Neil Diamond

Rising from modest beginnings in Brooklyn's working-class neighborhoods, Neil Diamond emerged as one of the twentieth century's top-selling recording artists, a commanding international performer, and a gifted tunesmith whose material generated countless successes for both himself and fellow artists. Launching his professional path in the early 1960s as a staff writer at New York's storied Brill Building, he soon shifted focus to singing and cutting his own compositions, achieving early traction in the rising pop singer/songwriter scene through tracks such as "Solitary Man" and "Kentucky Woman." Relocating to Los Angeles toward the close of the decade aligned with a turn toward more mature pop, ushering in his peak era as a major figure. Catchy number-one singles like "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Song Sung Blue" sustained his chart dominance and paved the way for larger-scale works, including the Grammy-winning Jonathan Livingston Seagull soundtrack and the 1976 concept album Beautiful Noise. He ventured into film with a lead role in the 1980 remake of The Jazz Singer, which yielded substantial hits including "Love on the Rocks" and "America." Though commercial momentum dipped through the latter 1980s and much of the 1990s, Diamond stayed a reliable draw on tour; by century's end a revival of interest in his enduring 1960s single "Sweet Caroline" boosted his profile, as the song became a fixture at sporting events for franchises such as the Boston Red Sox. Further affirmation of his lasting relevance arrived via two well-received, minimalist albums helmed by Rick Rubin in the 2000s. Entering the 2010s, he kept touring, issuing new music, and collecting major distinctions such as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, Kennedy Center Honors, and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy. During a 2018 world tour marking five decades in music, Diamond disclosed a Parkinson's disease diagnosis that concluded his concert career, yet he stayed active in the studio, issuing 2020's Classic Diamonds.

Neil Leslie Diamond entered the world on January 24, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York, the eldest of two sons born to Akeeba Diamond, known as Kieve, proprietor of several dry goods stores across the borough, and Rose (Rapoport) Diamond. Apart from a two-year mid-1940s interval when the family lived in Wyoming during Akeeba's military service, Diamond spent his formative years in Brooklyn, moving between neighborhoods as his father's businesses shifted locations; he later recalled attending nine different schools and experiencing social difficulties because of it. An early fascination with music took hold after he witnessed Pete Seeger perform at a summer camp during his teenage years, prompting him to begin singing and playing guitar. He completed his studies at Abraham Lincoln High School in June 1958 and enrolled that autumn at New York University as a pre-med student on a fencing scholarship.

Throughout this period he devoted considerable energy to composing songs and pitching them to publishing houses. Teaming with Jack Packer, a friend of his younger brother, the pair operated as Neil & Jack and secured a publishing agreement with Allied Entertainment Corporation of America plus a recording deal with its Duel Records subsidiary. The arrangement produced two singles: "You Are My Love"/"What Will I Do" in 1960 and "I'm Afraid"/"Til You've Tried Love" in 1961, marking Diamond's initial commercially issued recordings. (He later reissued "What Will I Do" in 1996 on the box set In My Lifetime.) Neither disc succeeded commercially, and the duo dissolved when Packer entered the Manhattan School of Music in January 1961. Diamond had already ceased attending NYU in 1960, but he reenrolled in 1961 at the School of Commerce and retained student status until 1965. (Numerous biographies erroneously state he left NYU in 1962 without finishing his degree; biographer Rich Wiseman established the accurate timeline through university records.)

Working independently, Diamond persisted in his efforts to break through as a songwriter. A brief 1962 arrangement at Sunbeam Music led to publication of several compositions, followed by a stint at Roosevelt Music. There he received an assignment from Dot Records to create a sequel to Pat Boone's novelty hit "Speedy Gonzales." Ten writers ultimately contributed to the resulting track, fittingly titled "Ten Lonely Guys," which Boone recorded and which climbed to number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1962. Credited under the pseudonym Mark Lewis, Diamond earned his first chart appearance among the ten collaborators. Also in 1962, the Rocky Fellers cut his composition "Santa Santa" for Scepter Records. His next advancement, however, centered on his own performances. Columbia Records signed him to a singles deal in early 1963; on his 22nd birthday, January 24, he held his debut solo session, followed by a second session three months later. The material appeared on July 2 as Columbia single 42809, "Clown Town"/"At Night," his first solo release. The record failed to connect, and the label dropped him.

