Last week, Britain paid their respects to three major veteran artists who had new albums on the market, placing Lindsey Buckingham & Christine McVie, Glen Campbell and Chuck Berry all in the top ten.
Americans couldn’t have cared less. While Buckingham & McVie were able to squeak into the top twenty, both Campbell and Berry were at 40 or below.
We’ve talked with many artists on the VVN Music Podcast about the phenomenon of older artists being much more revered in the U.K. and Europe than in the U.S. but nobody has given a good reason. Are they more sophisticated on the other side of the pond? Have greater respect for the forefathers (and mothers) of music? Are less influenced by the latest and greatest?
Who knows. All that is clear is that the American record buyer rarely supports older artists the way that Europeans do.
The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band deluxe edition continue to place the highest among all veteran artists on the Billboard 200, although it fell from 3 to 11 last week.
Buckingham & McVie’s self-titled album debuts at 17. While the position doesn’t rival Fleetwood Mac chart performances, it is the highest charting non-Fleetwood album for both artists. Buckingham’s previous high was 1981’s Law and Order, which peaked at 32 while McVie’s 1984 self-titled album went to 26.
Rancid’s newest, Trouble Maker, continues their slow slide away from the top twenty. The band’s 2009 album Let the Dominos Fall hit 11 while 2014’s …Honor is All We Know peaked at 20.
Gov’t Mule’s new album, Revolution Come…Revolution Go opens at 35, putting it among the best charting of the band’s career. In 2009, they hit 34 with By a Thread and 2013’s Shout! went to 32.
…and then we come to Glen Campbell. One of the biggest of country artists, who managed to bring the genre to pop audiences throughout the late-60 and all of the 70’s, just can’t seem to get any respect from American artists. Debuting at number 3 in Britain, it premiers at 40 in the U.S. None of Campbell’s final three album did overly well with Ghost in the Canvas (2011) going to 24 and See You There (2013) making just 89. Campbell’s last top twenty album was 1975’s Rhinestone Cowboy.
Chuck Berry was never known as a album artist. His final album, Chuck, is only his fifth studio or live album to make the Billboard 200 (five collections have also made it) and, at 49, is only his second to make the top 100 after The London Chuck Berry Sessions (1972 / #8).
Still, it’s his last album with publicity fueled by his death earlier this year and his first ever videos. Plus, the album is really GOOD for someone in their late-80’s. It doesn’t make any difference. Only slightly over 8,000 copies of the album were sold last week.
Finally, at 192, is the premier of Binary by Ani DiFranco, her 21st studio album, including two with Utah Phillips.
