Etta James’ Album Sales Rise 378% Following Death

On the Billboard 200 chart this past week, Etta James snagged her highest-charting album ever as “The Best of Etta James – 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection” rises from No. 162 to No. 46 with 8,000 sold (up 149% over the previous week) according to Nielsen SoundScan in a tracking week that reflected only two days of sales after her passing. Until this week, the R&B/blues legend had never gone higher than No. 68, when “At Last!” rose to that position in 1961.

For the week ending Sunday, Jan. 22, James’ overall catalog of albums sold 30,000 copies. That marks a 378% increase over the previous week, when her collected albums moved just over 6,000 units.

James also debuts on the Billboard 200 at No. 59 with the 1997 hits collection “Her Best” (7,000; up 4,226%) and re-enters at No. 96 with the aforementioned “At Last!” (5,000; up 907%).

Her famed single “At Last” was her best-selling song of the week as well. It shifted 63,000 downloads, enabling its re-entry at No. 29 on the Digital Songs chart, with a weekly gain of 1,361%. “At Last” is one of James’ 26 charting hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — it rose to a peak of No. 47 on Feb. 11. 1961. Though she’s had higher-charting Hot 100 singles, “At Last” is arguably her signature recording — even though she wasn’t the first to sing it.