Cleveland International/Epic Label Award for Meat Loaf's epic 1977 debut album Bat Out Of Hell, celebrating its' success. After searching for years to land a record deal, and subsequent to Todd Rundgren stepping in to produce -- and reportedly fund the cost of recording the project -- Meat Loaf and his writing partner Jim Steinman finally got a break in the form of the late Steve Popovich at Cleveland International Records. Cleveland was a small label distributed by Epic. The album got a slow start but took off in a big way after Popovich's dogged efforts along with those at Epic who eventually did get on board.
This award is clearly part of that effort of relentless promotion and thanking early supporters of the album, although it is not known what role this award's recipient played in the promotion or creation of the record.
By 2001, the release has been certified 14x Multi-Platinum in the U.S. (see data image), and stands as the best-selling album of all time in Australia, while holding significant sales figures in most of Europe and many other countries as well. (Note: This is not a RIAA award).
The award is in Good condition but does have frame wear, including some paint loss on the bottom edge of the bottom rail, and some scratches on the plexiglass. It does have its' original Creative Glassics manufacturer label on original backing paper, which is still attached on one side, but cut on three sides due to some type of repair done at some point.
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Item Highlights:
- Cleveland International/Epic Label album award for Meat Loaf's 1977 Bat Out Of Hell
- In Good condition
- Award from sometime around 1977-80
- Made by then RIAA award maker Creative Glassics in same styles as a 1975-81 RIAA "floater" award (Note: This is not a RIAA award)
- Award measures approx. 17" x 21 "
- Great collectors item for any Meat Loaf fan
- FREE insured shipping to continental U.S.
- International shipping available
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Notes on the condition of all vintage record awards: 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