Happy Birthday Neil Diamond!

Today Neil Diamond is 70 years old! Happy Birthday, Neil!

Neil Diamond is my favorite solo musician. He's been writing songs since the 1960s and is still going strong, releasing his most recent album of original songs Home Before Dark in 2008. This past year he released Dreams, a collection of reinterpretations of his favorite songs by other artists.

Like Queen, part of Neil Diamond's appeal is his magnificent stage shows, complete with his famous sparkled shirts. I've been fortunate enough to see Neil Diamond in concert twice (once in 2001 at Madison Square Garden and once in 2008 at Fenway Park). I also squeezed my way to the front row of Neil's performance at NYU back in 2001 where I competed for his attention amongst a sea of approximately 400 women aged 50 and older. It was pretty amazing and I managed to get some awesome photographs (though I was too shy to take any while he was actually looking in my direction!).

If anyone is unfamiliar with Neil's songs, here are a few of my favorites for your consideration.

1) Hello, Again: Husband and I used this song as our first dance at our wedding reception. It's very simple and very sweet.

2) If You Know What I Mean: I'd never heard this song when I saw Neil in 2001, but when he played it at that show, I immediately loved it. I returned home and deduced which song it was by remembering a few of the lyrics. The studio version is just as powerful as the live version was (and I have to say I was rather disappointed when he didn't play this song in 2008).

3) Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show: This song always reminds me of my dad. His favorite line is "Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies and everyone goes." The song has a mock-gospel feel to it, complete with Neil's own spoken sermon halfway through. Awesome!

4) The Story of My Life: One of my first favorite Neil Diamond songs. Figure skater Brian Orser skated to this song and I was instantly a fan.

5) I'm a Believer: Sure, this song has been covered a hundred times, most famously by the Monkees and Smash Mouth, but did you realize that Neil Diamond wrote it? He also wrote two other famous songs by the Monkees "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" and "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)". I was a Monkees fan as a little girl so Neil had a spot in my heart even back then!

In March, Neil Diamond will be inducted (finally) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Congratulations in advance, Neil! And Happy Birthday!

Neil Diamond News: Red Sox/Yankees Season Opener

If Queen is my favorite band (which they are) then Neil Diamond is my favorite solo artist. I absolutely adore Neil Diamond and have for nearly a decade. I've seen him perform live twice...well actually three times. I saw him in concert at Madison Square Garden in 2001 and then I saw him again in 2008 at Fenway Park in Boston.

I also saw him once on the NYU campus. You see, readers, Neil Diamond, like myself, attended New York University. He left before graduating in order to pursue songwriting (probably a good decision), but maintained a relationship with the school, particularily with its former president L.Jay Oliva, who was a huge fan. In 2001, President Oliva decided to host an on-campus event for students. It was originally dubbed Autum Fest and was supposed to be a day of fall foliage fun, but after September 11, the day took on a more serious turn (see story here at the truly inept Washington Square News. This story obviously was not published on January 1, 1997, but such is the incompetence of my former college's official newspaper). Neil Diamond was in town for two shows at Madison Square Garden and he agreed to perform at the event.

I arrived at Autumn Fest early and shoved past approximately 500 grandmothers to get to the front of the crowd. Once there, I stood maybe 15 feet from Neil Diamond, too terrified to lift my camera and take a picture. He noticed me (how could he not - me being literally the only person on the plaza under the age of 60) and kept looking at me and smiling, inviting me to take photo after glorious photo of him! But my fear prevented me from taking advantage of this amazing opportunity. I did get several good photos of him which I've since lost track of (through no fault of my own. My then-boyfriend posted the pictures on my NYU student website which NYU arbitrarily deleted without warning a few years ago) - one photo from the day remains. It's framed and in my guest bathroom for everyone who enters my home to enjoy. Aren't I a wonderful hostess?

Ah so the news! Anyone who is a Red Sox fan knows that at every home game before the Red Sox come to bat in the 8th inning, they play Sweet Caroline. Everyone sings along (inserting the extra parts of "Ba ba ba" and "So good, so good, so good" throughout the chorus. When I saw Neil Diamond at Fenway in 2008, he played Sweet Caroline three times and was selling a special concert t-shirt specific to Fenway Park (which I, of course, purchased).

Last night at the season opener between the Red Sox and the Yankees, Neil Diamond appeared live to sing Sweet Caroline! You can watch his performance here. Now Neil Diamond is getting up there in years - he's pretty close to 70 right now, but I think he sounds amazing, especially at the chorus when he really gets into his stride. You can tell he's having a good time too!

Neil Diamond is still going strong - writing, recording and touring. If you ever get a chance to see him in concert, even if you aren't a fan, go! Seriously! Husband isn't a Neil Diamond "fan" and even he had to admit that the concert at Fenway was pretty freakin' incredible.