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Offered Here: Van Halen 1982 Diver Down RIAA Gold Sales Award Presented to Zeke Clark With COA
Item Details: Drop the needle on 1982 and get ready to rumble with this incredibly cool, authentic RIAA gold sales award for Van Halen's party-fueled studio album, Diver Down. Commemorating the commercial triumph of hit tracks like (Oh) Pretty Woman and Dancing in the Street, this spectacular award is configured in the classic R hologram style, bringing together both the gold record and cassette formats in one visually explosive presentation. Giving this piece elite rock and roll royalty status, the award is officially presented to Zeke Clark, Van Halen's legendary longtime guitar tech, making it an absolute holy grail item straight from the inner circle of the band's wildest touring era. Measuring approximately 17 x 21 inches, this beautiful award is the ultimate tribute to Diamond Dave, Eddie, and the boys at the absolute height of their arena-rock superpowers.
Provenance/Authenticity: Randall "Zeke" Clark is a renowned luthier and legendary guitar/amp technician who got his start in the San Francisco music scene in the 70s, working with various A-list artists until moving to LA in the 80s, where he worked for Eddie Van Halen.
From 1985 to 1993, he served as Edward Van Halen’s lead guitar and amp tech, transitioning to the crew with Sammy Hagar to maintain the band's gear through the monumental 5150, OU812, and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge eras.
Beyond his historic tenure as the custodian of Eddie's tone, Clark's elite five-decade career includes building, repairing, and maintaining specialized gear for iconic artists such as Prince, Sammy Hagar, Journey, Heart, Poison, and others. This curated selection of items offers collectors a unique and direct connection to rock history through the hands of a master craftsman who shaped the sound of guitar royalty.
This item was personally handled, vetted, and released by Zeke Clark, ensuring its authenticity and rock-history provenance. Zeke Clark utilizes an Official Personal Signature Stamp to validate and inventory documents and artifacts released directly from his private estate. This item comes with his personal ink-imprinted signature stamp on the certificate of authenticity, which serves as his legally binding, authorized mark of verification and carries the full weight of a hand-signed signature.
Released in April 1982, Diver Down was Van Halen's fifth studio album and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the band's highest chart position up to that point. Nearly half of its tracks were covers, including Roy Orbison's "(Oh) Pretty Woman," Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" and the Kinks' "Where Have All the Good Times Gone!", reflecting the band's roots as a club act steeped in rock and pop history. The album also showcased Eddie Van Halen's experimentation with short guitar pieces such as "Cathedral" and "Little Guitars," and it was the band's last record before 1984 brought them their widest commercial success with David Lee Roth.
Condition: The award is preserved in remarkably good condition, showcasing a vibrant front presentation with only minor instances of wear, aging, and storage from its decades in a personal archive. The front plexiglass shows some faint surface scuffing that is only visible upon close inspection and does not impact the display. Structurally, the bottom left corner of the frame has slightly separated over time. To ensure long-term preservation, both bottom corners have clear tape applied to the reverse side to securely hold the sections of the specialized Formica frame covering in place, keeping this incredible piece of rock history intact and ready to hang.
SKU: RZC2124