Gold discs

Alice Cooper co-founder and Hall Of Fame inductee Dennis Dunaway answers your questions!

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Gilles27
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Gold discs

Post by Gilles27 » Mon Nov 29, 2021 11:39 am

Hi Dennis, I saw your post on Facebook with your gold disc for Killer. Have you ever tried putting any of your award discs on a turntable? I wonder if it really is Killer in that frame?
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Re: Gold discs

Post by Dreary » Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:46 pm

I've never tried playing any of mine but I've heard that the record company would use less popular albums that had a similar amount of songs.

I'm reluctant to break the seal on the back of the award but at least you've inspired me to get out a Killer album to compare the grooves.

Sure enough, they don't match exactly. And the Platinum Award doesn't match the Gold award. The grooves on each of them are close but no cigar!

I once saw a guy on a TV show that could identify music by looking at the grooves on a vinyl album, but he specialized in classical music.

And so the mystery intensifies, however, I'm still reluctant to break the seal to play the albums. Both awards are constructed in a way that looks like I would be opening a can of worms in respect to getting them back together without compromising their originality.

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Re: Gold discs

Post by VinceLeeRose » Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:05 pm

Dreary wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:46 pm
I've never tried playing any of mine but I've heard that the record company would use less popular albums that had a similar amount of songs.

I'm reluctant to break the seal on the back of the award but at least you've inspired me to get out a Killer album to compare the grooves.

Sure enough, they don't match exactly. And the Platinum Award doesn't match the Gold award. The grooves on each of them are close but no cigar!

I once saw a guy on a TV show that could identify music by looking at the grooves on a vinyl album, but he specialized in classical music.

And so the mystery intensifies, however, I'm still reluctant to break the seal to play the albums. Both awards are constructed in a way that looks like I would be opening a can of worms in respect to getting them back together without compromising their originality.
One way to maybe find out might be to look up the matrix numbers etched into the dead wax near the label. Much easier than breaking the glass =)

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Re: Gold discs

Post by Daggers & Contracts » Tue Nov 30, 2021 12:15 am

VinceLeeRose wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:05 pm
One way to maybe find out might be to look up the matrix numbers etched into the dead wax near the label. Much easier than breaking the glass =)
I have a tendency to read those myself. If you have the Clashs' "Sandinista" 3lp set they have a message that you can piece together from all 6 sides. *spider* Good luck Dennis & let us know what Lp's they actually are if your research pans out! :HEART:
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Re: Gold discs

Post by Dreary » Tue Nov 30, 2021 4:30 am

Upon a quick look, I only see matrix Numbers etched on one of my albums.
I'll take a closer look in daylight.

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Re: Gold discs

Post by Gilles27 » Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:30 pm

Thanks for the response Dennis!

I have asked Google and thought some of the answers were interesting/amusing:

"I remember reading about The Dandy Warhols opening up and playing their Australian gold record award and finding out that it was "Rio" by Duran Duran - Odd since their next album, "Welcome to the Monkey House", was produced (overproduced?) by Nick Rhodes."

”I have a story I thought you might be interested in. Long story short is that I used to be in a cheesy Christian band, and we had a single that was on a double-CD compilation. This comp sold 250,000 copies and since it contained two CDs the RIAA certified it platinum. I have possessed a platinum record for the past six or seven years. I had it hanging over the toilet in my bathroom. Anyways, last Saturday my friends and I busted it out of the frame and put it on a turntable.

You might be interested to know these facts about the record:
The hole in the middle was the size of the hole in the middle of a CD.
There is extra space around the outside of the record that gets covered by the matting which makes it larger than a standard 12″ LP.
There is only information on one side of the “record.”
The thing is extremely thin as well. Like tin can thin. Thinner even.
The strangest thing is that when I played it, everything was backwards. I ended up spinning it backwards to hear the recording.
Anyways, the record always looked like it only had two tracks, and it turns out it did. The tracks were not what the same as the ones that are on the compilation record. After some research I think that the tracks are from a Salsoul Orchestra 12″ single. I don’t know who they are, but I downloaded a snippet of one of their songs from the single and I think it is a match."
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Re: Gold discs

Post by Dreary » Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:04 pm

I opened up the Platinum Award for Killer. The record is made of thin metal and firmly attached to the square plastic backing, so no way to play it. There are no matrix numbers. It wasn't a waste of time because I did manage to clean up someone's finger prints that had tarnished with age. Someone from Art Services on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles at that time.

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Re: Gold discs

Post by padre_sliprat » Tue Nov 30, 2021 9:01 pm

Dreary wrote:
Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:04 pm
I opened up the Platinum Award for Killer. The record is made of thin metal and firmly attached to the square plastic backing, so no way to play it. There are no matrix numbers. It wasn't a waste of time because I did manage to clean up someone's finger prints that had tarnished with age. Someone from Art Services on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles at that time.
Maybe a "mother" or a "stamper"?
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Re: Gold discs

Post by Dreary » Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:35 pm

Upon further inspection, I found that my 6 original Gold Awards were made at the New York Frame and Picture Company. The LP is thin metal and none have any matrix numbers. I opened one up because the plaque had come loose.
The LP was firmly taped into place. The tape had lost its pliability with age and removal would have risked tearing the cardboard that the record was mounted in.

