This is only a preview. The auction will open on: 10/28/2026 1:00:00 PM
Offered Here: Van Halen 1980 Women and Children First RIAA Platinum Sales Award Presented to Zeke Clark With COA
Item Details: A crowning achievement for hard rock collectors, this authentic RIAA platinum sales award celebrates the monumental commercial triumph of Van Halen's explosive 1980 album, Women and Children First. Commemorating sales exceeding one million copies, this highly collectible accolade is designed in the classic flower hologram style of the era, featuring the rare and desirable combined record and cassette platinum presentation format. Adding unparalleled rock history provenance, this award is officially presented to Zeke Clark, Van Halen's legendary longtime guitar technician, making it a definitive museum-quality piece from the inner circle of the band's classic era. Measuring 17 x 21 inches, this pristine award captures a pinnacle moment in the band's global stadium dominance.
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 1980, Women and Children First was Van Halen's third album and the first of their records to feature only original songs, with no cover versions. Produced by Ted Templeman, it included "And the Cradle Will Rock...," on which Eddie Van Halen played an electric piano run through his Marshall amplifiers, and it showed the band moving toward a heavier, more experimental sound while keeping the energy of their early club years. The album helped establish Van Halen, with David Lee Roth's showmanship and Eddie Van Halen's innovative guitar technique, as one of the leading American hard rock acts of the early 1980s.
Condition: The award is preserved in remarkably good condition, exhibiting only minor signs of wear, aging, and storage consistent with its decades of history. The front presentation remains clean and vibrant, with minor blemishes and light surface marks on the plexiglass that do not detract from the overall display. This beautifully kept piece retains its original structural integrity, highlighting its exceptional state of preservation from Zeke Clark's personal archive.
SKU: RZC2121