With 135 million records sold worldwide, along with 38 Top 40 singles and 18 Platinum certified albums, Neil Diamond, the American musician, is truly a force to behold. The singer-songwriter is one of the best-selling artists of all time and has been dominating the music industry since the 1960s. With hit singles such as “Crackin’ Rosie,” “Longfellow Serenade,” “I’ve Been This Way Before” and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”, Neil Diamond’s music has received a lot of critical acclaim.
Fresh off his super successful 50th Anniversary European and UK Tour that wrapped up in October 2017, Neil Diamond is at a career high. Get these Neil Diamond tickets to catch him live in his upcoming performances.
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Diamond was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended the local Erasmus Hall High School, in the same class as Barbara Streisand. For his 16th birthday, he received a guitar as a gift and began showing noted interest in making music. After enrolling in the New York University as a pre-med major, he was soon bored and started writing songs to pass time. He began skipping classes and going to Tin Pan Alley to get in touch with some of the local publishers there. During his senior year, with just 10 units left for graduation, he was offered a 16-week publishing contract by Sunbeam Music Publishing. He dropped out of college and took the offer.
After going to and fro between multiple publishing and recording companies and recording a single with Columbia Records that failed to chart, Neil Diamond faced some really tough times. He started focusing on his songwriting and was barely making enough to survive.
Then came his singles “Cherry, Cherry” and “Solitary Man”, with the latter being his first to chart. His first success as a songwriter was in November, 1965, with the song “Sunday and Me” – a top 20 hit by the Jay and the Americans. More successful singles soon followed, with “I’m A Believer,” “Love to Love” and “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You” – all sung by the Monkees. The song “I’m A Believer” was certified Gold within two days of its release and remained at the top position for seven whole weeks.
In his early days as a singer, he was usually a guest, opening for bands such as Herman’s Hermits and the Who.
Breakthrough
Even though the singer had made quite a name for himself in the industry, his major breakthrough came when he signed on to Uni Records (later known as MCA Records and now as Universal Records). His debut album with this label did not chart. After moving to LA in 1969, Diamond started recording slightly mellower songs such as “Cracklin’ Rose” and “Song Sung Blue”. Both of these songs reached the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100. “Sweet Caroline” was also a major success – a song Diamond wrote for Caroline Kennedy after seeing her on the cover of a magazine in an equestrian riding outfit.
Successes for the rising star continued to follow, as he played 7 sold-out concerts at the famous Greek Theater in Los Angeles. One newspaper at the time labeled Diamond’s first show as “the finest concert in Greek Theater history”.
A year later in 1972, Diamond announced another 10 shows at the Greek Theater. As soon as the first show was announced, the 5000 seating capacity theater got sold out really fast.
Subsequent Music
Neil Diamond continued to perform sold out live shows at multiple locations, becoming one of the biggest stars of his time. Soon after this, he signed a lucrative deal with Columbia Records that would see him earn a million dollar in advance per album.
In 1996, the artist made a departure from his traditional musical style into country music, with Tennessee Moon. He then teamed up with Rick Rubin in 2005 to release 12 Songs, which was applauded as a major comeback for Diamond. It peaked at No. 4 on the albums charts.
Awards and Achievements
During the course of his career, Diamond has gotten many awards and accolades. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. In addition to these honors, Neil Diamond has also received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. In 2011, he was an honoree at the prestigious Kennedy Center.
The singer is also the winner of multiple awards for his music and other ventures. He has won the Award of Merit at the 1990 American Music Awards, a Billboard Music Award, a Brit Award nomination and two Emmy Award nominations. In addition to these, he was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, for Best Motion Picture Actor and for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for his movie “The Jazz Singer” in 1981. He won a Golden Globe Award for the Best Original Score for Jonathan Livingston Seagull in 1973.
Diamond has also been nominated multiple times for the prestigious Grammy Awards and won the Grammy for the Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture.
He got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.
Neil Diamond Tour Tickets
Neil Diamond tour tickets are now available. The multiple award winning singer will be performing a series of shows in the earlier part of 2018 and you would not want to miss it! Known for his stellar sold out concerts with an environment you are unlikely to find anywhere else, Neil Diamond does not fail to impress every single time. Grab these tickets and see for yourself. Talking about his recent 50th Anniversary tour, Diamond added, “my job is the greatest job in the world. I sing. You hear. You applaud. I sing louder. I go wherever the noise is.”
