The only physically issued single to be certified diamond
Just like we do with the British monarchy’s Jubilee progression, recording certification in the music industry follows a revered system of precious metal nomenclature. The system was first introduced in 1958 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which awards these certifications based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other concomitant markets.
For an artist to achieve a gold award, their record must sell 500,000 copies; for platinum, it is 1,000,000 copies; and for multi-platinum, 2,000,000 copies. After the formation of RIAA in the 1950s, the first gold award was issued to Perry Como for his hit single ‘Catch a Falling Star’.
Prior to RIAA’s official certifications, gold and silver record awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to help publicise sales achievements. The first silver disc ever awarded was to George Formby in December 1937. His record company, Regal Zonophone, recognised his achievement of surpassing 100,000 copies sold for the single ‘The Window Cleaner’.
In the 1960s, the pop rock explosion saw such numbers trounced as record technology and marketing strategy blossomed in an increasingly globalised industry. Stars like The Rolling Stones and The Beatles scooping up the awards and set new records in comfortable stride.
In 1976, the RIAA decided to introduce the platinum award for the first time ever. At present, Elvis Presley holds the title for the most platinum selling albums, with the likes of Barbra Streisand and Elton John trailing in sight.
However, Elton John needn’t bow his head in sorrow because he holds several other extremely impressive sales titles. Notably, the Rocket Man became the first ever artist to achieve a diamond-certified single in October 1997 for his double A-side ‘Something About the Way You Look Tonight / Candle in the Wind ’97’.
The singer-songwriter had previously released ‘Candle in the Wind’ in 1973 as an ode to the late Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe. In 1997, Elton and his lyricist Bernie Taupin rewrote and re-recorded the hit to accompany ‘Something About the Way You Look Tonight’ in commemoration of the recently deceased Diana, Princess of Wales. This version of the track is also known as ‘Goodbye England’s Rose’.
Of course, other singles had sold just as handsomely in the previous couple of decades, but the RIAA hadn’t introduced the diamond award for singles until the 1990s. With singles ousted in favour of CD albums, it remains the only physical single diamond award in gold and platinum programme history, now at 11 times multi-platinum; it was also the highest-certified song released in the 1990s.
Listen to Elton John’s ‘Candle in the Wind ’97’ below.
