DIAMOND, NEIL

DIAMOND, NEIL (1941– ), U.S. singer and songwriter. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Diamond began his music career as a staff songwriter for Bang Records. He wrote hit songs for the Monkees, "I'm a Believer" (1965) and "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You" (1967), and then recorded his own smash single "Cherry Cherry." Diamond followed this up with a long series of Top Ten songs, including "Cracklin' Rosie," "Kentucky Woman," "Song Sung Blue," "Sweet Caroline," "I Am I Said," and "Solitary Man." He then scored the soundtrack for the movie Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1971) and wrote the number one single "You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore" (1979), which he recorded as a duet with Barbra Streisand. The two had known each other since they were students at Erasmus High School, where they had sung together in the school choir. In 1980 Diamond starred in a remake of the Al Jolson film classic The Jazz Singer, opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Although the film was not a box office hit, the soundtrack album was very successful, spawning the singles "America," "Love on the Rocks," and "Hello Again." Diamond was not a hit as an actor either, becoming the first ever "winner" of a Razzie Award for Worst Actor. But he was in formidable company, having edged out such stars as Kirk Douglas, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Blake for that dubious title that year. In 2000, the Songwriters Hall of Fame honored Diamond with the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award. Diamond recorded some 75 albums and continued to go on concert tours worldwide, with members of his family performing in his back-up band. (Jonathan Licht / Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)