RIAA Gold Award for Meat Puppets album Too High To Die. The album was released on Jan. 25, 1994 and was certified Gold by the RIAA on Oct. 6, 1994 for 500,000 copies sold.
The group's eighth album, it featured the single "Backwater", which hit #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and #11 on the Modern Rock Tracks tally. "We Don't Exist" also charted. The album topped the Billboard Heatseekers chart and landed at #62 on the Top 200 Albums chart, making it the group's most successful album. See image above for all the RIAA sales certification data of the album*.
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Item Highlights:
- RIAA Gold award
- In VG to Excellent condition
- Presented to music industry executive
- First presentation award from 1994
- Original back with manufacturer's sticker
- Known as a RIAA "R hologram" award, they were made from 1990-97
- Award measures 17" x 21"
- Great collectors item for any Meat Puppets fan
- FREE insured shipping to continental U.S.
- International shipping available
Detailed Item Description: This large and impressive RIAA Gold award is a first presentation award that would have been manufactured in 1994 making it approximately 29 years old. It is presented to Steve Leeds, a music industry executive who held roles as SVP Promotion at Virgin Records, MTV, and later SiriusXM.
The award is all original with an unopened backing paper with Ill-Eagle Enterprises manufacturer's sticker. A rare feature, it has "The Hit Factory" engraved in the dead wax area of the gold record (see image). It is in VG to Excellent condition with only a very few minor mars on the frame and plexiglass.
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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 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