An impossibly rare 1972 Warner Brothers Records In-House Award Gold Record celebrating a remarkable year at the label with many of their most famous artists, from the collection of the late WB’s chairman Russ Thyret. Thyret at the time was in the sales department, later the head of promotion at the label, and finally it’s chairman.

Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold is a former Exec VP/General Manager of Warner Bros, and until finding this had never seen nor heard of this remarkable award.

The ‘gold’ disc in the center is Neil Young’s Harvest, the year’s best-selling album on any label, or as it says here, “Album of the Year”.  The other listed Warner Bros. albums that went gold that year are an almost to impossible to comprehend list of the classic rock pantheon:

Jimi Hendrix’s Smash Hits and Hendrix in the West

Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut, Paranoid and Vol. 4

Allman Bros.’s Eat a Peach and Duane Allman’s An Anthology

Alice Cooper’s Love it to Death, School’s Out and Killer

Jethro Tull’s Stand Up, Living in the Past and Thick as a Brick

Deep Purple’s Machine Head

James Taylor’s One Man Dog

Grateful Dead’s Summer ‘72

America’s America, Homecoming and A Horse With No Name

Faces’ A Nod’s As Good as a Wink

And Neil Young’s Heart of Gold

At the bottom is the legend “Thanks for a Golden 1972 / Presented to Russ Thyret”

The Warners logo and artist names are all printed inside of the glass front of the award.  The metal frame has a cardboard backing to which the gold record is attached.  The cardboard backing has some chipping to the bottom, and is pushed inside the frame and frayed at the top, and the glass is a bit cloudy on the inside, but the condition is very good overall.

A truly rare classic rock collectible with impeccable provenance, and the most impressive lineup—by far—we’ve seen on an award.  And it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever see another one of these.

With Recordmecca’s written lifetime guarantee of authenticity.  (As the glass on this award is irreplaceable shipping is higher than usual.)