, and five new entries, of which the highest is Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack at number 90.

 

Once again the record company is refusing to release Timberlake's new song to the digital stores so the song will have a very difficult time edging much higher until sometime next month it will suddenly skyrocket to #1. This is getting too predictable.