After marrying schoolteacher Jay Posner, with whom he had two daughters, Diamond continued pressing forward, even renting a small office above the jazz venue Birdland in midtown Manhattan. In early 1965 his song "Just Another Guy" was recorded in the U.K. by Cliff Richard and placed on the B-side of the chart-topping single "The Minute You're Gone" on British Columbia. That February he met established writers and producers Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, who took him under their wing and arranged a three-month songwriting contract with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's Trio Music. The association ended before Leiber and Stoller placed one of their clients, Jay & the Americans, on Diamond's Trio composition "Sunday and Me." Issued as a single in autumn 1965, the track reached number 18 in December, delivering his first genuine songwriting hit.

By this point additional strides had occurred. On June 25 he formalized an agreement with Barry and Greenwich covering publishing and recording, forming Tallyrand Music with Diamond as president. (This step apparently prompted him to leave NYU.) Tallyrand marketed both his songs and Diamond himself as a performer, resulting in a January 6, 1966 contract with WEB IV, controller of the independent Bang Records label. Shortly thereafter he returned to the studio, and on April 4 Bang issued his debut single for the imprint, "Solitary Man," produced—as would be all his subsequent Bang sides—by Barry and Greenwich. The release gave him his first chart entry as a recording artist, climbing to number 55 on the Hot 100 in July.

Diamond swiftly followed with his second Bang single, "Cherry, Cherry," released in July 1966, which became his first major hit by reaching number six in October. Its B-side, "I'll Come Running," was later covered by Cliff Richard, who took it to the Top 40 in 1967. When publisher Don Kirshner heard "Cherry, Cherry," he summoned Diamond and inquired whether the songwriter had another upbeat number suitable for the Monkees, the group assembled for an impending television series. Diamond offered "I'm a Believer," originally slated for his own debut album. Kirshner approved, and Diamond, Barry, and Greenwich laid down a backing track that Kirshner transported to California for the Monkees to overdub. By the time "I'm a Believer" appeared as the Monkees' second single in autumn 1966, the act had become a teen sensation, and the accompanying LP had advance orders exceeding one million copies. It swiftly ascended to number one, where it remained for seven weeks, emerging as the biggest single of 1967.

Diamond's first long-player, The Feel of Neil Diamond, issued in August 1966, was assembled hurriedly and included "Cherry, Cherry" and "Solitary Man" alongside covers of hits such as "La Bamba" and "Monday, Monday." It registered only minimal chart activity. Also present was the original "I Got the Feelin' (Oh No No)," which served as his next single in October. It climbed to number 16 in December, though the 45 gained additional notice for its B-side, the Diamond-written "The Boat That I Row." British singer Lulu promptly covered the number, scoring a Top Ten U.K. hit in spring 1967. Bang's fourth Diamond single, "You Got to Me," arrived in December 1966 and peaked at number 18 in March 1967. In February his composition "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)" appeared on the Monkees' chart-topping second album, More of the Monkees. The following month "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You," Diamond's follow-up to "I'm a Believer" for the group, entered the charts and reached number two in April.

Also in March, Bang released its fifth Diamond single, "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," which became his second Top Ten hit by May. In April, Ronnie Dove charted with "My Babe," written and produced by Diamond, peaking at number 50 in May. Bang's sixth Diamond single, "Thank the Lord for the Night Time," surfaced in June and climbed to number 13 in August. That month also brought Diamond's second LP, Just for You, which reached number 80. His next Bang single, "Kentucky Woman," followed in September and attained number 22 in November, marking his sixth straight Top 40 entry.

