Q: Best Selling Accordionist Ever?

[AccordionUprising]

Not a terribly important question I know but: Who is the best-selling accordion artist ever?

I have to guess Lawrence Welk is the most financially successful accordionist. The fact that his publishing company owns half of the 20th century makes his non-accordion business worth more than his playing ever was, but the instrument got him started long enough to hire Myron Floren to fill for him while he diversified.

Has anybody sold more accordion records than Welk?



How bout this? Is Jimmy Shand the best selling Celtic accordionist? Have any of the trad artists sold more than him? I have heard it said that Sharon Shannons first album is among the highest selling Irish trad records, but how many is that?

It is very hard to find numbers comparing Jimmy Shand and Silly Wizard sales.

If we get into rock music, Krist Novoselic of Nirvana sold millions of records and played accordion on their MTV Unplugged one. Hmm. Johnny Grande played accordion with Bill Haley, but not on their Rock Around the Clock hits.

Then theres million-selling Norteña/Tex-Mex artists like Los Tigres del Norte, who sell more records than most rock stars could ever hope to. (They pretty much are rock stars, just playing polkas.)

But whos on top of the list?

Your votes here, please share any sources for numbers if you find any, thanks so much!

And do share this question around if you like, I really want to know.

Bruce Triggs
Accordion Noir Radio
Vancouver, BC, Canada
History book in progress: AccordionUprising.org

PS. Swell Soprani image from: Lets Polka!

 

[nagant27]

Art van Damme recorded, and sold a ton of albums. And the accordion was the focus! I am not sure how many sold and the money aspect, but I know he did a lot over seas as well as having a tv show for a time. I believe he did all his own arrangements, and had a unique sound and playing ability. It's before my time, but I'm sure someone here will know the specifics. I enjoy watching some of his live playing on Youtube, and wish I would have seen him in concert. Truly an accordion great in my opinion.

 

[JIM D.]

Lawrence Welks recordings featured the orchestra as a whole and rarely appeared as a solo accordionist. Art Van Damme did sell a great # of albums but mainly to jazz lovers. Dick Continos recordings sold the most as he performed popular music of all types and appealed to a larger listening audience. Dick is living in Las Vegas, NV and still performing and recording. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Contino

 

[Meerkatdawg]

Highest number of accordion records...whoo....I couldn't even possibly begin to look at that, but if you wanted to know an accordionist who has had the most number of sales as an artist (not necessarily playing accordion) then it must be Benny Anderrson of Abba. They're no 14 of the best selling artists of all time. Now unless Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson or indeed John Lennon were sneaky players, then by default, he is the most successful, but I do grant you that that is not really what you asked...in fact not at all.

 

[george garside]

Sir Jimmy Shand had a recording career spanning more than 50 years. Many of his singles sold in exess of 50,000 copies and he was awarded a gold disk for a million LP's. His 1958 recording of The Bluebell Polka was in the UK top ten records.

He played to capacity audiences in the Albert Hall, London, The Carnegie Hall, New York and the Sidney Opera House.

He is also probably the only box player to be comemorated a 1.5 lifesize bronze statue of him and is box and is the only box player to have a production model named after him (The Hohner Shand Morino)

He rarely, if ever, spoke before or during a performance instead letting is box do the job

george

 

[BobM]

Highest number of accordion records...whoo....I couldnt even possibly begin to look at that, but if you wanted to know an accordionist who has had the most number of sales as an artist (not necessarily playing accordion) then it must be Benny Anderrson of Abba. Theyre no 14 of the best selling artists of all time. Now unless Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson or indeed John Lennon were sneaky players, then by default, he is the most successful, but I do grant you that that is not really what you asked...in fact not at all.

If this young gentleman had stayed with the accordion, ditched the guitar and that awful Rock n Roll, he might have been a member of this very forum now..



BobM.

 

[nagant27]

I've also seen a picture with elvis playing one and John Lennon. I will try to post if I can find them. Didn't Hendrix play the guitar backwards?, he should play the accordion opposite too!?

 

[nagant27]

heres the elvis I was thinking of.

 

[BobM]

heres the elvis I was thinking of.[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

Oh, that Elvis!

 

[Anyanka]

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/...on-accordions-1465887-463-639_zps8106fa5a.jpg[/img][/url]

 

[nagant27]

is that a hohner gola?

 

[Soulsaver]

Yes. Now - not the first time I've seen this JL pic -do think that was his? I suppose you don't leave Hohner Golas lying around for people to just pick up...

 

[BobM]

Jack Emblow played on some of their tracks, so It could be his.

BobM.

 

[george garside]

Jack Emblow played 2nd box on a couple of Jimmy Shand's recordings in the sixties. Whistling Rufus and Lilly of Laguna.

