Who was bigger, Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson? In the battle between the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the King of Pop, there is no clearcut answer to the question.
Looking at the sales numbers — and those are not entirely reliable — it has been widely reported that both Elvis and Jackson have sold in excess of 1 billion albums worldwide. (Though some have suggested that Jackson’s sales are actually closer to 750 million).
Looking at their U.S. chart performance, Jackson scored an impressive 36 Top 40 hits during his career. However, Elvis had 114 Top 40 hits during his career, the most of any artist.
ELVIS PRESLEY IN HIS OWN WORDS: The King on music, movies, Memphis and more
Beyond their recording work, Presley starred in more than 30 hit movies that earned millions at the box office, certainly topping Jackson, who did appear in successful pictures like “The Wiz,” but did not have a sustained career in film.
In terms of performing, while Elvis was one of the most successful touring artists, he never played outside North America, while Jackson staged many massive international tours.
The competition between Presley and Jackson becomes harder to judge when it comes to influence and impact, as both had periods where they were the dominant figures in music and culture.
Regardless, both Presley and Jackson were, and remain, two of the biggest artists of all time.
‘AT HOME WITH ELVIS PRESLEY’: The King shared glimpse into his life and Graceland in 1965
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Who was bigger, Elvis or Michael Jackson?
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
