Neil Diamond, The #21 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Two

 (Continued from Part One)

Neil moved to Los Angeles later in the year, and released the album Touching You, Touching Me, which also went Gold.

Diamond released the single "Holly Holy", another Platinum smash that hit #5 on the Easy Listening chart and #6 overall.  It was later added to the Touching You, Touching Me album.  A gospel choir backed Neil on the recording.

Neil married his production assistant, Marcia Murphey, on December 5, 1969.  The couple had two sons, Jesse and Micah.  They were married for 25 years.

 

Neil released the album Tap Root Manuscript in 1970, which included Diamond's first #1, "Cracklin' Rosie".  This smash landed in the Top 10 in every major country in the world, including #1 in the U.S.,  Canada and New Zealand, #2 in Australia, Ireland, and Belgium, # in the U.K., #6 in the Netherlands, and #7 in Germany. The album has since been certified Platinum.

Neil got the idea for the song from a folk story of an Indian tribe in Northern Canada which had more men than women.  "On Saturday nights when they go out, the guys all get their girl;" he told Rolling Stone, "the guys without girls get a bottle of Cracklin' Rose', that's their girl for the weekend."

 

Neil studied African culture at the African Studies department of UCLA, the Kenyon Mission and the United Nations.  "Soolaimón", which can mean "hello", "good-bye", "welcome" and "peace be with you", also reached #5 on the Adult chart.

"Coldwater Morning" is a song about a failed relationship and the picture he paints represents one of his finest compositions to this point.

 

In 1971, Neil released the deeply personal album Stones, his fourth consecutive Gold release.  It contains the great song "I Am...I Said", another worldwide smash.

The song always seemed to be at least partially autobiographical, and Neil has since confirmed that.  He was going through a tough time, failing a screen test for a role playing Lenny Bruce that he wanted.  He began writing this song at that time, though it took four months to complete.   "It was consciously an attempt on my part to express what my dreams were about, what my aspirations were about, and what I was about," Neil told Mojo magazine in July of 2008. 

In a separate interview with Q magazine that same month, Diamond said "It's a tough thing for me to gather myself after singing that song."  "I Am...I Said" peaked at #1 in New Zealand, #3 in the U.K., #4 in the U.S. (#2 Adult), #6 in the Netherlands, #7 in Germany, #8 in Belgium, and #10 in Australia.

 

Neil has said that "'Stones' has always meant things that hurt people, things that cause pain, and that's what the song is about."  The title song was a #2 smash on the Adult chart.

Diamond's shows were attracting more and more fans, and he played at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for seven sold-out concerts.  The Herald-Examiner newspaper called it "the finest concert in Greek Theater history." 

Neil did 10 more shows at the Greek the next year.  The performance on August 24 was recorded and released as the live double album Hot August Night.  The album went to #1 in Australia, where it remained for 29 weeks.

Diamond became the first rock star to headline on Broadway when he performed for 20 straight nights at the Winter Garden Theater, the first time a solo performer had performed there since Al Jolson in the 1920's and '30's.

While taking a break from touring, Diamond switched to Columbia Records with an advance worth over $5 million in today's dollars.  He wrote songs for the movie Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and although the soundtrack peaked at #2, the movie was a disappointment and Neil vowed never to become involved in a movie again unless he had complete control.

According to one report, the soundtrack outsold the movie $12 million to $2 million.  Neil won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, while the album has sold over two million copies.  This is "Be".

In 1973, Diamond released the album Moods, which contained a song that he didn't recognize the potential for.  Russ Regan, head of Uni Records, felt it would be Diamond's "biggest copyright ever" and convinced Neil to release it as a single.  

 

Regan was right about Diamond's second #1--the Gold multi-format smash "Song Sung Blue", #1 on both the Popular and Easy Listening charts in the U.S., #1 in New Zealand and Switzerland, #2 in Canada, #3 in the Netherlands, #5 in Australia and Belgium, and #6 in Germany.  It has been covered my many artists; most notably Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams and Bobby Darin.

 

This song features the acoustic guitar playing of Richard Bennett, who played on a few of the songs on the Moods album.  Bennett became a regular on Diamond albums through 1987 and toured with him for 17 years.  "Play Me" stalled at #11 overall, but rose all the way to #3 on the Adult chart.

Diamond released His 12 Greatest Hits, which has now sold over 4 million copies, and the album Serenade in 1974. The lead single was inspired by 19th century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  "Longfellow Serenade", a #1 smash in Switzerland, #2 in Canada and #5 in the U.S. (#1 on the Easy Listening chart).

Serenade has gone Platinum, as has his 1976 release, Beautiful Noise. 

 

The single "If You Know What I Mean" stalled at #11 overall but was a #1 Adult song in the U.S. and was a Top 10 song in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium.

 

The title song sprung from a trip took to New York City with his daughter Marjorie.  They stayed at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel which overlooks 5th Avenue.  One particular day when his parents were there, they watched a Puerto Rican Day Parade go by.  Marjorie looked out the window and said, "What a beautiful noise."  Neil said "It just hit me like a bolt.  I ran over and wrote it down and then sang the song into a tape recorder."

Catch Part Three of Neil Diamond on Inside The Rock Era!