RIAA Gold Album award for Aretha Franklin album A Rose Is Still A Rose. The album was released on March 24, 1998 and certified Gold for 500,000 copies sold on Aug. 19, 1998.

On this album Franklin worked with several top 90s hip hop producers and artists including Lauryn Hill (who appeared with Franklin on the title track, helping it to #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts), Sean "Puffy" Combs, Jermaine Dupri, and Daryl Simmons. The album reached #30 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and was nominated for a Grammy award for Best R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Item Highlights:

• RIAA Gold Album award with unique design that includes a background of 3D fabric "rose petals"
• In VG to Excellent condition
• First presentation award from 1998
• Presentation to record label executive
• All original, rebacked
  
• Award measures approx. 23" x 28"
• Known as a RIAA "serial number hologram" award, they were made from 1998 to present
• Great collectors item for Aretha Franklin fan

Detailed Item Description: This is a first presentation RIAA Gold Album award that would have been manufactured in 1998, making it 26 years old. The award is presented to Keith Naftaly, who was then an A&R executive at Arista Records.

The award is in Excellent condition with only very minor wear on the frame and a few very minor mars on the plexiglass, It is all original but has been rebacked.

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.