Garth Tips Hat to History

Setting yet another remarkable standard in his storied career, the hit-making machine that is Garth Brooks has produced what is likely the best week of sales in the history of pop music.

“Garth Brooks Double Live” sold 1.08 million copies its first week in stores, toppling the previous one-week sales mark of 1.06 million set by Whitney Houston’s “The Bodyguard” soundtrack during the holiday season in 1992, according to SoundScan, the service that began tracking sales for the music industry in 1991.

The discount-priced two-disc package easily surpassed the debut week sales record set by Pearl Jam’s “Vs.”--which sold 950,000 in 1993.

Precise sales totals are unavailable prior to the SoundScan era, but the size of the modern music market and the effectiveness of its marketing make it unlikely that any album in past decades could match Brooks’ new one-week sales total, according to Geoff Mayfield, charts editor for Billboard, the primary industry trade magazine.

Pat Quigley, president of Capitol Nashville, said he and Brooks were “thrilled to see country music set the record . . . and be part of music history.” He pointed out that the album’s second-strongest market performance was in the Los Angeles area, defying the conventional perception that Brooks and other country stars do not sell well in major urban areas.

Brooks’ album arrived on shelves amid a wave of promotions that included the album being sold with seven different covers, a live performance aired exclusively on closed-circuit television to 2,300 Wal-Marts and the singer’s sixth NBC-TV concert special.

It was the second year in a row that Brooks celebrated a Thanksgiving by roping in the retail. His last album, “Sevens,” debuted the week before the holiday last year and instantly took the top spot in album sales with 897,000 sold, a total that had been second only to the first-week record set by Pearl Jam’s “Vs.”

Three of Brooks’ albums now appear on the list of top five single-week sellers, and he recently became the only solo artist in history to have three albums sell more than 10 million copies each--dizzying numbers that have cemented his reputation as the biggest commercial success on the current music scene.

The new album’s debut sales and Brooks’ track record suggest he is on pace to become the best-selling music act ever. With more than 82 million albums sold, the Oklahoma native has already surpassed Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin and the Eagles, and now the only chase left is to catch the Beatles, who have sold an estimated 100 million albums.

Brooks led a barrage of major new releases that arrived in stores last week on “Super Tuesday” as the music industry positioned itself for the pivotal holiday sales season. Method Man, Jewel, Mariah Carey, Offspring and Ice Cube all clustered in the Top 10 with their debuts, leaving retailers enthused about their holiday season sales prospects.

The surge in business saw the top 10 albums combine for 3.17 million units sold--up sharply from the previous week’s total of 1.48 million copies sold. Last year, the major release week leading up to Thanksgiving--widely viewed in the music industry as a bellwether of holiday sales--saw 3.05 million copies sold among the top 10 albums.

“A year ago, we had an outstanding week and we were concerned about whether this year would be able to stack up, and it did that and more,” said Gary Arnold, senior vice president of Best Buy. “This looks like the greatest Christmas ever for music and for music sales. . . . There’s something for everyone.”

“Tical 2000: Judgment Day,” the second album from Wu-Tang Clan leader Method Man, landed at No. 2 with 411,000 units sold, followed by Jewel’s sophomore effort, “Spirit,” which sold 368,000 to take the third position on the chart, SoundScan reported. Mariah Carey’s greatest hits collection, “No. 1’s,” debuted fourth with 211,000 sold. Offspring had the only rock title in the Top 10 with its new release, “Americana,” claiming the No. 6 spot, edging rapper Ice Cube’s new album, “Vol. 1 War & Peace,” which finished seventh.

The biggest surprise may have been the lukewarm debut of Whitney Houston’s first studio album in eight years, “My Love Is You.” The album fell short of the Top 10, debuting at No. 13 with 123,000 sold, while “Human Being,” the new Seal album, arrived at No. 22 with 74,000 copies sold. Alanis Morissette’s “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie” slid to No. 8 after two weeks at No. 1--a spot that retailers say will likely belong to Brooks for much of the holiday season.