New Albums Ships 750,000 In USA!

J Records founder Clive Davis says he has been left overwhelmed by the Stateside success of Rod’s first album for the label. ‘It Had To Be You – The Great American Songbook’ made its debut at No. 4 last week on the Billboard Top 200, marking a significant turnaround in Rod’s fortunes in the USA. It sold 115,000 in its first week, with sales of more than 76,000 in week two. First week sales were more than triple those of last years ‘Human’ which moved 33,000 in week one and debuted at its peak of No. 50. Following an initial US shipment of 400,000, another 350,000 orders have now flooded in from retailers!

“We are all thrilled and that includes Rod,” Clive Davis told UK trade magazine Music Week. “It is a really gratifying response which has overwhelmed us. This is an artist with a classic voice, he grew up with these songs and he feels them so keenly and it is his concept which he came to me with.”

The Stateside campaign for the album has been anchored by a series of high-profile television appearances on the likes of Good Morning America, The View and The Barbara Walters Show, while A&E has scheduled a two-hour special on the album next week.

“We never expected radio to pick up on it but Clear Channel are doing a special on the album and stations all over the US are surprising us by adding it to their playlists,” adds Davis. “I just cross my fingers and we do our work, but it deserves to do well in the UK.”

Meanwhile, last years compilation ‘The Very Best Of Rod Stewart&#8217, which reached a peak of No. 40 on the USA charts, holds at No. 148 on Billboard for the second week running. The album already boasts US sale in excess of 682,000 copies to date (more than twice as many as ‘Human’) and is expected to be in further in demand as a result of the success of the new album.

Launched with live events in New York and Los Angeles, ‘It Had To Be You – The Great American Songbook’ is released in the UK on 18 November, but has already entered the charts on the strength of imported copies. Rod is flying into the UK for a week of promotional dates, including a string of major television slots before the launch, with appearances on GMTV, Children In Need (with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 15 November), Parkinson (23 November), The Johnny Walker Radio Show (13 November) and Steve Wright’s Radio Two Show the same week.

BMG UK marketing manager Emma Powell says, “The launch coincides with the Christmas gift period and I think we’ll see a mixed audience of traditional music buyers and those who would not normally buy a Rod Stewart album, but who love those kind of songs.”