In-house/label award from Billy Joel to radio station for his #1 single "Just The Way You Are". Released in November 1977 off of Joel's album The Stranger, the track reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #14 in the UK. This was Joel's first top 10 on the Hot 100 and first top 20 in the UK. In 1979 the track also won Grammy awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The single also ended up being certified 2x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. (Note that this is not a RIAA award).
It's worth noting that there are many label awards in the collector world for "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me", Joel's #1 hit from 1980, awards for "Just The Way You Are" are less common.
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Item Highlights:
- In-house/label/artist management award for one million copies sold of Billy Joel's first top 10 single, "Just The Way You Are"
- Award features gold frame, gold 45 and presentation plate
- Presented to radio and record industry executive
- Letter of provenance included (see image)
- Estimated to have been made in 1977
- In Good to VG condition
- All original including manufacturer sticker
- Award measures approx. 13" x 17"
- Great collector's item for any Billy Joel fan
- FREE insured shipping to continental U.S.
- International shipping available
Detailed Item Description: This is an in-house gold 45 single award that was either created by Joel's management or Columbia Records that would have been manufactured in about 1977, which makes it approximately 47 years old. It is presented to Burkhart/Abrams Associates, a radio/media consulting firm co-founded by Lee Abrams. Abrams worked in radio and as a consultant to major record labels and industry companies including Capitol Records, Island Records, XM Radio, MTV and others from the 70s into the 2000s. A notarized letter of provenance from Abrams is included with this award (see image).
The award is in Good to VG condition, with fairly significant frame wear, some matte fading, and backing paper tears. The award is all original including its' backing paper with Creative Glassics manufacturer label.
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Notes on the condition of all vintage RIAA and other awards like this one: Please do not buy this item if you want a brand new piece of memorabilia. These are historical artifacts from the year they were produced. As a result they may show signs of wear. Frankly, if you see a 20 to 50-year-old award purported to be in 100% perfect condition, it might be too good to be true. After all, an antique should have "good' wear. If not, you might want to question the piece.
As to where they came from, they could have been displayed in record label offices, recording studios, artist manager's offices, radio stations, private collector's homes and yes, of course, possibly the artist's or songwriter's home. Typically, we don't know all the places they may have been over the years other than what we've stated in the description.
Finally, a word on photos: Our photos are zoomable so you can get a very good look. Do let us know if you want photos of any other details on our pieces and we'll be happy to provide.
*RIAA sales data source: RIAA.com