This may have have already been mentioned. If so , then !

Anyway 4 those who care, (oh and a slight mention of the late-MJ 2)

Week Ending Aug. 23, 2009: Over 50 And Still On Top
Posted Wed Aug 26, 2009 12:18pm PDT by Paul Grein in Chart Watch

In a lot of fields, workers over the age of 50 are not in great demand. That's not the case for top recording stars. This is the second week in a row that an artist over 50 has topped The Billboard 200. Reba McEntire, 54, debuts in the top spot with Keep On Loving You. She displaces George Strait, 57, who debuted on top last week with Twang. McEntire is the second oldest woman ever to have a #1 album on this chart. Barbra Streisand was 55 when she achieved the feat in November 1997 with Higher Ground.

McEntire and Strait aren't the only artists over 50 to have topped the chart this year. In February, Bruce Springsteen, 59, debuted at #1 with Working On A Dream. (And of course Michael Jackson, who was 50 when he died, had the best-selling album in the country for six weeks with Number Ones.) Two other artists in their 50s have peaked at #2 this year. R&B star Charlie Wilson, 56, hit the runner-up spot in February with Uncle Charlie. Prince, then 50, scored in April with Lotus Flow3r/MPLSoUND/Elix3r.

This year's charts have even been receptive to artists over the age of (gasp) 60. Robert Plant, then 60, returned to #2 in February with Raising Sand, his Grammy-winning collaboration with Alison Krauss. Bob Dylan, 68, debuted at #1 in May with Together Through Life. Last week, Neil Diamond, also 68, opened at #2 with his latest, Hot August Night/NYC. All of this bodes well for Barbra Streisand, 67. The diva's latest, Love Is The Answer, is due Sept. 29.

What's going on here? Today's fans are staying connected to pop music and their favorite artists far longer than fans used to. Also, "record buyers" of a certain age are among the CD's most loyal customers. They grew up with LPs and enjoy the tactile experience a CD provides (holding it, looking at the artwork, and reading the liner notes). Plus, older fans may be less inclined to illegally download, for two reasons: Cost isn't as much of an issue as with younger fans and they may be more apt to think it's wrong. (I want to thank my over-50 friends for clueing me into the psychology of the older buyer. Otherwise, how would I know?)

This is the third week in a row that a country album has debuted in the top spot. Sugarland's Live On The Inside preceded Twang and Keep On Loving You. This is the second time this year that three country albums have topped the big chart in succession. For three weeks in April, the top spot was held by Keith Urban's Defying Gravity, Rascal Flatts' Unstoppable and the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack.

Keep On Loving You also debuts at #1 on Hot Country Albums. It's McEntire's 11th #1 on this chart, dating back to Whoever's In New England in May 1986. McEntire has had more #1 country albums than any other woman in history. Loretta Lynn is in second place, with 10 chart toppers from 1966 to 1976.

McEntire has amassed 10 million-selling albums since Nielsen/SoundScan began tracking sales for Billboard in May 1991. McEntire has sold 28,692,000 albums in this period. This puts her fifth among all female vocalists, after, in order, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Britney Spears. But McEntire is a true all-around entertainer. She has also found success starring on Broadway and with a long-running sitcom. (I have one last item on McEntire and Strait at the end of the column.)

Bad News: McEntire's album sold 96,000 copies this week, less than one-third as many as her Reba Duets sold in its first week (301,000) when it bowed at #1 in September 2007. The nature of that album made it more of an "event album," but still... This is the 11th week so far this year that the best-selling album in the U.S. has failed to sell even 100,000 copies. There were 11 weeks in all of 2007 and 2008 combined where the best-selling album failed to reach the 100,000 sales threshold. I'm all for setting new records, but not this kind.

Eight weeks ago, on the last year-to-date chart published before Michael Jackson's death, his 2003 compilation Number Ones was listed at #134, with 2009 sales of 117,000 copies. This week, the album moves into the top spot, with sales so far this year of 1,619,000. It dislodges Taylor Swift's Fearless, which has sold 1,608,000 so far this year.

Number Ones sold 68,000 copies this week and would have held at #2 if catalog albums were eligible to compete on The Billboard 200. The Essential Michael Jackson sold 35,000 and would have slipped from #5 to #9. This is the ninth straight week that Jackson has had two of the 10 best-selling albums in the U.S.

http://new.music.yahoo.co...ll-on-top/