Daniel Amos Message Board | Print: Top-Selling DA Albums

Posted by Pfiagra on 04-05-2006 at16:04:

Top-Selling DA Albums

The "Top 5" thread made me wonder if anyone knows the approximate number of DA albums/cassettes/CDs sold for each release.

I know we can all probably guess which of the albums have had more sales than others, but are we talking 50,000 copies of Shotgun Angel (in all its forms) vs. 2,500 copies of Bibleland?

I know that this gets complicated with all of the re-releases of albums, but I was just curious if Terry or anyone on the DAMB has any info on this.

Posted by audiori on 04-05-2006 at16:32:

Not really certain. I do know that some of the older albums (like SA) were in the tens of thousands. These days, it tends to be much less - but growing all of the time. It seems like there was a sharp drop-off somewhere along the line where people lost touch with the band and now folks are slowly returning.

I have no idea what the total sales for something like Buechner's Dream was, since Galaxy21 was distributing them to stores.

Posted by Dr Rich on 04-06-2006 at07:26:

I have always heard the big sellers were Shotgun Angel, MotorCycle, Let's Spin and Outdoor Elvis and of course the first DA record.

Posted by Pfiagra on 04-07-2006 at22:37:

RE: Top-Selling DA Albums

quote:

Originally posted by Pfiagra
The "Top 5" thread made me wonder if anyone knows the approximate number of DA albums/cassettes/CDs sold for each release.

I guess 8-tracks also need to be added to that list.

HTF Daniel Amos 1980 8-Track Tape

Posted by Dr Rich on 04-10-2006 at07:18:

8-Tracks make me smile! Smile

)

Posted by Commander Cote on 04-10-2006 at08:30:

I think that SA appealed to more people than most if not all other DA albums, and at the time there wasn't a whole lot of great Christian music out at the time. I think from HD on DA has never been that well received by the "church", and they've just had the ol' cult following that has grown quite a bit thanks to this site, J & E, The Lost Dogs, 77's, The Choir, Swirling Eddies, The Rapsures, Cowboy Billy Mcbride, The Riders Of The Western Sky, Chuck Smith,Dr. Edward Daniel Taylor, Sister Sludge & The Mud Honeys, Sprinklerhead.....Can I get an Amen?

P.S. Where's Steve?

Posted by bigdork.2 on 04-10-2006 at10:18:

quote:

Originally posted by Commander Cote
I think that SA appealed to more people than most .....Can I get an Amen?

SA: Completely excellent album in all ways, even if it sounds like the eagles at times.

AMEN

Posted by Commander Cote on 04-10-2006 at10:38:

Not only the Eagles, but parts on side 2 sounded like the Beatles, and remember the Beatles sold A LOT of records.....

Posted by bereal on 04-10-2006 at14:11:

RE: Top-Selling DA Albums

quote:

Originally posted by Pfiagra

quote:

Originally posted by Pfiagra
The "Top 5" thread made me wonder if anyone knows the approximate number of DA albums/cassettes/CDs sold for each release.

I guess 8-tracks also need to be added to that list.

HTF Daniel Amos 1980 8-Track Tape

I'd buy it if I had an 8-track to play it on. Frown

Posted by Audiori J on 04-10-2006 at15:31:

I have a still sealed 8 track of HD. Smile

I remember an article where Terry says Lets Spin sold more than most of their albums put together. May have been eghagertion? Theres also one article where he says Darn Floor sold 6,000 copies or something along those lines. Distribution makes a big difference, Maranatha was fairly big for its time, plus they were touring more then, and more accessible material.

Posted by Mountain Fan on 04-10-2006 at15:34:

RE: Top-Selling DA Albums

quote:

Originally posted by bereal

quote:

Originally posted by Pfiagra

quote:

Originally posted by Pfiagra
The "Top 5" thread made me wonder if anyone knows the approximate number of DA albums/cassettes/CDs sold for each release.

I guess 8-tracks also need to be added to that list.

