Forty years on, Elvis still reigns in the internet age

UNITED STATES: Elvis Presley remains the most awarded artist in pop music history as fans around the world mark the 40th anniversary of his death.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Presley’s recordings have amassed 197 gold, platinum, multi-platinum and diamond certification awards since his arrival on the national scene in 1956. No other artist comes close - the Beatles have a total of 122, Garth Brooks has 83, Led Zeppelin have 56, and the Eagles have 40.

But how has the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll fared in recent years? Judging from his mighty presence on Youtube, that’s all right, Mama, too.

Presley ranks among the top 200 artists of all time on Youtube, according to the online video service, outscoring hitmakers from subsequent generations, such as Kanye West, Whitney Houston and Lana Del Rey.

Presley has generated more than 2.8 billion views across Youtube, and was averaging 4.4 million views a day in the week leading up to yesterday’s anniversary of his death.

Last year, on the 39th anniversary, views jumped 44 per cent compared with the daily average, and soared even more - by 74 per cent - on his birthday, January 8, when fan interest typically peaks.

Presley, who never toured outside the US, has tallied more than 1 million views in more than 100 countries. He is the most popular Youtube artist in Chile’s capital, Santiago, and ranks No 2 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and No 3 in Mexico City.

By a wide margin, his most popular video on Youtube and Vevo is his 1960 hit Can’t Help Falling in Love, which has racked up 60.9 million views. The posthumous remix of A Little Less Conversation by DJ Junkie XL in 2002 is safely in second place with 15.2 million views, and the posthumous studio duet with Martina Mcbride, Blue Christmas, sits at No 3 with 11.9 million views.

In conjunction with this year’s 40th anniversary commemorations, Presley’s label, RCA, and Sony Legacy have released a new box set of all the known recordings he made from 1953 to 1955 before making the jump to a major label by signing with RCA. - LA Times