Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond is the godfather of the modern singer/songwriter. He has written songs for some of the biggest pop artists of the last 40 years, as well as penning a number of top selling singles for himself. He has been selling out concert venues since the 1960’s and has sold over 115 million albums worldwide.

Neil Diamond’s first big break as a songwriter came in the 1960’s after composing several hit singles for the hit TV show / pseudo-band The Monkees. “I’m a Believer” and “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” both became top selling singles for The Monkees. While Diamond did not necessarily intend for these songs to be specifically for that band/TV show, the resulting success of the songs gave a substantial boost to his musical career. Many other artists of the 1960’s were also benefited by songs composed by Diamond. “Kentucky Woman” was covered by Deep Purple to great success, as was Cliff Richard’s version of “Girl, You’ll be a Woman Soon”.

During the 1970’s, Neil Diamond’s career really blossomed. After signing with MCA Records and moving to Los Angeles, Diamond wrote a string of hits for himself and others. Classic songs like “Cracklin Rosie”, “Sweet Caroline” and “Song Sung Blue” were all penned during this time and all became top selling singles for Diamond, with “Song Sung Blue” reaching number 1 on the Hot 100 list. In 1972, a series of concerts were recorded at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and these recordings were released as the top selling album “Hot August Night”. This live album is considered a classic and shows Diamond at his best.

In 1973, Neil Diamond left MCA for Columbia Records, where his first solo release was the soundtrack to the movie version of Richard Bach’s book “Jonathan Living Seagull”. While the film itself was a colossal failure at the box office, the soundtrack was a resounding success, reaching as high as the number two spot on the charts. “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” was originally released on the 1977 album “I’m Glad You’re Here with Me Tonight”. However, in 1978 it was again recorded, this time as a duet with Barbara Streisand, and went on to become Diamond’s third number one hit single.

In 1980, Neil Diamond wrote another movie soundtrack, this time for a film in which he had the starring role. “The Jazz Singer”, while not a tremendous box office success, was quite the musical success for Diamond. The album produced three Top 10 hits, including “Love on the Rocks” and “America”. His role in the movie further added two new awards to his collection. For the same role, he won both the first Worst Actor Razzie Award, as well as a Golden Globe.

While his album sales have not been as high as they were during the 1960’s-1980’s, Neil Diamond still continues to attract legions of fans wherever he performs. He still sells many CDs and mp3 downloads and continues to be one of the world’s most top-notch performers.