Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts: “Cracklin’ Rosie”, “Song Sung Blue”, “Longfellow Serenade”, “I’ve Been This Way Before”, “If You Know What I Mean”, “Desirée”, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”, “America”, “Yesterday’s Songs”, and “Heartlight”. 38 songs by Diamond have featured in the Top 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.
Diamond was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, and he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. In 2011, he was an honoree at the Kennedy Center Honors, and he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
The Jazz Singer is an album by Neil Diamond from 1980, which served as the soundtrack album to the 1980 remake of the film The Jazz Singer. The soundtrack was released in November 1980 originally on Capitol Records, instead of his then-usual Columbia Records, because the film was produced by EMI Films, owned by the parent company of the label for which the soundtrack was released. The soundtrack was re-released in February 1996 on Columbia Records in the United States and Sony elsewhere. After Diamond signed with Capitol Records, this album was reissued by Capitol globally in 2014.
The film’s reviews were negative, earning Diamond the first Razzie for Worst Actor at the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards, but made a modest profit at the box office, grossing almost double its budget. However, its soundtrack was a huge success and became Neil Diamond’s biggest selling album in the United States, selling over 5 million copies there and reaching #3 on the pop albums chart. This would mark the second time a Neil Diamond soundtrack outperformed the movie it came from (after Jonathan Livingston Seagull). Three songs from the album became top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with “Love on the Rocks”, “Hello Again” and “America” reaching Nos. 2, 6, and 8, respectively. (wikipedia)
Neil Diamond’s 1980 screen turn as a charismatic singer torn between Jewish tradition and pop music stardom spawned this phenomenally successful soundtrack album — six million copies and counting. Diamond’s 21st century resurgence as a walking item of kitsch has sparked renewed interest in the bombastic melting-pot jam “America,” as well as his signature late-career ballad “Hello Again.” In addition, the lite FM favorite “Love on the Rocks” is classic, raw-throated Neil. But beyond these notables, The Jazz Singer is an album of passable pop songs that stand on the edge of disco and in the grip of melodrama. The hyper “You Baby” is dressed up with an audio clip marking the film’s embarrassing black face sequence, while the album’s midsection sags with songs that shine like Sunset Strip billboards, yet lack any real substance.
Swelling strings and lovely lyrics abound, but it all seems directionless, as if Diamond’s just going through the motions. Similarly, Jewish traditionals like “Kol Nidre/My Name is Yussel” are important as thematic elements. But removed from the film and in the context of open-collared, glitzy numbers like “Hey Louise,” their reverence is off-putting. As it’s aged, The Jazz Singer has come to mark the moment when Diamond fully embraced his soft rock audience and completely turned his back on the ambition and spine-tingling vocal presence of his early career. That decision certainly proved to be an economic winner, but it ignored the fact that his most resonant performances really tear into a song with true mirth. The Jazz Singer’s big hits have this quality — a fact not lost on a new generation of listeners who revel in Diamond’s powerful voice and showmanship. But the album’s bulk is as wooden as Neil’s acting. (by Johnny Loftus)
Personnel:
Richard Bennett (guitar)
Vince Charles (percussion)
Neil Diamond (vocals, guitar)
King Errisson (percussion)
Tom Hensley (keyboards)
Dennis St. John (drums)
Alan Lindgren (synthesizers, piano)
Reinie Press (bass)
Doug Rhone (guitar, background vocals)
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background vocals:
Donny Gerard – Marilyn O’Brien – Linda Press – H.L. Voelker – Luther Waters – Oren Waters
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choir:
Timothy Allan Bullara – Jeremy C. Lipton – Dale D. Morich – Yoav Steven Paskowitz – Boyd H. Schlaefer – Mark H. Stevens – David Teisher – James Gregory Wilburn
Tracklist:
01. America (Diamond) 4.17
02. Adon Olom (Traditional) 0.33
03. You Baby (Diamond) 2.59
04. Love On The Rocks (Diamond/Bécaud) 3.38
05. Amazed And Confused (Diamond/Bennett) 2.53
06. On The Robert E. Lee (Diamond/Bécaud) 2.03
07. Summerlove (Diamond/Bécaud) 3.17
08. Hello Again (Diamond/Lindgren) 4.03
09. Acapulco (Diamond/Rhone) 2.49
10. Hey Louise (Diamond/Bécaud) 2.59
11. Songs Of Life (Diamond/Bécaud) 3.33
12. Jerusalem (Diamond) 3.04
13. Kol Nidre/My Name Is Yussel (Traditional) 1.38
14. America (Reprise) (Diamond) 2.20
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is the Grammy Award winning soundtrack album to the 1973 American film Jonathan Livingston Seagull, recorded by singer-songwriter Neil Diamond and produced by Tom Catalano. The album was released on Columbia Records, Diamond’s debut for that label after his contract with MCA Records’s Uni subsidiary had expired, and grossed more than the film itself. It was Diamond’s ninth studio album, and his first album after his successful 1972 live album Hot August Night. It won the 1974 Grammy as Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special. (by wikipedia)
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