Cat Stevens Buddha And The Chocolate Box RIAA Gold LP Award

RIAA Gold LP Award for Cat Stevens album Buddha And The Chocolate Box. Released on Mar. 21, 1974, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA on April 8, 1974 for 500,000 copies sold. 

The eighth studio album from Stevens produced the hit “Oh Very Young”, which peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Easy Listening chart. The album reached #2 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, #3 in the UK and Canada, and in the top 10 in many other countries. By 2001 the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA for one million copies sold.*

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Item Highlights:

• RIAA Gold LP Award
• First presentation award from 1975
• Presented to artist manager/agent
• In Good to VG condition
• All original, rebacked (see below for details)
• Known as a “floater” award because the components appear to “float” above the matte, they were made from 1975-1981
• RIAA floater awards numbered only 25-50 plaques worldwide for any given single/album
• Award measures approx. 17″ x 21″
• Great collector’s item for any Cat Stevens fan
• FREE insured shipping to continental U.S.
• International shipping available

Detailed Item Description: This RIAA Gold LP award was made in 1975, making it about 49 years old. The award is presented to Barry Krost, Cat Stevens’ artist manager and agent. Krost brought Stevens to Chris Blackwell’s attention, who signed him to Island Records for the UK and Europe (Stevens was on A&M for the USA).

This award is in Good to Very Good condition, considering its age. There is some finish loss and mars on the frame (including very significant loss on the top of the top rail–see detail image), along with minor label and album miniature fading. The presentation plate has some minor scratches since it had come off and was reattached. The original backing paper is present underneath a new backing paper, which was installed due to numerous tears in the original (see last image showing original backing paper).  

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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 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