54 Fun Facts About Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond was born in 1941 in which New York City borough?

Brooklyn: Diamond's parents ran a series of dry-goods stores and moved often, so he grew up in several different homes around the borough.

Which future superstar was in the Erasmus Hall High School chorus with Diamond?

Barbra Streisand met Diamond at Erasmus Hall, then moved to Manhattan after graduating to pursue singing and acting.

Which chess grandmaster also attended Erasmus Hall High School, Diamond's old school?

Bobby Fischer won the US Championship at 14 and dropped out of Erasmus Hall at 16 to devote himself to chess.

As a boy, Neil Diamond lived for a time in which 'Cowboy State'?

Wyoming: the Diamond family moved to Cheyenne because his father was stationed there with the US Army.

Which folk singer's summer-camp performance made the 16-year-old Diamond realise he could write songs?

Pete Seeger performed at a summer camp in upstate New York where Diamond was a camper, and soon afterwards Diamond took guitar lessons and began writing songs.

Diamond attended New York University on a scholarship for which sport?

Fencing earned him the scholarship, but in his final year he quit NYU for a songwriting job.

Which science-heavy career was Diamond studying for at NYU when he quit in his final year to write songs?

Medicine was the plan, but the Sunbeam Music songwriting job he quit for lasted only 16 weeks before they let him go.

Diamond's first success as a songwriter, 'Sunday and Me' in 1965, was a hit for which group?

Jay and the Americans took 'Sunday and Me' to No. 18 on the Hot 100 in 1965, and within months Diamond landed a record deal of his own.

Which Diamond-written song was a seven-week US number one for the Monkees and went gold within two days?

He wrote it for himself, but the Monkees version came out first and made him famous as a songwriter instead; he also gave them 'A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You'.

Which song, released in April 1966, was Diamond's first single after he signed with a new record label?

Solitary Man was only a minor hit at first, but his old label reissued it in 1970 and it climbed to No. 21.

Diamond's first hits were released on which label, co-founded by producer Bert Berns?

Bang Records wouldn't release his song 'Shilo' as a single, one of the disputes that led him to leave for Uni Records.

Which comedian wrote the holiday song Diamond covered on his 2009 album A Cherry Cherry Christmas?

Adam Sandler's 'The Chanukah Song' made the album because, Diamond said, there are so many beautiful Christmas songs and so few Hanukkah songs.

Which 1967 Neil Diamond hit did Urge Overkill cover for the Pulp Fiction soundtrack?

Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon had reached No. 10 in 1967, and Urge Overkill's cover gave the song a second life when Pulp Fiction came out.

Which Diamond ballad from 1967 topped the US chart in 1988 in a reggae version by UB40?

Red Red Wine reached UB40 through Tony Tribe's 1969 reggae cover, and the band didn't realise Diamond had written it.

Diamond's 1993 covers album was titled Up on the Roof: Songs from which famous Manhattan building?

The Brill Building was where Diamond started out as a songwriter, and the album went back to those roots with songs by Goffin and King, Leiber and Stoller and others.

Diamond's 1972 number one 'Song Sung Blue' was inspired by a piano concerto by which composer?

Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 was the seed, and Diamond kept the song so plain he didn't write a bridge, never expecting the reaction it got.

In 2014, Neil Diamond said 'Sweet Caroline' was really written for whom?

His then-wife Marcia was the real subject, he said in 2014, but nothing rhymed with her name, so he reached for a three-syllable one instead.

Which 2001 animated film used Smash Mouth's cover of a Diamond song the Monkees first made famous?

Shrek also opens with Smash Mouth's All Star, a song its makers first slotted in only as a placeholder before deciding to keep it.

In 2007, Diamond sang 'Sweet Caroline' at which woman's 50th birthday celebration?

Caroline Kennedy heard him reveal there that a magazine photo of her as a girl in riding gear, seen in a Memphis hotel, had inspired the song.

Diamond made a surprise appearance to sing at Fenway in April 2013 after what event?

The Boston Marathon bombing brought him to Fenway unannounced days later, and he pledged his royalties from the song's surge in sales to the victims' fund.

England fans adopted a Diamond song after the Wembley DJ played it after a Euro 2020 win over whom?

Germany were beaten at Wembley, the DJ went with his gut, and England fans kept singing 'Sweet Caroline' through the rest of Euro 2020.

Diamond's classic 1972 live double album was recorded at which Los Angeles venue?

The Greek Theatre became a home stage for him: he returned in 1976 for sold-out shows that produced his live album Love at the Greek and a TV special.

What is the title of that 1972 live album, which many consider his best work?

Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it 'the ultimate Neil Diamond record'; a 2008 Madison Square Garden sequel added '/NYC' to the name.

In which country did Diamond's 1972 live album spend 29 weeks at number one?

Australia was where he returned to live performing in 1976, ending his break from the stage with a tour there and in New Zealand.

At which Broadway theatre did Diamond play 20 sold-out nights in 1972, the first rock-era star to headline there?

The house hadn't staged a one-man show since Al Jolson in the 1930s; afterwards Diamond stopped touring for four years to be with his son.

Diamond won a Grammy and Golden Globe for scoring which 1973 film, whose album out-grossed it?

Jonathan Livingston Seagull ended in court: Diamond and author Richard Bach sued director Hall Bartlett over changes to the story and the score.

Which member of The Band produced Diamond's 1976 studio album?

Robbie Robertson also co-wrote the album's 'Dry Your Eyes' with Diamond and played guitar on the track.

