Neil Diamond Biography
Neil Diamond (born – Neil Leslie Diamond) is an American Singer-Songwriter well-known for his famous rock, pop, folk, country, soft rock, and ballads songs. Some of them include “Sweet Caroline”, “I Am… I Said”, “Still Alive”, “Cracklin’ Rosie”, “America“, “Holly Holy”, “Forever In Blue Jeans”, “Solitary Man”, “Hello Again”, “Cherry, Cherry”, “song sung blue”, “Love On The Rocks”, and many others.
Neil Diamond Age
Diamond was born on January 24, 1941, in New York, United States. He is therefore 82 years old as of 2023. He celebrates his birthday on the 24th of January every year.
Neil Diamond Height
Diamond stands at an approximate height of 6 feet and 0 inches.
Neil Diamond Family
Diamond was born to his late parents, Akeeba “Kieve” Diamond (father) and Rose Diamond (mother). Both his parents are Jewish. His dad was a dry-goods merchant. He grew up alongside his 1 brother, Harvey Diamond. Diamond grew up in different houses in Brooklyn. He also lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming for 4 years because his dad was in the army and stationed there.
Neil Diamond Wife
Diamond is married to his lovely spouse, Katie McNeil Diamond. They tied the knot in the year 2012 and had their engagement the previous year. Diamond once stated that his 2014 album, “Melody Road,” was inspired and influenced by his relationship with Katie. The duo has no kids of their own at the moment.
Neil Diamond Ex-Wives
Diamond’s marriage with Katie is his 3rd. His 1st marriage was with Jaye Posner (a schoolteacher). They first met when in high school, and they tied the knot in 1963, separated in 1967, and eventually divorced in 1969. The reason for their divorce is unknown. After that, Diamond married Marcia Murphey (a production assistant). They tied the knot on December 5, 1969, and eventually divorced in 1995. The following year, Diamond began dating Rae Farley but their relationship did not last long.
Neil Diamond Children
Diamond is a father of 4 kids. Two of the kids are daughters, Elyn Diamond and Marjorie Diamond, and he got them with his first wife, Jaye Posner. The other 2 kids are sons, Jesse Diamond and Micah Diamond, and he got them with his second wife, Marcia Murphey.
Neil Diamond Net Worth
Diamond has an estimated net worth of $300 Million which he has earned through his successful career as a Singer-Songwriter.
Neil Diamond Education | Early Career
Diamond is a proud alumnus of Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and New York University. In high school, Diamond was part of the Freshman Chorus and Choral Club, where he met Barbra Streisand, but they weren’t very close friends at the time. He also attended Abraham Lincoln High School and was on the fencing team, along with his best friend Herb Cohen.
At 16, he received his first guitar as a birthday gift and was inspired to write his own songs after seeing folk singer Pete Seeger perform. This newfound interest in songwriting became his first real passion and a way to express his feelings and frustrations. Diamond also discovered that writing poems for girls he liked in school helped win their hearts, and soon his male classmates asked him to write poems for them too. After high school, he worked as a waiter in the Catskills resort area during the summer.
During college, Diamond was a pre-med major and was on a fencing scholarship. He was also part of the fencing team with his friend Herb Cohen. He then won the 1960 NCAA men’s championship with them. However, he found himself often bored in class and discovered that writing song lyrics was more enjoyable for him. So, he started skipping classes and going to Tin Pan Alley to try and get his songs heard by local music publishers.
In his senior year, when he was very close to graduating, Sunbeam Music Publishing offered him a job to write songs for 16 weeks, paying him $50 a week. Diamond decided to drop out of college and take the opportunity to pursue his passion for songwriting.
Neil Diamond Career / Awards
1960s
After working at Sunbeam for 16 weeks, Diamond wasn’t hired again. So, he started writing and singing his own songs to make demos. He didn’t plan to become a songwriter, but it became a big part of his life.
At first, he teamed up with his high school friend Jack Packer and they called themselves “Neil and Jack,” singing like the Everly Brothers. Diamond wrote songs wherever he could, even on buses, and used a piano above the Birdland Club in New York City. During those years, he could only sell about one song a week, which wasn’t enough to live comfortably. He could only afford to spend 35 cents a day on food.
Diamond’s early career was spent in the Brill Building, where he had his first taste of success as a songwriter when Jay and the Americans had a hit with “Sunday and Me” in November 1965. He continued to have more success with songs like “I’m a Believer,” “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow),” “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You,”, and “Love to Love,” all performed by the Monkees.
In 1966, Diamond signed a deal with Bang Records, which was a part of Atlantic at the time. His first big hit as a solo artist was “Solitary Man.” After that, he had success with songs like “Cherry, Cherry” and “Kentucky Woman.”
Later, in March 1968, Diamond signed a deal with Uni Records, which got its name from Universal Pictures. The label was owned by MCA Inc., and it later became MCA Records (now known as Universal Music) after merging with PolyGram in the year 1999.
1970s & 1980s
In the mid-1969, Diamond relocated to LA and his music style became softer with songs like “Sweet Caroline,” “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Holly Holy,” and “Song Sung Blue.” “Sweet Caroline” was his 1st big hit after a period of less success. He initially said he wrote the song for Caroline Kennedy, but later mentioned it was for his then-wife, Marcia.
In the year 1971, he performed 7 sold-out concerts at the Greek Theater in LA, which had a new stereo sound system for the 1st time. In August 1972, he returned to the Greek for ten shows, and tickets sold out quickly.
