Greatest Hits is a compilation album, which was only available during a monthlong promotion at McDonald's outlets in America, co-sponsored by the EMI Records Group North America and backed by a $20 million national advertising campaign. Inside of the record was a coupon for discounts on previously released Tina titles. A $1 donation from the sale was made to the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities. The album includes ten songs from Tina’s previous releases and sold more than a million copies.
Photographer: Herb Ritts
Design: Norman Moore
Release: September 1994
Label: GEMA Special
Format: CD / Cassette
The Washington Post - Thursday, October 6, 1994
The best-selling album in the country last month wasn't anywhere to be found on the Billboard album charts. That's because „The Garth Brooks Collection“ was available only at McDonald's. While Boyz II Men sold close to 1 million copies in three weeks - the best among Billboard's charted albums - „Collection’" sold more than 3 million copies in three weeks. It doesn't hurt that the sale price for the CD was only $5.99, part of a monthlong McDonald's/EMI promotion that also involved Tina Turner, Elton John, Roxette and a hip-hop anthology.
That invisible hit was the result of how and where it was being sold. Billboard and its SoundScan tracking service only count sales of releases that are commercially available at all retail stores. It and the other specially packaged releases are available only at the nation's 9,500 McDonald's outlets. That, and the low price, has many retailers angered at EMI, which put together the McDonald's campaign and featured mostly acts signed to its own labels (Brooks with Liberty, Turner with Capitol, Roxette with EMI).
All the albums were specially compiled for the occasion: Brooks' features 10 of his favorite non-single album cuts; Turner's „Greatest Hits“ also offers 10; Elton John's album mixes hits and album tracks. The latter two albums have each sold close to 1 million copies.