The first volume debuted and peaked at #14 on the Billboard Top 200 and received favorable reviews from Robert Christgau and Entertainment Weekly, who preferred it to Now!
Prior to Totally Hits, Arista had been releasing various artists compilations known as the Ultimate series for the past four years.
Arista executive vice president Charles Goldstuck claimed he wanted to "expand the franchise.
We thought we'd be better off with a partner, so we could source the right repertoire and end up with as strong a compilation as possible to give the consumer complete value."
Warner CEO Roger Ames accepted, and a track listing was put together in only a couple of months.