One of his latest albums in the ’70s was “September Morn,” featuring a new version of “I’m a Believer.” Some of his well-known original songs, like “Red Red Wine,” gained popularity when other artists covered them. In the year 1979, he collapsed on stage and underwent a 12-hour operation to remove a tumor on his spine.
A planned movie with Barbra Streisand didn’t work out, but Diamond starred in a 1980 remake of “The Jazz Singer.” The film received mixed reviews, but its soundtrack had successful singles like “Love on the Rocks,” “Hello Again,” and “America,” which held emotional significance for Diamond.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Diamond’s record sales declined, but his concerts remained popular. In the year 1986, Billboard named him the most profitable solo performer of the year. He released his seventeenth studio album, “Headed for the Future,” and appeared in a television special called “Hello Again.”
He sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl in January 1987, and his song “America” became the theme for Michael Dukakis’ 1988 presidential campaign. Around the same time, the British band UB40 had a reggae version of Diamond’s ballad “Red Red Wine,” which became more famous than the original version.
1990s & 2000s
In the ’90s, Diamond made 6 studio albums where he covered classic songs from famous songwriters and from movies. He also released 2 Christmas albums, one of which reached #8 on the Album chart Billboard. During this time, he recorded two albums with mostly new songs.
In the year 1992, he was a performer for the final Christmas in Washington NBC special for President George H. W. Bush. He had 2 shows at the Mark of the Quad Cities in the year 1993, which was attended by over 27,000 people. In the year 2005, Diamond released an album called “12 Songs,” produced by Rick Rubin. It received positive reviews and was one of his best sets of songs in a long time.
In the year 2007, he became an inductee into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. He also appeared as a guest mentor on American Idol and sang “Sweet Caroline” on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. Diamond performed at The Roundhouse in London and released the album “Home Before Dark” in the year 2008. which topped the charts in New Zealand, the UK, and the US. He also played at the Glastonbury Festival but faced technical issues. Later that year, he performed at The Ohio State University while dealing with laryngitis, which led to offering refunds to disappointed fans.
Diamond was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year in the year 2009 and sang at the July 4th Independence Day celebration in Boston. In October 2009, he released his third Christmas album called “A Cherry Cherry Christmas.”
2010s & 2020s
In the year 2010, Diamond released an album called “Dreams,” featuring his favorite songs by rock artists. Over the next few years, he achieved several milestones in his career. In the year 2011, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award from the Kennedy Center. In December of the same year, he got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This recognized his contributions to the music industry.
Moving into 2012, Diamond headlined the Royal Variety Performance in the UK and appeared at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. These events further solidified his place as a prominent and beloved figure in the music world.
In the year 2013, a touching moment occurred at Fenway Park when Diamond made a surprise appearance to sing “Sweet Caroline” during a baseball game. The performance marked the first game at Fenway after the tragic Boston Marathon bombing, making it a poignant and meaningful moment for the city and its residents.
The following year, in the year 2014, Diamond signed with Capitol Music Group, which also owned his Uni/MCA catalog. He released his album “Melody Road,” produced by Don Was and Jacknife Lee. Later that year, he also had a greatest hits compilation called “All-Time Greatest Hits” that charted well.
In 2017, a career-spanning anthology titled “Neil Diamond 50 – 50th Anniversary Collection” was released. Diamond embarked on his final concert tour, the 50-Year Anniversary World Tour, starting in Fresno, California in April.
The significance of his music was recognized in the year 2019 when his iconic 1969 song “Sweet Caroline” was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry, acknowledging its cultural and historical importance.
Also in the year 2020, during the height of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Diamond posted a video on YouTube playing “Sweet Caroline” with slightly modified lyrics to encourage handwashing and promote safety measures.
In the year 2021, news broke that a musical based on Diamond’s life, titled “A Beautiful Noise.” It featured his songs, which would open in Boston at the Emerson Colonial Theater, followed by a planned Broadway run.
Then, on June 18, 2022, Diamond surprised fans by singing “Sweet Caroline” during the 8th-inning stretch of a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. He was joined by Will Swenson, who portrays him in the musical “A Beautiful Noise,” making it a delightful and unexpected moment for both the audience and Diamond himself.
Neil Diamond Touring Retirement / Illness
In January 2018, Diamond made announcements that he would stop touring since he underwent a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. His planned tour dates in Australia and New Zealand for the “50-Year Anniversary World Tour” had to be canceled. However, he made it clear on his official website that he wasn’t retiring from music altogether. The live performances were canceled to give him more time for writing, recording, and working on new projects.
Then, on July 28, 2018, Diamond and his wife Katie McNeil made a surprise visit to the Incident Command post in Basalt, Colorado, close to where Neil lives. They wanted to thank the firefighters and their families for their hard work in containing the Lake Christine Fire, which had started on July 3 and had burned about 12,000 acres of land. Neil performed a solo acoustic guitar concert as a heartfelt gesture of appreciation for their efforts. Despite his retirement due to Parkinson’s disease, Diamond made a rare appearance in 2020 at the Keep Memory Alive Power of Love Gala in Las Vegas, where he was honored.
Neil Diamond Movies/Films
Besides being a singer, Diamond is also an actor, who has appeared in the following films;
- Keeping Up With The Steins
- Saving Silverman
- The Jazz Singer
- Mannix
Neil Diamond Youtube
Below is one of the songs Diamond
Neil Diamond Social Media Platforms
He is active on his social media accounts and often posts on his Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. He has over 176K followers on Instagram.
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