Jack was a prolific session musician as well as having his own band. He also played for thirty years for the BBC radio programme ''sing something simple''

george

 

[AccordionUprising]

I believe John Lennon picked up Jack Emblow's accordion during the recording of "All You Need is Love" when that photo was taken. (Curious Beatle/Accordion lore: Jimmy Shand's massive hit "Bluebell Polka" was produced by George Martin in 1955, years before he met the fab four. And British jazzer Tito Burns gave up the accordion to become a rock-band manager, where he got Cliff Richard to go to this new tailor in London, who then got popular and eventually produced the Beatles' trademark collarless suits. Isn't that interesting?

The Elvis one is when he was in Germany I think. I may have another somewhere.

The Hendrix one is, alas, fake. Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead was given an accordion as a child, and was so disappointed that his parents took it back and got him a guitar. The world could have been a different place.... I just read this week, that Tito Burns (see above) was the person who rescued the fragments of Jimi Hendrix's guitar after he burned it up the first time on-stage. Everybody had to leave the club when the fire-marshalls came, and he grabbed it. "Accordionist makes rock trivia history!"

----

Abba! How could I forget Benny Andersson in Abba! He loved the accordion, would have played it more if he could.

See, this is a complicated question. Everybody gets their own category, it's not a competition one person can win.

Contino sure had the popularity, but did it last long enough on top? What about chart-placement? Most hits in the top ten? Those charts must be available.

Welk kept selling records for years and years and years. And had a top-ten hit (even on the r&b charts!) with "Calcutta" in 1961 (though he is rumoured to have stepped out of the studio when the band cut it, ha!) Like I said, except maybe Benny from Abba, I can't imagine anybody eclipsing Welk in monetary success. He owned resorts and stuff, the band could have been a tax write-off for all I know.

But most records sold? Impossible to know maybe. Especially indie-artists like Li'l Wally, who said he sold millions of copies of his stuff, and probably did, but nobody seems to have numbers. Again, it doesn't really matter, but I still like to ask.

Then there's songs, "Beer Barrel Polka" sold so many records by was a significant factor i by itself n saving the recording industry During the Depression. And Pee Wee King's "Tennessee Waltz" is one of the all-time best sellers in country music.

Lately of course we've had a couple of artists, The Decemberists, Kongos, and Weird Al (for the first time) hit number one on the album charts. But so few people are buying records I think it's easier to get to the top if you have a dedicated fan-base.

We could make a whole book just on this topic. "The economics of the accordion." That'd be fun (for a few , you know).

 

[AccordionUprising]

John Lennons first instruments (in order) were harmonica and accordion. Then along came other things....
More at the Accordion Beatles page: http://www.fab-4.com/john.html

 

[george garside]

The French player Andre Verchuren may well be the top man with reported sales of 70 million records. Plenty of info about him on t'internet

george

 

[KLR]

Sir Jimmy Shand


He is also probably the only box player to be comemorated a 1.5 lifesize bronze statue of him and is box and is the only box player to have a production model named after him (The Hohner Shand Morino)

James Keane has or had the KeaneBox built by Castagnari, to name just one button accordionist that fits the bill, Tommy Gumina had a model named after him built by I forget who to cite just one PA player with his name on a model. I'm sure there are tons more. Sir Jim is without a doubt the only button accordionist to hit #1 in the UK but there's the rest of the world to factor in here. Tons of conjunto players have been big sellers with equally long careers, lord knows how many or who's the king there. I'd certainly cite Mr. Champagne Music as the best selling accordionist in the US ever, no one else even comes close. Van Damme I'd surely guess would be the best selling jazz boxer in the US but in Europe you have Mat Matthews for example.

 

[JIM D.]

Lawrence Welk was a "bandleader" that played the accordion. In all his recordings with the band he only played 5% of the time in all recordings and appearance's. Myron Floren played 100% of the time.

 

[AccordionUprising]

He is also probably the only box player to be comemorated a 1.5 lifesize bronze statue of him and is box and is the only box player to have a production model named after him (The Hohner Shand Morino)

george

There are several other statues of players that I know of (could be a fun separate thread.)

Luiz Gonzales, the forró musician from Brasil has one pictured on this page near the bottom: http://www.disabledtravelersguide.com/travel/travel_disabled_brazil.htm

Jim Boggio from the Cotati festival has one: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/29154

Johnny O’Leary has one in Ireland (I will have to look into his music): https://www.killarneysholidayvillage.com/killarney-statues-monuments/

Fantastic jazz player Johnny Meijer has one in Amsterdam: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Meijer

Antonio Tanguma, influential Mexican player has only his upper half: http://www.mexicoenfotos.com/estados/nuevo-leon/monterrey/MX12182455613506


Seems like wherever a player really touches peoples hearts, somebody might sculpt them up. Nice alternative to some general on a horse.