Diamond, Neil (1941-…), is an American singer and songwriter known for his deep, warm voice and dynamic stage performances. Diamond wrote and recorded many songs that became international hits in the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s. He also wrote many songs that became hits for other performers.
Neil Leslie Diamond was born on Jan. 24, 1941, in the Brooklyn borough (district) of New York City. He began playing guitar and writing songs as a teenager. Diamond studied medicine at New York University but did not graduate. In 1960, he formed a duo called Neil & Jack with his high school friend Jack Packer. Their first release was the single “What Will I Do” (1960).
Beginning in 1962, Diamond worked as a songwriter for a number of music publishing companies. In 1965, the pop group Jay & the Americans recorded Diamond’s composition “Sunday and Me.” It became Diamond’s first hit as a songwriter. Diamond also wrote a number of songs that became hits for the Monkees rock group. These songs included “I’m a Believer” (1966), which became the best-selling single of 1967; and “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)” and “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You” (both 1967).
In the early 1960’s, Diamond also began to establish himself as a solo performer. In 1963, he recorded his first single, “Clown Town.” In 1966, “Solitary Man” became Diamond’s first hit. His song “Cherry, Cherry,” released later that year, had even greater success. Diamond’s other hits of the 1960’s include “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” (1967) and “Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)” and “Holly Holy” (both 1969).
Diamond’s popular songs of the 1970’s include “Cracklin’ Rosie” (1970), “I Am…I Said” (1971), “Song Sung Blue” and “Play Me” (both 1972), and “Longfellow Serenade” (1974). Diamond also wrote the score for the 1973 motion-picture version of the best-selling 1970 novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The sound track became a hit upon its release and earned Diamond a Grammy Award for best score sound track album for a motion picture.
In 1980, Diamond starred in and co-wrote the score for a remake of the 1927 motion picture The Jazz Singer. A number of the film’s songs, including “America,” written by Diamond, became hits. Diamond was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. That year, he also became a Kennedy Center Honoree.
