10 things you didn’t know about Neil Diamond
One of the most successful singers of all time, here are 10 things you didn’t know about Neil Diamond.
1. Artists who have recorded Neil Diamond songs include Elvis Presley, Deep Purple, Lulu, Cliff Richard, The Monkees, UB40, Johnny Cash and Smash Mouth.
2. John F. Kennedy's daughter, Caroline, was the inspiration for his hit "Sweet Caroline". Diamond revealed he wrote the anthem after seeing her on the cover of Life Magazine in an equestrian riding outfit.
3. Neil Diamond is his real name, but he considered using two other stage names – Noah Kaminsky and Eice Charry.
4. Neil Diamond's favorite covers of his songs are UB40's version of “Red Red Wine” and Frank Sinatra's rendition of "Sweet Caroline".
5. He attended NYU on a fencing scholarship.
6. His album Hot August Night was number one for 29 weeks in Australia. It was voted number 16 in a list of the favourite albums of all time.
7. He originally wanted to work as a laboratory biologist. His grandmother had died of cancer, which inspired him to want to search for a cure. Fate intervened when he was offered a songwriting deal (for $50 a week) when he was still at university.
8. “Sweet Caroline” only took him an hour to write. “I Am…I Said” took four months.
9. He is one of the biggest selling artists in the world, having sold more than 125 million records around the world.
10. Diamond wrote UB40’s hit “Red Red Wine”. Their cover ended up being much more successful than his original version.
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