Neil Diamond Biography Quotes 21 Report mistakes

Early Life and First Songs
Neil Leslie Diamond was born on January 24, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in a Jewish family that moved between Brooklyn and Queens. Music drew him early, and by his mid-teens he was writing songs and teaching himself guitar. At Erasmus Hall High School he sang in the chorus alongside Barbra Streisand, an early brush with another future star that foreshadowed how his songwriting and voice would intersect with the wider popular culture. He earned a fencing scholarship to New York University and studied with plans that did not immediately involve show business, but the pull of songwriting won out. He left college short of a degree to take a staff writer job in the Brill Building world, where craft, deadlines, and collaboration were the order of the day.

Brill Building Apprenticeship and First Hits
In the mid-1960s Diamond sharpened his skills as a professional songwriter, learning to deliver sturdy melodies and plainspoken emotional hooks for other artists. Under the wing of producers Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, and encouraged by record man Bert Berns, he signed to Bang Records and began to chart in his own name. The lean guitar-driven "Solitary Man" introduced him as a distinctive, resonant baritone with a flair for confessional songwriting. "Cherry, Cherry" and "Kentucky Woman" followed in quick succession. At the same time, he was supplying other acts with material: The Monkees took his "I am a Believer" to the top of the charts, and they also recorded "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", cementing his reputation as a writer who could capture youthful energy without sacrificing craftsmanship.

Artistic Expansion and Classic Songs
Seeking greater creative control, Diamond moved to Uni Records (an MCA imprint) in 1968 and began a run of recordings that broadened his sound with richer arrangements and wider emotional range. Working closely with producer Tom Catalano and sympathetic arrangers, he delivered songs that became fixtures of American popular music. "Sweet Caroline" showcased his ability to mix warmth and uplift with an instantly memorable chorus; its origins have been described in different ways by Diamond over the years, adding to the song's lore as it evolved into an anthem adopted by audiences far beyond the concert stage. "Holly Holy", "Cracklin Rosie", "I Am... I Said", and "Song Sung Blue" underscored his ability to fuse gospel shouts, folk earnestness, and pop concision. The live album Hot August Night, recorded at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, captured his stagecraft at full burn and became a touchstone, particularly in markets like Australia where it spent an extraordinary time on the charts.

Duets, Film, and Global Reach
By the 1970s Diamond had moved to Columbia Records and was a major touring attraction with a songbook suited to arenas and orchestras alike. A unique chapter arrived with "You Do not Bring Me Flowers", which began as separate recordings by Diamond and Barbra Streisand and, after radio DJs spliced the two together to dramatic effect, became an official duet and a chart-topping phenomenon. In 1976 he worked with Robbie Robertson on the album Beautiful Noise and appeared with The Band at The Last Waltz concert, adding his voice to a landmark moment in rock documentation. Diamond also stepped into film with The Jazz Singer (1980), co-starring Laurence Olivier and Lucie Arnaz. While critical opinion on the movie was divided, the soundtrack produced enduring hits, including "Love on the Rocks", "Hello Again", and "America", the last of which distilled themes of aspiration and welcome that resonated widely.

Later Career and Reinvention
Through the 1980s and 1990s Diamond remained a reliable recording artist and a formidable live draw, refining the large-scale concert format that balanced storytelling with showmanship. His catalog enjoyed periodic revivals as new generations rediscovered his songs: "Red, Red Wine" became a global hit for UB40, and "Girl, You will Be a Woman Soon" found fresh life via a prominent film placement. In the 2000s he pursued a creative reset with producer Rick Rubin, known for sparking late-career renaissances. Together they crafted 12 Songs (2005) and Home Before Dark (2008), intimate, largely acoustic albums that emphasized his voice, guitar, and lyrical directness; the latter topped charts and introduced him anew to younger listeners. He continued to tour extensively into the 2010s, with careful attention to sound and pacing that reflected decades of experience.

Personal Life
Diamond married schoolteacher Jayne Posner in the 1960s; their marriage produced two daughters before ending in divorce. He then married Marcia Murphey, with whom he had two sons. Later, he married Katie McNeil, a manager who worked closely with him during his 2010s tours, reflecting how family and professional life intertwined throughout his career. His songs, while rarely diaristic in a literal sense, often carried the emotional weight of personal change, and listeners came to recognize the steady, unforced empathy behind his most durable work.

Health, Recognition, and Legacy
In early 2018 Diamond announced a diagnosis of Parkinsons disease and retired from touring, canceling a planned leg of shows while affirming that he would continue to write and record. The public response underscored the affection built over decades of performance. Honors accumulated over the years, including inductions into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as a Kennedy Center Honor, acknowledging his place in the American song tradition. His life and catalog were later celebrated on stage in A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical, with actor Will Swenson portraying Diamond in a production that drew on his songs and story.

Across more than half a century, Neil Diamond bridged the worlds of pop, rock, folk, and adult contemporary without ever losing the singer-songwriter core that defined him. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide, yet his legacy rests as much on the communal act of singing together as on sales figures. Whether through bracing confessionals like "I Am... I Said", rousing sing-alongs like "Sweet Caroline", or the elegant melancholy of "You Do not Bring Me Flowers", he built a repertoire that invited audiences in. The producers, musicians, and collaborators around him, from Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich to Tom Catalano, Robbie Robertson, Rick Rubin, and longtime duet partner Barbra Streisand, helped frame that voice, but the sensibility remained unmistakably his: melodic, plainspoken, generous, and durable.

Our collection contains 21 quotes who is written by Neil, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Music - Writing - Live in the Moment - Work Ethic.

Other people realated to Neil: Carole King (Musician), Buffy Sainte-Marie (Canadian), Davy Jones (Musician), Micky Dolenz (Actor)