Star Wars Gold and Platinum Awards
By Gus Lopez
It is cliche to see gold and platinum record awards lining the offices/homes of artists and record executives. Most official Star Wars recordings (soundtracks, disco spinoffs, singles, and narrated albums) attained the gold and platinum status (500,000 and 1,000,000 units for LPs, respectively, and 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 units for singles, respectively, in the United States) by recording industry certification agencies in various countries. As a result, there are a multitude of in-house and agency record awards associated with the Star Wars films. In addition, the success of Star Wars on video made way for a wide range of in house and RIAA video awards for each of the Star Wars films.
These awards were presented to artists, record execs, and the top creative talent from the Star Wars movies, however, in practice only a handful of these record awards are ever made for a particular certification. Star Wars record awards come in a variety of styles that were issued over the years: floater, strip plate, hologram. Some feature an LP or 45 RPM record, CD, or cassette, or some combination.
| Album Title | Artist | Year | Level | Style | Units Sold | Certification | Label | Thumbnail |
| Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | Gold | Floater | 500,000 | RIAA | 20th Century Records | |
| Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | Platinum | Floater | 1,000,000 | RIAA | 20th Century Records | |
| Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | Gold | Strip Plate | 500,000 | RIAA | 20th Century Records | |
| Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | Platinum | Strip Plate (platinum frame) | 1,000,000 | RIAA | 20th Century Records | |
| Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | Platinum | Strip Plate (black frame) | 1,000,000 | RIAA | 20th Century Records | |
| Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | Gold | Hologram | 500,000 | RIAA | 20th Century Records | |
| Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | Platinum | Hologram | 1,000,000 | RIAA | 20th Century Records | |
| Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | Gold | Strip Plate | 500,000 | In House | 20th Century Records | |
| Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | Platinum | Strip Plate | 1,000,000 | In House | 20th Century Records | |
| Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1977 | Silver | BPI | £150,000 | BPI | B20th Century/Pye Records | |
| The Story of Star Wars | Original Star Wars Cast | 1977 | Gold | Floater | 500,000 | RIAA | 20th Century Records | |
| The Story of Star Wars | Original Star Wars Cast | 1977 | Gold | Strip Plate | 500,000 | In House | 20th Century Records | |
| Star Wars (Narrated Story) | Original Star Wars Cast | 1979 | Gold | Floater | 1,000,000 | RIAA | Buena Vista Records | |
| Star Wars / Cantina Band | Meco | 1977 | Gold | Floater | 1,000,000 | RIAA | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars / Cantina Band | Meco | 1977 | Platinum | Floater | 2,000,000 | RIAA | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars / Cantina Band | Meco | 1977 | Gold | Strip Plate | 1,000,000 | In House | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars / Cantina Band | Meco | 1977 | Platinum | Strip Plate | 2,000,000 | In House | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars / Cantina Band | Meco | 1977 | Cashbox #1 Single | In House | Top #1 Single | In House | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars / Cantina Band | Meco | 1977 | Gold | Floater | 75,000 | CRIA | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars / Cantina Band | Meco | 1977 | Gold | Floater | 75,000 | Quality Records, Ltd. | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars / Cantina Band | Meco | 1977 | Platinum | Floater | 150,000 | Quality Records, Ltd. | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk | Meco | 1977 | Gold | Floater | 50,000 | Quality Records, Ltd. | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars Title Theme | Meco | 1977 | Gold | In House | RCA | RCA | |
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| Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk | Meco | 1977 | Gold | In House | RCA | RCA | |
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| Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk | Meco | 1977 | Gold | Ampex Golden Reel | Ampex | Millennium Records | |
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| Star Wars / Cantina Band | Meco | 1977 | Grammy | Plaque | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences | Millennium Records | |
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| Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk | Meco | 1977 | Gold | Floater | 500,000 | RIAA | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk | Meco | 1977 | Platinum | Floater | 1,000,000 | RIAA | Millennium Records | |
| Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk | Meco | 1977 | Platinum | Strip Plate | 1,000,000 | In House | Millennium Records | |
| Empire Strikes Back Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1980 | Gold | Strip Plate | 500,000 | RIAA | RSO Records | |
| Empire Strikes Back Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1980 | Platinum | Strip Plate | 1,000,000 | RIAA | RSO Records | |
| Empire Strikes Back Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1980 | Gold | Hologram | 500,000 | RIAA | RSO Records | |
| Empire Strikes Back Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1980 | Platinum | Floater | 1,000,000 | In House | RSO Records | |
| Return of the Jedi Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1983 | Gold | Strip Plate | 500,000 | In House | RSO Records | |
| Return of the Jedi (Narrated Story) | Original Star Wars Cast | 1983 | Gold | Strip Plate | 1,000,000 | RIAA | Buena Vista Records | |
| Star Wars | Original Star Wars Cast | 1989 | Silver | British Video Association Award | £100,000 | BVA | CBS/Fox Video | |
| Star Wars | Original Star Wars Cast | 1995 | Gold | British Video Association Award | £500,000 | BVA | Foxvideo Ltd. | |
| Empire Strikes Back | Original Empire Strikes Back Cast | ? | Platinum | Floater | 150,000 | In House | CBS Fox Video | |
| Empire Strikes Back | Original Empire Strikes Back Cast | 1993 | Silver | British Video Association Award | £250,000 | BVA | Foxvideo | |
| Empire Strikes Back | Original Empire Strikes Back Cast | 1995 | Gold | British Video Association Award | £500,000 | BVA | Foxvideo Ltd. | |
| Return of the Jedi | Original Return of the Jedi Cast | 1986 | 100,000 Units | In House | 100,000 | In House | CBS Fox Video | |
| Return of the Jedi | Original Return of the Jedi Cast | 1995 | Gold | British Video Association Award | £500,000 | BVA | Foxvideo Ltd. | |
| Return of the Jedi | Original Return of the Jedi Cast | 1996 | Platinum | British Video Association Award | £1,000,000 | BVA | Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment | |
| Caravan of Courage -- An Ewok Adventure | Original Cast | 1986 | Silver | British Video Association Award | £100,000 | BVA | CBS/Fox Video | |
| Move Somethin' (on Luke Skyywalker Records) | 2 Live Crew | 1988 | Gold | Hologram | 500,000 | RIAA | Luke Skyywalker Records | |
| Dude Ranch (containing "A New Hope") | Blink 182 | 1997 | Platinum | Strip Plate | 1,000,000 | In House | MCA Records | |
| Star Wars A New Hope Special Edition | John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra | 1997 | Gold | Hologram | 500,000 | RIAA | 20th Century Fox Records | |
| Star Wars Special Edition Video Award | John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra | 1997 | Video Award | In House | Video Award | Lucasfilm, Ltd. | 20th Century Fox | |
| Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi Soundtracks | John Williams and London Symphony Orchestra | 1997 | Billboard Top Classical Crossover | In House | Top Classical Crossover | In House | RCA Victor | |
| The Phantom Menace | John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra | 1999 | Platinum | Hologram | 1,000,000 | RIAA | Sony Classical | |