"The beat goes on": Neil Diamond opens up about life with Parkinson’s
Neil Diamond has opened up about his experience living with Parkinson’s, and how it has taken a long and uphill battle to come to terms with his 2018 diagnosis.
In a candid interview with Anthony Mason for CBS Sunday Morning, the 82-year-old singer - best known for his hit song ‘Sweet Caroline’ - detailed how he moved from denial to acceptance, and the impact it has had on his life and his career ever since.
“When the doctor told me what it was, I was just not ready to accept it,” he said. “I said, ‘oh, okay, I’ll see you whenever you want to see me, but I have work to do, so I’ll see you later’.”
For “the first year or two”, Diamond admits he refused to accept his condition, but as acceptance finally came to him, so did a sort of calm and peace of mind
“I think this has just been in the last few weeks,” he explained to Mason, “but somehow, a calm has moved in and the hurricane of my life, and things have gotten very quiet.
“And I like it. I find that I like myself better. I’m easier on people. I’m easier on myself and the beat goes on and it will go on long after I’m gone.”
He went on to note his understanding that “this is the hand that God’s given”, and how his only option was “to make the best of it”.
“There’s no cure, there’s no getting away from it. You can’t just say ‘okay, enough already, let’s get back to life’. It doesn’t work like that,” he said.
“But I’ve come to accept what limitations I have and still have great days.”
And while Diamond retired from touring in 2018 in the wake of his diagnosis, he can still find those great days in music, with his life playing out in the musical A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical on Broadway.
As for how it feels to see his story performed on the stage, he admits that initially it was difficult, and that he felt some embarrassment, before going on to add that he “was flattered, and I was scared.
“Being found out is the scariest thing you can hope for because we all have a facade. And the truth be known to all of them. I’m not some big star - I’m just me.”
“The show is part of my psychotherapy,” he explained, “and it hurt.”
On opening night, Diamond even returned to the stage for a singalong performance of ‘Sweet Caroline’, and as he told Mason, “I can still sing. I’ve been doing it for 50 years and I enjoy it. It’s like all the systems of my mind and my body are working as one.
“I’ve had a pretty amazing life, it’s true.”
Images: Getty