This Day in Music – 1943: First RIAA Gold Album Award goes to Oklahoma!

The RIAA Gold Record certification now means 500,000 album units sold. However, in the early stages of RIAA certifications, it meant $1 million in sales. Debuting in 1943, Oklahoma! was the first musical written by the prolific team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. A western-romance, Oklahoma! went on to become a lucrative project garnering numerous awards, revivals, an Oscar nominated film adaptation, and a Special Pulitzer Prize.

Gordon MacRae – “Oklahoma”