In which Martin Scorsese music film does Diamond perform 'Dry Your Eyes'?

The Last Waltz filmed The Band's 1976 Thanksgiving farewell show, where Diamond also joined the all-star finale of Bob Dylan's 'I Shall Be Released'.

Which Las Vegas hotel had Diamond open its new Theatre for the Performing Arts in July 1976?

The Aladdin was imploded in 1998, but its theatre was kept for the rebuilt resort, renamed Planet Hollywood in 2007.

Which song became a number-one duet in 1978 after radio DJs spliced together two solo recordings of it?

Diamond wrote the music with the Bergmans on lyrics; he and his old schoolmate performed it unannounced at the 1980 Grammys.

After collapsing on stage in San Francisco in 1979, Diamond had surgery to remove what?

A tumour on his spine was the cause: he had shrugged off numbness in his right leg for years until he fell on stage and couldn't get up.

Diamond's 1980 film The Jazz Singer was a remake of a 1927 classic starring which entertainer?

Al Jolson starred in the 1927 original, the first feature film with synchronised dialogue, whose success marked the end of the silent-film era.

Which acting legend played Diamond's father in The Jazz Singer?

Laurence Olivier co-starred in a film that grossed less in the US than it cost, yet its soundtrack sold millions and went multi-platinum.

For The Jazz Singer, Diamond became the first-ever winner of which dubious prize?

The Worst Actor Razzie went to him at the very first Golden Raspberry Awards, even as the Golden Globes nominated him for the same role.

Which Neil Diamond song did Michael Dukakis use as the theme of his 1988 presidential campaign?

America was his tribute to immigration, and he sang it at the Statue of Liberty's centennial celebration in 1986.

Which 1982 Diamond top-10 hit, inspired by E.T., drew legal threats from the film's studio?

Heartlight came after he saw E.T. with co-writers Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, yet the song never names the alien or any character.

In January 1987 Diamond sang the national anthem at which event?

The Super Bowl that January ended with Giants quarterback Phil Simms saying 'I'm going to Disney World' for an ad, and Denver's John Elway had been paid the same to be ready to say it.

Diamond's stripped-back 2005 album 12 Songs was produced by whom?

Rick Rubin had him play guitar himself in the studio, and it became the first album in decades on which Diamond played acoustic guitar.

Which 2008 Diamond album topped the charts in the US, the UK and New Zealand?

Home Before Dark was his first US number-one album, 42 years into his recording career, after he previewed its single 'Pretty Amazing Grace' on TV.

Which festival booked Diamond for a Sunday afternoon set in 2008?

Glastonbury's Saturday headliner that year, Jay-Z, answered Noel Gallagher's objection to his booking by leading the crowd in Oasis's Wonderwall.

In January 2018 Diamond announced he would stop touring after being diagnosed with what?

Parkinson's disease forced him to cancel the rest of his 50th-anniversary world tour, including the dates planned for that March.

In which 2001 comedy, about a Neil Diamond cover band, does Diamond appear as himself?

Saving Silverman got a new song from him, and at its premiere party he sang with Super Diamond, a real Neil Diamond tribute band.

In 1967 Diamond guest-starred on which new TV detective series?

Mannix had its detective working for a big agency, Intertect, in that first season, but from season two he worked on his own.

What is the title of the jukebox musical about Diamond's life that opened on Broadway in December 2022?

A Beautiful Noise had a surprise on Broadway's opening night, when Diamond himself led the audience in 'Sweet Caroline'.

Which actor played the younger Diamond on Broadway and joined the real Diamond for a 2022 Fenway singalong?

Will Swenson and the real Diamond led the eighth-inning singalong even though the Red Sox were down eight runs on the way to an 11–2 loss.

Which company bought Diamond's songwriting catalogue and master recordings in 2022?

Universal Music Group had signed him to its Capitol label in 2014, and the 2022 deal added his songwriting catalogue and every recording of his career.

Diamond's first US number one is said to take its name from what?

Diamond has told a story about a First Nations community whose lonely men drank 'Crackling Rosé' together round the fire.

What was Katie McNeil's job for Diamond before they married?

Manager Katie McNeil got engaged to him in 2011, and Diamond broke the news on Twitter, declaring himself 'lovestruck'.

What did the Recording Academy give Diamond in 2018?

A Lifetime Achievement Award was announced for him in January 2018, the month he quit touring, though he said he would keep writing and recording.

What was the title of Diamond's 2010 album of his favourite songs by rock-era artists?

Dreams gathered 14 favourite songs, and he performed one of them, 'Ain't No Sunshine', on NBC's a cappella show The Sing-Off.

Which comedian guest-starred in Diamond's 1986 TV special Hello Again?

Carol Burnett closed each episode of her own variety show by tugging her left ear, a signal to her grandmother.

Which Beach Boy sang backing vocals on a bonus track of the special edition of 12 Songs?

Brian Wilson appeared on the bonus 'Delirious Love', but the album's first pressing carried Sony BMG's invasive copy-protection software and was later repressed without it.

Diamond's first recording act, a duo that released two 1962 singles, was billed as Neil and whom?

Jack, a high-school friend, made up the other half, but neither single sold, and Columbia signed Diamond as a solo artist later in 1962.

Who co-produced Diamond's 1969 album Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show in Memphis?

Chips Moman ran the Memphis studio where, that same year, he revived Elvis Presley's career with 'In the Ghetto' and 'Suspicious Minds'.