This is only a preview. The auction will open on: 10/28/2026 1:00:00 PM
Offered Here: Van Halen 1981 Fair Warning RIAA Gold Sales Award Presented to Zeke Clark With COA
Item Details: This is a phenomenal artifact from one of the most revered eras in hard rock, featuring an authentic RIAA gold sales award for Van Halen's gritty 1981 masterpiece, Fair Warning. Commemorating the commercial success of the band's darkest and most critically acclaimed album, this prized accolade is configured in the classic flower hologram style, utilizing the combined album and cassette format configuration highly sought after by collectors. Adding unmatched insider provenance, this award is officially presented to Zeke Clark, Van Halen's legendary longtime guitar technician, making it a definitive piece from the inner circle of the group's classic lineup. Measuring approximately 17 x 21 inches, this exceptional display stands as a premier tribute to a legendary album.
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 1981, Fair Warning was Van Halen's fourth album and the band's darkest, most aggressive record of the original David Lee Roth era. Produced by Ted Templeman, it showcased Eddie Van Halen's increasingly adventurous guitar work on tracks such as "Unchained" and "Mean Street," whose slapped and tapped introduction remains among his most studied passages. Though it sold more slowly than the band's earlier releases, Fair Warning reached the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and has since been regarded by many critics and guitarists as one of the strongest statements of Van Halen's influential hard rock sound.
Condition: The award is preserved in particularly good condition, presenting a beautiful front display with common signs of wear, aging, and storage consistent with a handled music industry artifact of this era. The front plexiglass shows two small scrapes that do not significantly detract from the presentation. The specialized Formica frame covering is coming loose at the bottom edge at one corner, which is a common age-related occurrence for awards of this specific construction and can be left as-is to preserve its original state or easily addressed by a restorer.
SKU: RZC2122