Winning a Gold or Platinum record is supposed to be a serious honor. After all, it means an artist sold enough albums or singles to earn a permanent place in music history. But behind many of those shiny framed awards are stories that are downright hilarious, bizarre, or completely unexpected. From awards getting dropped to rock stars abusing them in unusual ways, the music industry has produced countless funny tales connected to record awards over the decades.
One story involves members of Led Zeppelin and their mountain of Gold and Platinum albums during the 1970s. The band sold so many records that awards became almost meaningless to them. Rumor has it that stacks of Gold and Platinum records sat leaning against walls in storage rooms because there simply wasn’t enough space to display them all.
Just a few of the KISS awards on display at KISS World in Las Vegas
Another famous story comes from KISS, a group never known for subtlety. During the late 1970s, the band earned so many awards that bassist Gene Simmons allegedly displayed Platinum records in bathrooms at his home. Imagine washing your hands while staring at framed proof of millions of album sales. Simmons later admitted the band enjoyed showing off their awards because KISS viewed success as part of the entertainment. In true KISS fashion, even their trophies became stage props.
Then there’s the strange case of stolen record awards. Over the years, Gold and Platinum records have vanished from studios, offices, and even artists’ homes. One particularly odd incident involved awards belonging to the Eagles turning up in a California flea market years after disappearing. A collector reportedly bought them without realizing they had once hung in the offices of music executives. Imagine casually browsing vintage furniture, used toys, and old magazines and suddenly finding a Platinum record for Hotel California.
One of the funniest accidental moments involving an award happened to Aerosmith. Singer Steven Tyler once recalled a wild party where guests accidentally knocked over several framed Gold records hanging on a wall. Instead of panicking, the band supposedly continued partying while stepping over shattered glass and bent plaques. By the next morning, nobody even remembered which awards had been destroyed. Rock and roll excess at its finest.
Country legend Johnny Cash had a much different attitude toward awards. Cash reportedly used one of his framed Gold records as a makeshift serving tray during a gathering at his home after running out of clean platters. Whether the story grew larger over time or not, it perfectly matched Cash’s reputation as someone who never cared much about celebrity status. To him, the music mattered more than the shiny decorations.
One unforgettable moment came when the RIAA introduced its Diamond award certification in 1999. The awards, which recognize 10 million copies sold, were presented at a gala in New York City. All the recipients of this prestigious award were invited to the affair and many showed up. They included Boston, Boyz II Men, Def Leppard, Billy Joel, Elton John, Journey, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, ZZ Top, and more. When Kenny G was holding his just-presented Diamond award at the podium he promptly dropped it onto the stage floor, breaking it in two, but he lightened the moment by joking: “That was Billy Joel’s anyway, so I don’t care much about it…”
RIAA Diamond Awards are a little bit fragile: Don't drop them!
Not every funny award story involves carelessness. Sometimes the music industry itself creates the comedy. In the early years of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certification system, record labels occasionally rushed to announce gold records before sales were properly verified. This led to embarrassing situations where labels celebrated huge “hits” that later fell short of official certification. Some insiders joked that a few Gold records were “gold-plated optimism.”
Another dropped award incident involved disco queen Donna Summer. During an awards ceremony in the late 1970s, a presenter accidentally dropped one of her Platinum records onstage. The heavy plaque landed with a loud crash that startled everyone in the audience. Summer reportedly burst into laughter while trying to help pick it up. The audience laughed along, turning what could have been an embarrassing moment into comedic gold.
Meanwhile, The Beatles probably inspired more unusual award stories than any other act in history. By the mid-1960s, Beatlemania had become so massive that their offices overflowed with trophies and plaques. Staff members supposedly struggled to find wall space for all the awards arriving from around the world. Some stories claim extra plaques ended up stacked in closets or under furniture because there simply wasn’t room for them. Considering the band changed music history forever, it’s funny imagining priceless awards treated like old magazines.
The world of hip-hop has produced its share of funny award moments too. MC Hammer once reportedly carried a Platinum plaque onto a private jet as if it were a briefcase. Hammer’s larger-than-life style made the image unforgettable. Around the same time, artists began competing over who had the biggest or flashiest plaques. Some awards became so oversized they looked more like movie props than industry honors.
Movie prop or real award? Definitely a real award for hip hop legend Jay-Z
Pop superstar Madonna also had an amusing relationship with awards. Friends and coworkers have described rooms packed floor-to-ceiling with trophies, plaques, and framed certifications. At one point, the sheer number became overwhelming enough that staff reportedly lost track of where some awards were stored. When you sell hundreds of millions of records, organization becomes a challenge.
And then there was the infamous incident purported to have occurred when Iggy Pop visited Chris Stein’s apartment and shot a Blondie award (read more about that in our past article here).
Today, record awards remain symbols of achievement, but the stories behind them often reveal the chaotic, funny, and human side of the music business. Whether they’re being used as bathroom decorations, accidentally smashed at ceremonies or parties, or forgotten in closets, these shiny plaques have created many entertaining stories. In an industry built on larger-than-life personalities, perhaps it’s no surprise that even the trophies have their own wild tales.
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