Elvis Presley's 'If I Can Dream' Scores Chart Record With Number 1 Album

Elvis has got the record books, and sales figures, all shook up. Some four decades after his death, the new Elvis Presley album, If I Can Dream, is topping the charts - in the U.K., first off.

The King’s latest, a collection of classic vocals reworked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s backing, is his 12th chart-topping album in Britain. As the man once said, Elvis Is Back.

More to the point, he is the biggest-selling solo artist of all time, according to Sony , with more than a billion records sold worldwide. If I Can Dream, which also includes “Fever,” a newly created duet with Michael Bublé, is part of the continuing ELVIS 80th Birthday Celebration in 2015. It is available on CD, download and in a deluxe box featuring 3 additional tracks on CD and 2LP.

The record shows what can be done with a little orchestration. Many living stars have tried recording with strings – from Tori Amos to Elvis Costello and Sting. A fair few duet and orchestral albums have now been made by taking vocals of late artists and remixing - Viva Elvis tries the trick with a Cirque du Soleil show for example.

“This is an album that Elvis always really wanted to do and he would have been so pleased to know his fans are still there and they continue to love his music,” the star’s former wife and the record’s executive producer Priscilla Presley said of the new title. She accepted the Number One award from OfficialCharts.com and added: “The most talented team put this album together and helped us all realize an unfulfilled dream.”

The album, released by Sony Music Entertainment, sold 79,053 in its first week of release, one of the fastest selling of the year and just behind Chasing Yesterday by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

The Presley album has Duane Eddy adding his signature guitar sound to “An American Trilogy” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Italian operatic pop trio Il Volo lends vocals to “It’s Now or Never.” “Burning Love” gets an unusual makeover, while the usual suspect ballads “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” and “In The Ghetto” orchestrate well. There are some refreshing rarities too, such as “Steamroller Blues.”

Presley came in second place in the Forbes list of top-earning dead celebrities in 2015 with earnings of $55 million. He is making more than most living stars thanks largely to Graceland ticket sales. In August he earned his 53rd Top 40 album with Elvis Presley Forever, a compilation released by the U.S. Postal Service along with a commemorative stamp. For those wondering, Michael Jackson was in the top slot with $115 million.

Presley is level with Madonna in second place for Britain’s most chart-topping LPs, trailing the Beatles – the group has 15. Elvis is also the longest chart-topper in U.K. history – with 59 years between this and his very first UK No.1 LP. He is also the only solo artist to have a top album in five different decades, according to Sony.

(Elsewhere in the U.K. charts this week, Rod Stewart gets his 34th Top 10 album with Another Country, new at 2. Elbow front man Guy Garvey is in at Number 3 with his first solo release Courting The Squall. Adele’s “Hello,” which is the fastest-selling single of 2015 and last week set a streaming record with more than 7.32 million listens, holds on to Number 1, keeping Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” at Number 2 for another week. Sorry, Justin, and sorry, Sam Smith, who is in third place.)