http://news.aol.com/entertainment/music/articles/_a/johnny-cash-tops-chart-a fter-37-year/20060712182509990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
NEW YORK (July 13) - Even in death, Johnny Cash is still mighty enough to top the Billboard 200. "American V: A Hundred Highways" earned the Man in Black his first No. 1 album since 1969's "Johnny Cash at San Quentin," selling 88,000 copies its first week in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan. The album, a collection of songs Cash recorded just before his death in 2003, also crowned the Top Country Albums tally, knocking the Dixie Chicks ' "Taking the Long Way" (Columbia) to No. 2 after seven weeks on top. Though the top debut is a great posthumous achievement, the Rick Rubin-produced "American V" (American Recordings/Lost Highway) sold the fewest copies of a No. 1 debut since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. The previous low for a No. 1 debut belonged to Destiny's Child's "#1's" in 2005, which started with sales of 113,000 U.S. copies. Nelly Furtado 's "Loose" (Mosley Music/Geffen) climbed three spots to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 81,000 copies sold, despite an 18 percent slip in sales from the week before. After scoring her first No. 1 last week, India.Arie 's Universal Motown release "Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship" fell to No. 3 with 69,000 copies sold on a 57 percent week-to-week sales hit. The Chicks' "Taking the Long Way" held tight at No. 4 with 57,000 units sold, down 27 percent. Gnarls Barkley's "St. Elsewhere" (Downtown/Atlantic) continued a gradual ascent to a new peak position, moving from sixth to fifth place with 56,000 copies sold (off 6 percent). Switching places with Barkley is Rihanna 's SRP/Def Jam album "A Girl Like Me," slipping from No. 5 to No. 6 on an 11 percent sales dip to 55,000 copies. Rascal Flatts ' Lyric Street album "Me and My Gang" sold just a small percentage fewer, keeping the No. 7 spot warm with 55,000 more copies sold. The soundtrack to Disney's "High School Musical" continued to sell strongly in its 26th week on the chart, moving up a notch to No. 8 with 52,000 copies sold. Dashboard Confessional 's "Dusk and Summer" (Vagrant) plunged to No. 9 after debuting at No. 2 last week, with 50,000 units marking a 63 percent sales dropoff. Rise Against landed its best sales week and chart position ever with the Geffen album "The Sufferer & the Witness," which debuted at No. 10 with 48,000 copies sold. The group's last release, "Siren Song of the Counter Culture," debuted and peaked at No. 136 in 2004. In a slow week for new releases during the July 4 holiday, only two other albums debuted in the top 200 -- the soundtrack to Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" at No. 24 (30,000 copies sold) and the Diana Reyes hits collection "Las No. 1 De La Reyes" (No. 143, 6,000). At 9 million units, overall CD sales were down 6 percent from the previous week and down a whopping 15 percent compared to the same week a year ago. Sales for 2006 to date are down 5 percent compared to the same period in 2005 at 179.6 million units. Gregory S. Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
