Gold (Record) Rush
More than 17,000 records have been certified gold since 1958. But what does it take to create a gold record?
RCA Victor presented renowned composer Glenn Miller and His Orchestra with a framed gold-painted copy of their of their 78 rpm recording of Chattanooga Choo Choo during a live radio broadcast in 1942. By February of that year the song had sold more than 1.2 million copies, according to a report from National Public Radio.
That self-congratulatory award from Miller’s label led to something else. Organizations formed as rock ‘n’ roll’s popularity sky-rocketed, including the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). And with it came the idea of outside certification for artists.
In 1958, Perry Como’s Catch A Falling Star became the first song to receive an official RIAA Gold Single certification. The first official Gold Album was awarded to the cast of Oklahoma!, sung by Gordon MacRae.
What determines gold?
Both Catch A Falling Star and Oklahoma! had sold 500,000 units to earn the certification.
When the popularity of Disco led to a huge music sales boom in the ‘70s, RIAA created the Platinum level, which recognizes more than 1 million sales. Johnnie Taylor’s Disco Lady became the first recipient of the Platinum Single.
Music sales continued to see a rise with the popularity of CDs in the ‘80s, and in the ‘90s RIAA created the Diamond Award to commemorate the sale of 10 million copies sold for a single or album.
In comes Y2K, and the rise of the internet led to RIAA’s development of the Digital Single Award and added digital sales to the Album Award. Streaming sales/numbers were added as a component of official certifications, as well.
According to RIAA, the awards/certifications stand as a benchmark of success for any artist. New and renowned artists and their teams can apply for certification on the RIAA website and must submit specific sales and streaming figures at each level (gold, platinum, etc.), along with other criteria.
RIAA uses a third-party auditing firm to review all certification applications to ensure accuracy.
Major winners
- Top Platinum Album: Eagles, Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 – 38 million sold
- Top Artist (Albums): The Beatles – 183 million units sold
- Top Artist (Singles): Drake – 244 million units sold
Check out this list of the artists who have the most Gold and Platinum Records of all time. As of July 9, 2024, only one album—Jason Derulo’s Nu King—and eight singles released in 2024 have earned a Gold and/or Platinum certification, according to RIAA.
Since 1958, over 17,000 certified gold records have been certified in the U.S. Will we see the RIAA create another award level as music and technology continue to develops?
Secondary market
So, what happens to the framed gold records once the original owners no longer want them? Well, there’s a secondary market for that. One can be found on Music Goldmine, a website dedicated to music memorabilia, instruments and records.
It’s unclear how these certified records end up on the site, but there could be a handful of reasons. Artists die and their estates sells them, a record label sells it, it’s sold in an auction, or it’s not an official artist copy. Either way, Music Goldmine has a large marketplace of certified Gold and Platinum records to choose from. There’s a separate section where you can purchase the records that were specifically given to an artist, meaning they had it in their possession at one time. For example, The Beatles’ Gold 45 of Something sold for $9,500 on the platform.
What music is pressed in gold?
In an interview in August on Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, the surviving Beastie Boys admitted to breaking the glass of their framed gold record for Paul’s Boutique and listening to what was pressed into the record.
In the recording studio in California, Ad-Rock and Mike D noticed the record only had grooves for four tracks, when there should have been nine. And thanks to marijuana-induced curiosity, the two discovered the record played a compilation of piano versions of songs by other artists, including Barry Manilow.
Kendall Polidori is The Rockhound, Luckbox’s resident rock critic. Follow her reviews on Instagram and X @rockhoundlb, TikTok @rockhoundkp