My 3 original Platinum Awards (Killer, School's Out & B$B) have no matrix numbers.

At a later time when cassette tapes became a factor, Warner Bros. issued 3 more Platinum Awards (Killer, B$B & Greatest Hits) that came with a thin metal LP and a chrome cassette tape. Those do have matrix numbers. Killer has L-4306 and B$B has L-4306 X, which research revealed is a common number on Platinum Awards (reportedly Bruce Springsteen - Born In The USA and Depeche Mode - Violator have the same matrix number). My Greatest Hits with a cassette has 2 numbers L-1485X and LAN-197-B and a small 1 with a circle around it.

Love It To Death was the last to go platinum. By the time many people had decided to buy our records, we had already released Killer. The LITD award came after cassette craze and therefore had no cassette included. The LP has MCA-3566-PL5. I'm guessing that PL means platinum and 5 is the number of tracks on that side, rather than it having been our 5th platinum album.

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Re: Gold discs

Post by Gilles27 » Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:06 am

This is great stuff Dennis! Do you know when you received your platinum disc for LITD? As when I google MCA-3566-PL5 it brings up a 1983 album by Men Without Hats: https://www.discogs.com/release/8657162 ... m-Of-Youth

If you got your disc after 1983 then it's likely that you could play it and listen to such great songs as The Safety Dance or I Got The Message! :)

Do you think the cassettes would play? There was an opportunity for mischief there. It must have been tempting to record funny or insulting messages on the cassettes before framing them! :evil:
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Re: Gold discs

Post by Dreary » Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:54 pm

Gilles27 wrote:
Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:06 am
This is great stuff Dennis! Do you know when you received your platinum disc for LITD? As when I google MCA-3566-PL5 it brings up a 1983 album by Men Without Hats: https://www.discogs.com/release/8657162 ... m-Of-Youth

If you got your disc after 1983 then it's likely that you could play it and listen to such great songs as The Safety Dance or I Got The Message! :)

Do you think the cassettes would play? There was an opportunity for mischief there. It must have been tempting to record funny or insulting messages on the cassettes before framing them! :evil:
LITD was certified Gold on November 6, 1972 and certified Platinum on July 30, 2001.
The cassette cases have no tape in them.

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Re: Gold discs

Post by Daggers & Contracts » Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:27 pm

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Re: Gold discs

Post by steven_crayn » Fri Dec 03, 2021 4:12 pm

Gilles27 wrote:
Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:06 am
This is great stuff Dennis! Do you know when you received your platinum disc for LITD? As when I google MCA-3566-PL5 it brings up a 1983 album by Men Without Hats: https://www.discogs.com/release/8657162 ... m-Of-Youth

If you got your disc after 1983 then it's likely that you could play it and listen to such great songs as The Safety Dance or I Got The Message! :)

Do you think the cassettes would play? There was an opportunity for mischief there. It must have been tempting to record funny or insulting messages on the cassettes before framing them! :evil:
Love it Death was certified platinum on July 30th 2001
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Re: Gold discs

Post by steven_crayn » Fri Dec 03, 2021 4:15 pm

Oops just noticed Dennis listed the date it went platinum
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Re: Gold discs

Post by Daggers & Contracts » Sat Dec 04, 2021 1:21 am

steven_crayn wrote:
Fri Dec 03, 2021 4:15 pm
Oops just noticed Dennis listed the date it went platinum
Still Platinum is a celebratory achievement! RIP GB :(
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Re: Gold discs

Post by padre_sliprat » Sun Dec 05, 2021 6:56 pm

Muscle Of Love went gold, didn't it?
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Re: Gold discs

Post by Ted Sallis » Mon Dec 06, 2021 12:46 am

padre_sliprat wrote:
Sun Dec 05, 2021 6:56 pm
Muscle Of Love went gold, didn't it?
I've heard an interview with Neal Smith during which it was mentioned that MOL had sold 800,000 copies. As 500K albums sold constitutes a gold album in the U.S., the answer to your question is yes.

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Re: Gold discs

Post by steven_crayn » Mon Dec 06, 2021 5:38 pm

padre_sliprat wrote:
Sun Dec 05, 2021 6:56 pm
Muscle Of Love went gold, didn't it?
Muscle of Love was certified Gold on December 7th 1973
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Re: Gold discs

Post by cooperrocks » Mon Dec 27, 2021 6:48 pm

Speaking of gold and platinum albums, isn't certification up to the record label and then they pay the RIAA to officially issue gold and platinum albums. It is my understanding that Greatest Hits for example has sold over 2 million copies but only has a platinum certification and there are some Alice solo albums that should be up for certification and recertification as well. I was wondering if you knew the last time that was checked?

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Re: Gold discs

Post by Si » Mon Dec 27, 2021 7:10 pm

cooperrocks wrote:
Mon Dec 27, 2021 6:48 pm
Speaking of gold and platinum albums, isn't certification up to the record label and then they pay the RIAA to officially issue gold and platinum albums.
As I understand it, yes basically it is. Unless the record company seeks and pays for certification/recertification it doesn't happen.
If I remember a bunch of albums were re-certified (upgraded) at around the same time, long after they had actually sold the requisite number of copies, possible after a push by Brian Nelson to get it done.

https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab ... ch_section

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