It was on national news tonite he said he wrote that song about
CarolineKennedy and just told her and sang it to her for her birthday.
Guess she was surprised and pleased.
Boy I wonder how many other secrets he has?
I wonder if Taylor sarenades "his Caroline" with this song?
I saw this story on Today this morning and they showed photos of the young Caroline Kennedy. They were commenting on how "Sweet Caroline" was probably Neil's best song and that Neil had agreed.
Thanks for the info Lisa.
Did not know about that connection - can't stand the song but still neat to know the background.
Sweet Caroline never made it to # 1 btw - - it's highest ranking was # 4 on Billboard
And Wiki has more than you ever wanted to know - - - seems the Red Sox don't have any exclusivity - just one of many - - do not get whay it became associated with sports but "whatever"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Caroline
I wonder how many other secrets he has?
He is a prolific songwriter so there are probably a lot of interesting tidbits like that one.
This site hasn't been updated in a while but still has the best consolidation of info I've found so far
http://www.angelfire.com/mo/iris/
As of May 2002
236 songs were written solely by Neil
118 songs were written with a co-writer
15 songs believed to have been written by Neil,
but no information available
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369 Neil Diamond Songs
236 songs recorded by Neil
22 songs recorded by others, but no known recording by Neil
85 songs copyrighted, but with no known recording
15 songs believed to be Neil's but no information available
4 songs heard only in concert
6 songs heard on acetate or demo
1 song heard on Mannix TV show
------
369 Neil Diamond Songs
125 songs recorded by others (cover versions)
cover versions listed for 516 artists
1036 unique recordings
A couple of his quotes I've run across in my trips down the rabbit hole - - - the more time I spend learning about the only other artist to ever command my attention - - the easier it is for me to understand why I feel so strongly about Taylor and his music - - as they say it's deja vu all over again - -
" The human voice is the most important instrument at our disposal, yet it is one of the most difficult to understand or define.
You either hear it, or you don't. It either moves you, or it leaves you cold...it is more than just a sound...it is the soul itself. "
------Neil Diamond, 1974.
"My voice is unadorned. I don't try for perfection.
I try to be honest and truthful and soulful with the voice I have. If I make mistakes in notes, or there are cracks in notes, I don't fix them. That's the way it is."
------ Neil Diamond
What was really funny was Mike & Mike singing Sweet Caroline on their show this morning (they are on ESPN and ESPN radio).
I absolutely love this one,it could not be summed up any better.
The human voice is the most important instrument at our disposal, yet it is one of the most difficult to understand or define.
You either hear it, or you don't. It either moves you, or it leaves you cold...it is more than just a sound...it is the soul itself. "
------Neil Diamond, 1974.
LOVE IT LOVE IT.