What Do Gold And Platinum Certifications Mean?
“Long Black Train,” one of Josh Turner’s signature songs, has now been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA.

The Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, is the organization that bestows Gold, Platinum, and Diamond certifications in the United States. According to the RIAA website, these certifications:

“…have come to stand as a benchmark of success for any artist—whether they’ve just released their first song or Greatest Hits album.“

Singles and albums can both receive certification from the RIAA. Each certification comes from the “sale” of a certain number of units, as listed below:

• Gold – sale of 500,000 Units
• Platinum – sale 1,000,000 Units (increments of 1,000,000 thereafter)
• Diamond – sale of 10,000,000 Units

For singles, the RIAA explains, “Each permanent digital download counts as 1 Unit for certification purposes. 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams will count as 1 Unit for certification purposes.”

Things are slightly different for albums. As the RIAA states:

“Each permanent digital album or physical album sale count as 1 Unit for certification purposes. 10 permanent track downloads from the album count as 1 Unit for certification purposes. 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from the album count as 1 Unit for certification purposes.”

“Long Black Train” By Josh Turner Has Officially Been Certified 2x Platinum

The RIAA routinely assigns new Gold, Platinum, and Diamond certifications. On Thursday (December 19), the RIAA issued a new certification to one of Josh Turner’s biggest hits, “Long Black Train.”

Turner released “Long Black Train” in May 2003 as the second single from his album of the same name. The deep-voiced singer wrote the song entirely on his own.

In “Long Black Train,” Turner sings about resisting the devil’s temptations and finding victory in the Lord. Turner channels his love for God into many of the lyrics, singing in the chorus:

“Cling to the Father and his Holy name, And don’t go ridin’ on that long black train.”

“Long Black Train” was a huge hit for Turner. The song reached the 13th spot on both of Billboard‘s country charts. It also claimed the 72nd position on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

The track was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2004 CMA Awards but lost to Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying.”

“Long Black Train” was certified Gold by the RIAA in June 2006. It earned its first Platinum certification in April 2018. Now, over six years after that, the song has been certified 2x Platinum.

Congratulations to Josh Turner on his new Platinum certification for “Long Black Train.” Enjoy the song’s official music video below.