RIAA Gold Album Award for Van Halen album Diver Down. Released on April 14, 1982, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA on June 30, 1982 for 500,000 copies sold. Van Halen awards are hard to find. Remember iconic guitarist and songwriter Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020) with this award.
VH's fifth album produced the hit covers of Roy Orbison's "(Oh) Pretty Woman" and Martha & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street", which reached #1 and #3 respectively on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The LP also contained fan favorite "Little Guitars". The album reached #3 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart, #5 in Canada and charted in numerous other countries including Australia, Japan, the UK and across Europe. By 1998 the album was certified 4x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA for four million copies sold.*
Includes MusicGoldmine.com Letter Of Authenticity
Item Highlights:
- RIAA Gold Album award
- Award from 1982
- Presented to recording engineer
- All original
- In VG condition
- Known as a strip plate award because the presentation plate, RIAA logo and album miniature are on one metal strip, they were made from 1982-1985
- Award measures approx. 17" x 21"
- Great collectors item for any Van Halen fan
- FREE insured shipping to U.S. and Canada
- International shipping available
Detailed Item Description: This is a RIAA Gold Album award that was manufactured in 1982, making it about 44 years old. It is presented to legendary recording engineer Donn Landee who is credited on the LP label and forever tied to VH history, having engineered the first eight Van Halen albums from the 1978 debut to 1988's OU812. In addition, he helped VH build their 5150 home studio. He also engineered many albums by other artists including The Doobie Brothers, Little Feat, Michael McDonald, Montrose, James Taylor, Van Morrison, Neil Young, and more.
The award is in VG condition with minor wear on the frame and plexiglass. It is all original and while the manufacturer label has fallen off, the award's construction and the presence of label adhesive residue show that the award was made by Creative Glassics.
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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, record retailers, 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
