RIAA Gold 45 award for Blondie's hit "The Tide Is High", which was released on January 12, 1981. The 45 rpm single was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 26, 1981 for one million copies sold.

From the band's fifth studio album Autoamerican released in 1980, Blondie's reggae-tinged cover of the tune orginally released by The Paragons in 1967 became their third #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and their fifth #1 in the UK. The track also topped the charts in Canada in New Zealand and hit the top 10 in many other music markets worldwide.

Item Highlights:

• RIAA Gold 45 award
• In VG condition with wear on the frame
• First presentation award from 1981-82
• Presented to music industry business manager
• All original with manufacturer sticker
• Known sometimes as a "strip plate type 2" award, they were made from 1982-85 and they are like a "floater" award but with components sitting flat on the matte
• Award measures 13" x 17"
• Great collectors item for any Blondie fan

Detailed Item Description: This is a first presentation RIAA Gold Single award that would have been manufactured in 1981 or 82. That makes the award approximately 42-43 years old. The award is presented to Rachelle Fields. It is not known what role Fields played in the creation or promotion of the record.

This award is in VG condition with some frame wear and mars on the plexiglass. It has what appears to be original backing paper with original Creative Glassics manufacturer sticker.

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 20 to 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.