HTF Daniel Amos 1980 8-Track Tape

I'd buy it if I had an 8-track to play it on. Frown

Well, we could have saved that old stereo my parents had! Maybe I can find one at the junk lot! Tongue

Posted by Ritchie_az on 12-20-2008 at06:05:

I read something several years back in some book that I don't remember the title of but was about the history of Christian music (but the book was old), and....

I remember it saying that DA's best selling album was Shotgun Angel and it was the #1 selling CCM album in 1977 (maybe 1978--also, it might have been the top selling CCM rock album, but I think I remember it saying it was #1 out of all CCM). And that Alarma was the third best selling CCM rock album in 1981 and Horrendous Dics was seventh.
(But it never said how many copies were sold.)

I think a good guess is that the top three best selling DA albums are SA, Alarma and HD (in that order). Doppelganger and the self-titled debute are probably not far behind.

I know the SE had some pretty good success back in the late 1980's and the LD had some pretty good success in the early 1990'. I have no idea how it might compare.

Posted by DwDunphy on 12-20-2008 at07:29:

quote:

Originally posted by Audiori J
I have a still sealed 8 track of HD. Smile

I remember an article where Terry says Let's Spin sold more than most of their albums put together. May have been exaggeration? There's also one article where he says Darn Floor sold 6,000 copies or something along those lines. Distribution makes a big difference, Maranatha was fairly big for its time, plus they were touring more then, and more accessible material.

If I recall, the biggest sellers were the first two, then Terry and Co. experienced "some kind of darkness of the soul" and things dropped off sharply.

As for Let's Spin, The Eddies had the fortunate and unfortunate burden of that Alarma Records contest. Name The Eddies and win the entire Frontline / Alarma catalog. So I imagine sales were high for that purpose, but when the audience was faced with the inaccessibilities they had with DA, the trend didn't carry over. I recall there being some sort of issue with Outdoor Elvis sales-wise, apart from the "Hide The Beer" controversy.

Here's a question... Would a brand new band very much like DA or Eddies make it in today's climate where a lot of differences are evident and accepted, or has the sound become too influenced by the past, and that would also provoke disinterest?

Posted by wakachiwaka on 12-20-2008 at10:45:

quote:

Originally posted by DwDunphy
Here's a question... Would a brand new band very much like DA or Eddies make it in today's climate where a lot of differences are evident and accepted, or has the sound become too influenced by the past, and that would also provoke disinterest?

If you're speaking specifically of the Christian market (even among those bands that have enjoyed mainstream success), I would ask: "Differences" compared to...? It all sounds like warmed-over Coldplay (or colded-over Warmplay) to me these days. Confused

No, I would say if a brand-spankin'-new crowd of eager youngsters with the modern-style bad haircuts and thriftstore formalwear showed up in the company of the likes of Switchfoot or Jars Of Clay playing music that sounded like Mr. Buechner's Dream, they'd just get a lot of funny looks.

Too many chords, and not enough existential angst, I think...

Posted by Ritchie_az on 12-20-2008 at14:21:

quote:

Here's a question... Would a brand new band very much like DA or Eddies make it in today's climate where a lot of differences are evident and accepted, or has the sound become too influenced by the past, and that would also provoke disinterest?

Starflyer 59?

(OK, they're not quite the same caliber as DA, but probably the closest "new band"--I know they've been around a while now--to DA).

Posted by Ritchie_az on 12-20-2008 at14:35:

quote:

I remember it saying that DA's best selling album was Shotgun Angel and it was the #1 selling CCM album in 1977 (maybe 1978--also, it might have been the top selling CCM rock album, but I think I remember it saying it was #1 out of all CCM). And that Alarma was the third best selling CCM rock album in 1981 and Horrendous Dics was seventh.
(But it never said how many copies were sold.)

An interesting thing I remember that the book claimed is that in 1981 DA significantly outsold Petra, who released their "break-through" album Never Say Die. (I guess it helped that DA had two albums in '81: HD and Alarma).