After roughly two years of steady hits as both performer and writer, Diamond experienced a rupture with his producers and Bang Records. As popular music grew more introspective in the late 1960s, he grew dissatisfied with straightforward pop fare and advocated replacing "Kentucky Woman" as his sixth single with "Shilo," a reflective ballad concerning an imagined childhood companion rather than the Civil War battle. Bang deemed the song insufficiently commercial and relegated it to an album track on Just for You. Discontented with royalties as well, Diamond located a contractual loophole that did not bind him exclusively to WEB IV and Tallyrand, declared himself free to sign elsewhere, and precipitated a flurry of lawsuits.

On March 12, 1968, a judge rejected WEB IV's bid for a temporary injunction barring Diamond from joining another label during ongoing litigation. The suits persisted another nine years until Diamond resolved them on February 18, 1977, by purchasing his Bang masters. On March 18, 1968, he signed a five-year agreement with Uni Records, an MCA division. The initial release under the deal was the introspective, autobiographical ballad "Brooklyn Roads" in April. He followed with the more upbeat "Two-Bit Manchild" that same month, yet neither that single nor its successor, "Sunday Sun" in September, returned him to the Top 40, and his Uni debut album Velvet Gloves and Spit failed to chart. Personal upheaval compounded professional struggles: now involved with television production assistant Marcia Kay Murphey, he separated from his wife and relocated to California. Their divorce was finalized in November 1969, and he married Murphey the following month.

Professionally, Diamond sought to reverse his career's low point by recording at American Sound Studio in Memphis beginning January 8, 1969. Collaborating with producers Tommy Cogbill and Chips Moman, he adopted a gospel-inflected, country-rock direction, commencing with the single "Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show," which reached number 22 in April—his strongest showing in eighteen months. He returned promptly to Memphis and completed the album Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show, released in April and peaking at number 82.

The track that cemented his commercial resurgence was the subsequent single, "Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)," a buoyant number that climbed to number four in August, the same month it received gold certification for one million singles sold. Diamond followed with the gospel-tinged "Holly Holy" in October 1969, another major success reaching number six in December. It became his second gold (and later platinum) single; Junior Walker & the All-Stars later covered it, scoring an R&B Top 40 hit in 1971. The original appeared on Diamond's fifth LP, Touching You Touching Me, issued in November 1969; it represented his strongest chart performance to date, reaching number 30 and achieving gold status within roughly a year.

Diamond's renewed visibility did not escape Bang Records, which recruited American Sound Studio musicians to overdub a fresh instrumental track beneath Diamond's existing vocal for "Shilo." Styled more like his current recordings, the single climbed to number 24 in April 1970. Diamond countered by returning to Memphis himself to re-record "Shilo," which was added to later pressings of Velvet Gloves and Spit. A more ambitious outing, "Soolaimón (African Trilogy II)," appeared in April as an excerpt from a side-long "folk ballet" of African-styled material slated for his next album, Tap Root Manuscript, in the autumn; the single reached number 30 in May. His next new single, "Cracklin' Rosie"—referencing the inexpensive wine Cracklin' Rosé—surfaced in July and became his biggest hit yet, topping the charts in October.

Also issued in July 1970 was the live album Gold, captured in March at Los Angeles' Troubadour nightclub. Another strong seller, it peaked at number ten in September. Buoyed by "Cracklin' Rosie" and Gold, Diamond advanced to theater and arena venues as a live attraction by autumn 1970. For his following single he chose an unusual cover of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," a Top Ten hit for the Hollies the prior spring. Competing against Bang's release of the former B-side "Do It," it still reached number 20 in December and, together with "Soolaimón" and "Cracklin' Rosie," effectively previewed Tap Root Manuscript, which appeared in November and peaked at number 13.

Diamond reportedly labored for months on the lyrics of his next single, the autobiographical "I Am...I Said," released in March 1971. An intense expression of emotional struggle very much in keeping with the confessional singer/songwriter movement then ascendant, the song became a major hit, climbing to number four in May; even its B-side, "Done Too Soon" (previously featured on Tap Root Manuscript), charted. "I Am...I Said" earned Diamond his first Grammy nomination, for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. He returned in the autumn with the ballad "Stones," issued in October alongside an album of the same name in November. The single reached number 14 while the LP climbed just short of the Top Ten and went gold within two months.

