The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has passed a milestone. Gold record awards have turned 60 years old.
The first Gold Record award went to Perry Como for ‘Catch A Falling Star’ in 1958.
The first Gold album was the Oklahoma soundtrack.
The artist with the most Gold Records is Elvis Presley with 101 awards. However the artist with the most Gold and Platinum albums is The Beatles for sales of 178 million albums.
The first Gold Record was awarded 10 years after the released of the first 12-inch album. In 1948, Columbia Records became the first record company to release a 12-inch microgroove disc containing up to 23 minutes of music per side.
Platinum Records were introduced in 1976. The first Platinum album was awarded to Eagles for ‘Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975’.
The first Platinum single was Johnnie Taylor’s ‘Disco Lady’ in 1976.
To date in the USA, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ is the most awarded Platinum album with 33 awards.
In 1999 RIAA introduced the Diamond Award for sales over 10 million.
In the USA Gold signifies sales of 500,000. Platinum is 1,000,000. In Australia Gold is 35,000, Platinum 70,000.
The current US Top 10 of all time is:
1. Michael Jackson – Thriller (33x)
2. Eagles – Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 (29x)
3. Billy Joel – Greatest Hits Volume 1 & Volume 2 (23x)
4. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV (23x)
5. Pink Floyd – The Wall (23x)
6. AC/DC – Back In Black (22x)
7. Garth Brooks – Double Live (21x)
8. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours (20x)
9. Shania Twain – Come On Over (20x)
10. The Beatles – The Beatles (18x)
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