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

 

(Continued from Part Three)

 

In 1981, Diamond released the album On the Way to the Sky, another million-seller.  "Yesterday's Songs" was Neil's seventh career #1 Adult hit.

 

"Be Mine Tonight" almost made it eight, stopping just short at #2.

 

Here is the title song, #4 on the Adult chart and #1 in Canada.

 

In 1982, Neil recorded "Heartlight", inspired by the classic movie E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and released it as the lead single from the album of the same name, another #1 on the AC chart that reached #8 Popular.

The album sold over one million copies.  Also that year, Diamond released the compilation album Greatest Hits, Volume II, which has now topped 3 million in sales.  The following year, he released the Platinum album Classics:  The Early Years.  

Although Diamond's long chart run was essentially over, he continued to pack concert halls.  In 1984, Neil released the Gold album Primitive and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  In 1986, Billboard ranked Neil as the most profitable solo performer of the year.

Neil released the album Headed for the Future that year, which went Gold.  He also starred in the television special Hello Again.

The next winter, Diamond sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl. 

Neil released the 1988 Gold album The Best Years of Our Lives and performed for U.S. President George H.W. Bush at the Christmas in Washington television special.

In the '90's, sporting events began to play "Sweet Caroline" over 20 years since its release, and Diamond's music became fashionable again.  Neil released Lovescape in 1991, his 18th consecutive Gold album.  In 1992, Diamond released the album The Greatest Hits:  1966-1992, a three-million seller, and The Christmas Album, which went Double Platinum.  

Neil released Up On The Roof:  Songs from the Brill Building in 1993, The Christmas Album, Volume II, Tennessee Moon in 1996 and The Movie Album:  As Time Goes By in 1998, all of which went Gold.  In 2001, another compilation, The Essential Neil Diamond, was released that has sold over two million copies.

In 2001, Neil released the album Three Chord Opera, another Gold certification.    

In 2005, Diamond released the album 12 Songs, which debuted at #4 and has sold over one million copies. It includes "Delirious Love", his collaboration with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.

Neil was a guest coach on the television show American Idol in 2008 to help the remaining contestants sing his songs. 

 

In 2008, Diamond released the Platinum album Home Before Dark, his 24th consecutive non-Christmas studio album to be certified Gold, an incredible achievement.  He announced during the traditional eighth-inning singing of "Sweet Caroline" in Boston's Fenway Park that he would be appearing in Boston as part of a world tour.  Diamond told the Sun newspaper on May 16, 2008 about this song:  "I stand back and look at 'Pretty Amazing Grace' and to me it's a song about the perfection of love."

 

The album reached #1 in the U.S., U.K., and New Zealand.  This is "Forgotten".

Diamond performed before an estimated 108,000 fans at the Glastonbury Festival in England.  The four concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City were recorded and released as a CD and DVD the following year.  Hot August Night/NYC debuted at #2 on the Album chart and CBS showed an edited version as a television special.

 

In 2009, Diamond was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year.  In the fall, Neil released the album A Cherry Cherry Christmas.  Incredibly, the title song hit #4 on the AC chart 20 years after his last Top 10.

Diamond released the album of cover songs called Dreams in 2010 and a career compilation from 23 studio recordings (The Very Best of Neil Diamond) the following year.

Neil was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 and received a lifetime achievement award at the Kennedy Center Honors later in the year.  

In 2012, Neil received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  The next year, Diamond released the single "Freedom Song (They'll Never Take Us Down)", with all proceeds benefiting One Fund Boston and the Wounded Warrior Project.

In 2014, Diamond signed a contract with Capitol, a part of Universal Music Group.  The album All-Time Greatest Hits was released, with Neil's next studio album Melody Road released later in the year.  Diamond conducted a world tour in support of the album.

Diamond released the album Acoustic Christmas in 2016, including original songs and acoustic versions of Christmas classics.  In 2017, Diamond released the album Neil Diamond 50 - 50th Anniversary Collection, and performed in his final concert tour in support of the album. 

In January of 2018, Neil announced he would immediately retire from touring due to being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.  Remaining dates in Australia and New Zealand on his world tour were canceled.  Diamond said he would still write songs and record.

Neil received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 2018.  In 2019, "Sweet Caroline" was chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

Diamond has sold over 100 million albums.  He has racked up 55 career hits with 14 of those reaching the Top 10 and  3 number one songs.  Among adults, which are of course the large majority of the listening audience, he is one of the most popular and most successful artists, recording 56 hits, with an incredible 36 of those going Top 10 and 8 #1's.

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

 

(Continued from Part Two)

Diamond resumed touring, playing in Australia and again at the Greek Theatre, with his show captured live for the album Love at the Greek.  

Diamond was invited to open the new Theater for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, and he played four sold-out shows.  Showing his universal appeal, Neil performed before 55,000 at Woburn Abbey in 1977.  

 Diamond released the album I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight in 1977, which included the song "You Don't Bring Me Flowers".  Friend Barbra Streisand covered the song on her album Songbird and soon, the two went into the studio to record a duet after a mix of the two singers began getting attention on the radio.  The single was a massive hit, becoming Diamond's third #1 in the U.S. that also motored into the Top Five in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.  

The single "Desiree" became Neil's biggest hit from the album, #1 with Adults in the U.S. that also hit the Top Five in New Zealand.  It has the distinction of being the first song used in Casey Kasem's popular "long-distance dedication" on Kasem's American Top 40 on August 26, 1978.

 

The following year, Neil released the album You Don't Bring Me Flowers, featuring the title song recorded with Streisand.  "Forever In Blue Jeans" gave Diamond his 21st Top 10 hit already on the Adult Contemporary chart.  Neil says the message of this song is that "the simple things are really the important things".

 

Diamond stepped out of his comfort zone for "The Dancing Bumble Bee/Bumble Boogie".

                                                                                                                                                                "American Popular Song" is another popular track from the album.

 Diamond released the album September Morn in 1979.  He worked with French composer Gilbert Bécaud on this song and the two would later pair up for "The Jazz Singer" Soundtrack.  The title song stalled at #17 overall, but was a #2 smash with adults.

Neil collapsed on stage in San Francisco while promoting the album, and underwent a 12-hour operation to remove what proved to be a tumor on his spine.  He said he had been losing feeling in his right leg for years but had ignored it.  After spending a considerable amount of time rehabilitating, he began work on the movie The Jazz Singer, sure that this project would fare much better than the earlier Jonathan Livingston Seagull.  

 

For one thing, it co-starred Sir Laurence Olivier opposite Diamond.  But alas, the movie received poor reviews, although Diamond was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role.  The soundtrack, meanwhile, did wonders, going to #3 and selling over 5 million copies.  It was Diamond's eighth consecutive Top 10 album.  The lead single "Love On The Rocks" was one of his biggest career hits, and one of The Top #2 Songs of the Rock Era*, having spent four weeks at that position.

 "Hello Again" rose to # 3 on the AC chart and #6 Popular.

 "America" had special significance for Diamond, as he wrote it with his grandparents in mind, who immigrated to the United States.  It became an American anthem, played when the hostages taken by Iran returned in 1980, when the space shuttle landed, during the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, as a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., and at the Vietnam Vets Welcome Home concert.  It was yet another #1 Adult hit for Neil, #8 overall.

Diamond had become a legend by this point.  But he wasn't done yet, and we have Part Four exclusively on Inside The Rock Era!

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!