The Rascals “A Beautiful Morning” White Matte RIAA Gold 45 Award presented to founding member Gene Cornish – RARE

RIAA Gold 45 award for The Rascals “A Beautiful Morning” presented to founding Rascals member Gene Cornish. This track was released on March 1, 1968 and certified Gold by the RIAA on June 28, 1968 for 1 million copies sold.   

Written by group members Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, the track went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and to #1 Canada. It became the group’s second most successful single behind “Groovin’ ” from the previous year.  Cornish, who plays guitar and harmonica, formed the group with Cavaliere, Brigati and Dino Danelli in 1965.  Cornish was inducted with The Rascals into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1997.

*Avoid paying auction fees/buyer’s premiums by buying our RIAA awards here on our site before they go to auction. We take select RIAA awards to auctions a few times a year.

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Item Highlights:

• RIAA Gold 45 award with white matte, gold disc and gold info plate
• In VG condition with only some typical scratches on the frame
• A first presentation award from 1968
• Presented to group guitrarist and co-founder Gene Cornish
• Has been rebacked
• “White matte” awards (obviously so-named due to the white matte used) were made from from 1964-1974
• RIAA white matte awards from the 1960s numbered only 5-25 plaques worldwide for any given single/album 
• Award measures 13″ x 17″
• Beautiful and rare collector’s item for and fan of The Rascals
• FREE insured shipping to continental U.S.
• International shipping available

Detailed Item Description: This RIAA Gold 45 single award is presented to founding Rascals member and guitarist/harmonica player Gene Cornish. It appears to have been made in 1968 given its certification date (white matte style awards were produced from 1964-74). This makes this award 52 years old. 

The award has been rebacked but all other components appear original with wood frame, presentation plate and white matte all correct. This award is in VG condition,considering its age. There are some typical scratches on the frame but the disc, matte board and presentation plate are in Excellent condition. Interesting is the “1,000,000” engraved in the dead wax area.

Interested in knowing more about RIAA awards and what makes them great to add to your collection? Read our article here.

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