Diamond's next album, Moods, was introduced by another enduring standard. "Song Sung Blue," released in April 1972, became his second Hot 100 number one in July and his fourth gold single, garnering Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In August he performed ten shows at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, recording them for a live album. The double-LP Hot August Night, released in November, solidified his stature as a concert draw by reaching number five and achieving gold status within a month (later certified double platinum). A single edit of "Cherry, Cherry" extracted from the set reached number 31.

Hot August Night confirmed Diamond's superstar standing and simultaneously concluded one chapter of his career. After three weeks of performances at Broadway's Winter Garden in October, he stepped away from live work temporarily. Having fulfilled his recording contract, he negotiated a lucrative agreement with Columbia Records. His first undertaking for the new label was a song score for the film adaptation of the best-selling novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The project proved troubled; by the October 1973 release both Diamond and author Richard Bach were suing the producer. Reviews were scathing and the picture underperformed, yet Diamond's score, issued as a standalone album, succeeded commercially. The single "Be" barely grazed the Top 40, but the LP reached number two in December. It also secured Diamond the 1973 Grammy for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or TV Special.

Even after completing Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Diamond remained off the road. He resurfaced in autumn 1974 with his first proper Columbia studio album, Serenade, led by the single "Longfellow Serenade," his strongest hit since "Song Sung Blue," reaching number five on the Hot 100 and number one on the AC chart in November. Serenade climbed to number three in December, another instant gold release that has since been certified platinum.

Another year elapsed before Diamond resumed live performances, beginning with a handful of warm-up shows in California and Utah in late January and early February 1976, followed by an Australian and New Zealand tour and additional U.S. dates that spring. Meanwhile, collaborating with Malibu neighbor Robbie Robertson of the Band as producer, he finished a new album, Beautiful Noise, whose songs looked back to his early-1960s Tin Pan Alley days. Lead single "If You Know What I Mean," issued in June, reached number 11 on the Hot 100, and the album, released shortly thereafter, hit number four. On July 1, 1976, for a substantial fee, Diamond made his Las Vegas debut at the Aladdin Hotel, though he largely avoided the city again until the 1990s. In September he returned to the Greek Theatre, this time accompanied by both cameras and recording gear. On November 25, 1976, he joined the Band's farewell concert at San Francisco's Winterland as a special guest, performing the Beautiful Noise track "Dry Your Eyes," which he had co-written with Robertson. The event was filmed and recorded for the 1978 documentary and triple-LP The Last Waltz.

Both of Diamond's 1977 albums tied into television specials. First came Love at the Greek, a two-LP concert set drawn from Greek Theatre performances, released in February 1977 two weeks ahead of The Neil Diamond Special, which aired February 21. The LP reached number eight in April, selling a million copies by July with another million registered since. Diamond toured Europe extensively that spring and summer. In November he delivered a new studio album, I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight, again linked to a television special. The simultaneous single "Desirée" entered the Top 20, while the album climbed to number six in February 1978, achieving the customary million-plus sales with another million to follow.

One track from I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight was the melancholy breakup ballad "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," written for a television pilot exploring reversed gender roles—hence the novelty of a male perspective lamenting romantic inattention. Labelmate Barbra Streisand recognized its potential, particularly given its co-authorship by her frequent lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and quickly recorded a version for her May 1978 album Songbird. A disc jockey, noticing both Diamond's and Streisand's renditions shared the same key, spliced them together and began airing the impromptu duet, generating listener requests for an official release. On October 17, 1978, the two singers recorded a new version. Credited to "Barbra & Neil," the single was rushed out and ascended to number one on the pop charts, eventually earning platinum certification.

Diamond had been preparing an album titled after a song called "The American Popular Song" written by his pianist Tom Hensley, intended as a collection of covers. The duet's unexpected triumph disrupted those plans, prompting him to assemble an album quickly under the title You Don't Bring Me Flowers, released in November. By late January it peaked at number four, certified platinum with a double-platinum award following. In February, Columbia issued another single from