RIAA Gold LP award for B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Bland's Together For The First Time... Live LP, which was released in 1974 and certified Gold® by the RIAA on February 28, 1975 for one million dollars worth sold.
A double live album mostly featuring blues standards, the release became a successful pairing for King and Bland and also resulted in a follow up Bobby Bland and B. B. King Together Again... Live. After the successful collaboration the two toured together in the decade that followed.
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Item Highlights:
- RIAA Gold LP award with white matte, gold disc, album miniature, and gold info plate
- In VG to Excellent condition with some typical scratches and mars on the frame
- A first presentation award from 1975
- Presented to record executive
- Has an unopened original backing paper with original New York Frame & Picture Co. manufacturer sticker
- "White matte" awards (obviously so-named due to the white matte used) were made from from 1964-1974/early 1975
- RIAA white matte awards numbered only 5-25 plaques worldwide for any given single/album
- Award measures approx. 17" x 21"
- Beautiful and rare collector's item
- FREE insured shipping to continental U.S.
- International shipping available
Detailed Item Description: This RIAA Gold LP award must have been made in 1975 given its certification date and the fact that early 1975 was the very last time period that white matte style awards were produced. The New York Frame & Picture Co. sticker features the correct post 1969 address of 29 John St., NY. This particular award also features a gold disc made by Disc Award Ltd. with its distinctive dragon logo engraved in the dead wax area (see detail image). The award is presented to Marv Helfer, then VP of Artist Relations at ABC records.
The smoother, whiter Miller board used post-1967 is present and the award features the correct ABC Dunhill label on the album, with the correct style presentation plate reading "to commemorate more than one million dollars worth of the Dunhill Records long-playing record album..."
It is approx. 45 years old and yet is in very good to excellent condition, considering its age. There are a few mars and scratches on the frame and the matte has one area of minor discoloration on the upper right (see detail images). The disc and presentation plate are in excellent condition. The backing paper is original and unopened with original New York Frame & Picture Co. manufacturer sticker. It does have some tears as is typical and some type of glue residue appears along one of the tears.
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Notes on the condition of all vintage RIAA 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 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