A Love Supreme goes multi Platinum

[Hardbopjazz]

Penguin estimates that between 3 million and 4 million copies have been sold of John Coltrane's Love Supreme. So does this make A Love Supreme the best selling jazz album of all time?

[garthsj]

This is a subject that may never have an absolutely varifiable answer, but over the years I believe that Miles Davis's "KIND OF BLUE" has probably outsold "A LOVE SUPREME". For one thing, it is more accessible to the general jazz audience, and has a relatively wider appeal to the casual jazz listener. In the 1950's one album, Shelly Manne's "MY FAIR LADY" with Andre Previn and Leroy Vinnegar, sold a lot of copies... how many? Who knows?

I also wonder how many copies of Benny Goodman's "CARNEGIE HALL CONCERT" have been sold over the years?

Now .. if you consider Norah Jones to be a "jazz performer" (she doesn't), then you are into a whole new bag.

Garth.

[garrettshelton]

Kind of Blue even today sells in between 3 and 4,000 copies a week. In its life (and various reissues), my guess is that it has sold well over 10 million copies. A Love Supreme on the other hand usually sells more erratically - from 200 to 1000 a week based on if its on sale. The 2-CD reissue of ALS sold well over 2,000 the first week of its release. Obviously, two other best sellers are Dave Brubeck's Time Out, and also Herbie's Headhunters.

[robviti]

Kind of Blue even today sells in between 3 and 4,000 copies a week. In its life (and various reissues), my guess is that it has sold well over 10 million copies.  A Love Supreme on the other hand usually sells more erratically - from 200 to 1000 a week based on if its on sale.  The 2-CD reissue of ALS sold well over 2,000 the first week of its release.

i'm not sure where you got your sales stats from, but i read that kind of blue has only been certified triple platinum, i.e. over 3 million copies sold. also, i believe that a love supreme did not reach gold status (500,000 units) until the beginning of 2001.

Edited April 11, 2004 by jazzshrink

[Michael Fitzgerald]

This is true - according to

http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/default.asp

ALS went gold on January 3, 2001.

If I understand it correctly, KOB is triple platinum (it has received 4 awards).

Mike

[robviti]

Penguin estimates that between 3 million and 4 million copies have been sold of John Coltrane's Love Supreme. So does this make A Love Supreme the best selling jazz album of all time?

i've looked at the latest edition of the penguin guide and can't locate this assertion. where did you find it?

[danasgoodstuff]

I think there may be (at least) two possible sources of confusion here: "certified" means there has to be documentation meeting a certain standard, I suspect that both Kind of Blue and Love Supreme have time periods during the last 40 years or so that can't be adequately documented; and sales in the USA vs. sales world wide. Either of these variables could result in widely varying figures, taken together it's like comparing v. big apples to v. small oranges, or vice versa.

[Hardbopjazz]

Penguin estimates that between 3 million and 4 million copies have been sold of John Coltrane's Love Supreme. So does this make A Love Supreme the best selling jazz album of all time?

i've looked at the latest edition of the penguin guide and can't locate this assertion. where did you find it?

I posted a thread on a article about Coltrane's home on Long Island. Can't find it now. I called it "a nice story". In the article it mentions it. Look under the artists threads.