Profile of Neil Diamond

Born:

Born on January 24, 1941 as Neil Leslie Diamond to parents Akeeba Diamond and Rose Rapoport. Neil is the eldest of two sons.

Birthplace:

Brooklyn, New York

Early Years:

Diamond began singing and playing the guitar in his teens, reportedly after seeing Pete Seeger perform. While attending New York University as a premed student (later shifting to commerce), he wrote songs and pitched it to music publishers. His first venture into recording was as part of a duo called Neil & Jack (with Jack Parker). Their pairing resulted in two singles: "You Are My Love"/"What Will I Do" (1960) and "I'm Afraid"/"Till You've Tried Love" (1961). The duo broke-up in 1961.

Becoming Famous:

Neil continued writing songs and in 1962 he collaborated with 9 other writers for the song "Ten Lonely Guys" recorded by Pat Boone. This was followed by the song "Santa Santa" recorded by the Rocky Fellers and released that same year. His first hit song, "Sunday and Me', was recorded by Jay & The Americans and released in 1965. His next recording, "Solitary Man," came out in 1966 under Bang Records, followed by the song "Cherry, Cherry". The song, "I'm A Believer", was originally intended for Diamond's album but was eventually recorded by the Monkees. The said song was a chart-topper in 1967.

Songs He Wrote:

Songs Neil Diamond penned or co-wrote include:

"I Got the Feelin' (Oh No No)"

"Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow"

"A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You"

"Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon"

"Kentucky Woman"

"Red Red Wine"

"Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show"

"Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)' - Became platinum and was covered by other artists including Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley

"Holly Holy"

"Cracklin' Rosie"

"I am...I Said" - Grammy nominated for Best Pop Vocal

"Song Sung Blue" - Grammy nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Other Songs He Wrote:

"Desiree"

"Forever in Blue Jeans"

"You Don't Bring Me Flowers" - Recorded by Barbra Streisand and later recorded as a duet with Diamond. This song was Grammy nominated for Song of the Year (1978) and Record of the Year (1979).

"September Morn"

"Love on the Rocks"

"Hello Again"

Other Accomplishments:

In 1971 his score for the film adaptation of the novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull won him a Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or TV Special.

He wrote "I Seek the Night" for the Clint Eastwood movie Every Which Way But Loose

He appeared in the film The Jazz Singer

In 1999, Amusement Business Magazine named him one of the Top 5 concert artists.

He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984.

Personal Struggles/Love Life:

Diamond was embroiled in a lengthy lawsuit against Bang Records which was eventually settled in 1977. He was married to Jay Posne (a teacher) with whom he has two daughters. The two divroced in 1969. That same year Diamond married Marcia Kay Murphey with whom he has two sons. They were later divorced in 1996.

Interesting Facts:

Neil Diamond used the pseudonym Mark Lewis when he co-wrote the song "Ten Lonely Guys" recorded by Pat Boone.

More Information:

For more on Neil Diamond, visit his fansite. Also, check out this video of Streisand and Diamond singing "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" from Youtube.