# Ten Million **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 8, 2001, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-million/80321 "2001-09-08T00:26:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DifferentChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@DifferentChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DifferentChild)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-million/80321/1 "2001-09-08T00:26:28Z")
Alright, me and a friend of mine were just kinda sittin around and we were talking about a band that recetly went dimond, if you dont know what it is, it’s when a band sells 10 million coppies of their cds in the US. After that we got curious as to who was the first person or band to ever go dimond. So if you know, help us out over here. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-million/80321/2 "2001-09-08T02:27:41Z")
Does “going diamond” mean specifically _only_ selling CDs, not on vinyl or cassettes, and _only_ in the U.S.? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-million/80321/3 "2001-09-08T07:13:33Z")
from [this](http://md.essortment.com/whatisgoldrec_rixf.htm) site: > [@](#): > > \*\*In 1998 the RIAA initiated the Diamond Record awards which honor sales of 10 million copies of an album or single. > \*\* So no record “went diamond” before 1998. And what’s more… > [@](#): > > \*\*The top selling album of all time is The Eagles’ Greatest Hits 1971-1975 with 26 million copies sold to date. The only other albums to surpass 20 million in sales are Thriller by Michael Jackson, The Wall by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin and Billy Joel’s collection of Greatest Hits. \*\* Looks like all the top dogs were diamond before diamond was diamond 😃 Always remember, Google is your _friend_ ---
**Author:** ![Lao\_Tzu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Lao\_Tzu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lao_Tzu)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-million/80321/4 "2001-09-08T07:20:42Z")
I’m pretty sure the first 10 million seller was Sgt. Pepper by the Beatles in '67 (11+ million). The Beatles, by the way, are the only band to have 5 Diamond albums. Can you name the other 4? See this page for a list of top sellers: [http://members.tripod.com/bigsketchbook/id133.htm](http://members.tripod.com/bigsketchbook/id133.htm) Just so you know… the words “gold”, "platinum and “diamond” are all copyrighted terms. I know, folks, it’s disgusting, but that’s America for ya. * * * “Guitar music is on the way out.” – Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962 ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-million/80321/5 "2001-09-08T10:08:43Z")
It looks like Lao Tzu is probably correct. While it doesn’t list at what point the record hit the ten million mark, of all the items in the list, the earliest _release date_ was Sgt. Pepper’s. [Here’s](http://www.riaa.com/diamond_table.cfm) the list, straight from the RIAA. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-million/80321/6 "2001-09-09T02:02:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Just so you know… the words “gold”, "platinum and “diamond” are all copyrighted terms. I know, folks, it’s disgusting, but that’s America for ya. You can’t copyright a single term, but they may be trademarked. Trademark is a bit less restrictive than copyright. ---
**Author:** ![mapsmith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/848f3c/32.png) [@mapsmith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mapsmith)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-million/80321/7 "2001-09-09T04:34:17Z")
Looking at the RIAA list the earliest certified date for 10 Million sales is Lionel Richie in 1985. It seems that most of the Beatles’ albums only were certified with the release of “1”. Thanks for the link DMC.