366 | Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond was born on January 24, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York, into a Jewish middle-class family. As a teenager, he received his first guitar and began writing songs. While studying at New York University, he became seriously interested in music and decided to give up his academic career to become a songwriter—a risky decision.

In the early 1960s, he began working as a songwriter in New York’s Brill Building scene, where professional writers produced hit songs for pop groups. Among other songs, he wrote the hits I’m a Believer and A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You  for The Monkees. His talent lay in combining simple melodies with emotionally direct lyrics, which became his trademark.

Soon afterward, in the late 1960s, he launched a successful solo career. His first solo hits, such as Solitary Man and Cherry, Cherry, made him popular, but he often felt undervalued by record labels. He wanted greater artistic freedom, which led to tensions with the music industry—an early sign of his drive for creative control.

The 1970s and 1980s marked his artistic peak. Diamond began using larger orchestral arrangements, writing songs about love, identity, loneliness, and America, and making his live performances more theatrical and emotionally powerful. His music became grand, dramatic, and introspective. He scored dozens of major hits, including:

• Sweet Caroline
• Cracklin’ Rosie
• Song Sung Blue
• I Am… I Said
• Hello Again
• Forever in Blue Jeans
• You Don’t Bring Me Flowers (met Barbra Streisand)
• America

Neil Diamond was known as an almost preacher-like performer; he spoke frequently to the audience and created a strong sense of shared emotion. Fans experienced him as sincere and emotionally accessible.

In 1980, Diamond starred in The Jazz Singer, a remake of the classic film. Although the movie received mixed reviews, the soundtrack produced major hits.

Neil Diamond continued releasing successful albums and touring extensively. In 2018, he announced that he had Parkinson’s disease. He stopped touring, marking the end of his active live career, but he continued writing, composing, and staying involved in music.

Neil Diamond has sold more than 130 million records and is one of the most widely sung-along artists of all time.