5 Reasons Why...Neil Diamond Will Always Rock...Softly
1) He's Seen 100 Million Faces...And Rocked Them All
Diamond's sold more than 100 million albums over the past 40+ years, but the bespangled man they call The Basher notched his first #1 in May of 2008 with his second Rick Rubin-produced return to form, Home Before Dark.
2) All the Cool Kids Are Obsessed With Him
He might seem square to you, but some of the coolest people you know have total man crushes on him. Cases in point: Quentin Tarantino used a cover of “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” in Pulp Fiction, Johnny Cash covered “Solitary Man,” and hip French DJ duo Justice walk onstage to the strains of “Sweet Caroline.” Oh, and he performed at The Band’s Last Waltz.
3) Caroline-a on Our Minds, All the Time
Speaking of good ole “Sweet Caroline,” everyone you know has warbled that one at the karaoke bar at some point in their lives. Including you. Don’t bother trying to deny it. Plus, it’s the theme song to the Red Sox Nation, which totally rocks.
4) He Nearly Became The Original Eice, Eice Baby
Diamond was thisclose to picking the big pimpin’ stage name Eice Cherry at the start of his career. It was between that and Noah Kaminsky. But the man they call the Diamond Cutter and the Jewish Elvis was actually born Neil (ahem, Leslie) Diamond, which is the greatest stage name. . .ever. Well, except for the Leslie part.
5) Even If You Hate Him, You Still Kind Of Like Him
He’s the subject of one of the greatest comedic put-downs/compliments in film history, courtesy of the 1991 Bill Murray phobia laugher, What About Bob? In that film, Murray’s character states why he’s divorced explaining: “There are two types of people in the world: those who like Neil Diamond and those who don’t.
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Oh, how embarrassing. Or sexy.
Man I love that. I often listen and think about being a child in my home and my mother would listen to all the albums. One would stand out and it still does. If there is a finer live album than "Hot August Night" I would have a hard time believing it. The beginning of the album, the prologue alone is worth buying. As I typed this I put it on and I could not help but imagine what it was like to be in the Greek Theater listening, watching and feeling the music. Yes I agree he may not have the flash of today's rock n rollers but you can't ignore 40+ years of style and art. It sets him apart from many others. Yes one could laugh at those sappy songs but some really rocked. Cracklin' rose, Cruncy Granola Suite, Done too soon, Solitairy Man, Cherry Cherry and of course my favorite, "Sweet Caroline". Thank goodness for these songs I thank my mother (Caroline) for introducing me to these songs.
I love Neil . . . I'm 28 . . . when I was growing up my Dad would play him in the car and I just grew to love him. When I was 18 I got payed $11 an hour to work with Neil's road crew to set up his concert stop here in Rockford, IL. I met Neil, and saw the concert I helped to make, which was in the round, was sweet. I have a Greatest Hits CD . . . amazing! My favorite song is "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show." What a rockin' song!! Yesterday, Today, and Forever, there is no one better!!
His being in that film makes me respect him greatly.