# Neil Diamond has fans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2002, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936 "2002-12-02T10:41:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/21 "2002-12-02T19:28:07Z")
::shudder:: Flashback - Scout summer trip '95. A week in a half houseboating in Northern California. Two boats, sixteen kids, 5 parents, one tape player, and one tape: Neil Diamond’s Greatest Hits. And they thought we were all sitting on the roof because we liked the sun. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/22 "2002-12-02T19:41:24Z")
My aunt is a really huge Neil Diamond fan. He really doesn’t bother me. I mean, you always hear “Sweet Caroline” on the oldies stations, sooo… ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/23 "2002-12-02T20:43:58Z")
All right, then. And as long as we’re making confessions… …I don’t hate Barry Manilow. ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/24 "2002-12-03T01:02:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\*The Neil Diamond segment is in there so the cool people in the audience can slip out to the lobby for a smoke without missing anything good. \*\* No one likes elitist snob rock fans, which is an oxymoron if there ever was one. But if the shoe fits… D’s & R’s ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/25 "2002-12-03T01:06:55Z")
I like Neil’s stuff a lot. “Solitary Man” is a terrific song, and it’s really hard to beat “Sweet Caroline” for that building section before the crescendo. Wouldn’t bother with seeing an impersonator–I mean, “tribute artist”–though. FWIW, I have a friend who is such a crazy Barry Manilow fan that he once _followed Barry on tour_ for a summer, like a deadhead. ---
**Author:** ![CrefloChronicle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@CrefloChronicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrefloChronicle)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/26 "2002-12-03T04:15:30Z")
I really like Neil Diamond, for one. I can listen to “Cracklin’ Rose” about a million times in a row. I think I need help. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/27 "2002-12-03T12:51:46Z")
Neil Diamond is in The Last Waltz because he and Robbie Robertson are/were friends (I believe Robertson produced some of Diamond’s albums). Still, he’s just damn ernest for me. I fast forward through him and get to the part where Rick Dando talks about “getting pussy.” Class guy. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/28 "2002-12-03T13:38:15Z")
Hey, man. I do like Neil Diamond, and I’ve always thought that he was considered to be pretty cool. He even gets due props in snobby indie circles (at least the ones I hang out in.) Now Barry Manilow, that’s different… ---
**Author:** ![Hemlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Hemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hemlock)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/29 "2002-12-03T13:45:48Z")
He’s penned some classic pop tunes… - Red Red Wine - You’ll Be A Woman Soon - Look Out - Here Comes Tomorrow (and others covered by the Monkees) I don’t have anything by him personally, but the fact that there’s a tribute act speaks for itself. ---
**Author:** ![Fingolfin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@Fingolfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fingolfin)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/30 "2002-12-03T15:12:46Z")
Neil Diamond is one of the best singer/songwriters of all-time!! And yes, he has tons of fans. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/31 "2002-12-03T17:40:36Z")
My sister is really excited about seeing Mr. Diamond in a few weeks. He is second only to Mr. Manilow in her heart. I don’t get it either. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/32 "2002-12-03T18:18:51Z")
When I was just a wee lad of five, I received two albums for Christmas containing my two favorite songs. The first was **Glen Campbell’s Greatest Hits** because of the song “Rhinestone Cowboy.” The second was **You Don’t Bring Me Flowers** by the incomparable Mr. Diamond. And just what was that second favorite song of the aforementioned five-year-old you ask? “Forever in Blue Jeans” baby. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/33 "2002-12-03T19:53:49Z")
There are people out there who _don’t_ like Neil Diamond? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/34 "2002-12-03T23:44:06Z")
In _Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend_, by Robert James “Bridges of Madison County” Walker, the hero is demonstrated to be a rebel and free spirit when he blasts Neil Diamond on the radio of his motorcycle. (That’s right, he had a motorcycle, too.) [sub]Okay, okay, I actually have this weird soft spot for “Heartlight.” Don’t tell anyone.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/35 "2002-12-04T11:03:31Z")
“I wrote this song after killing a hitch-hiker to achieve an erection… FORVER IN BLUE JEANS BABE!” Will Farrel is the man… But I’m a pretty big Neil fan as well, and people have trouble believing it (I’m a 20 year old college student that listens mostly to country and rap). My mom and sister got tickets to one of his concerts and I told them I would have liked to go, but get me a shirt if possible. They came back and I asked if they got me one, and they thought I was joking about the whole thing. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/36 "2002-12-04T13:33:57Z")
He packs [Croke Park](http://www.nelie.org/ireland32/) for a few nights every time he plays here. He is very popular with the mid to old range. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/37 "2002-12-04T14:56:16Z")
What a coincidence: just last night, my girlfriend went to a Neil Diamond concert. She called me up after midnight, when she got back, all hoarse and excited. Oh, such a time she had. She said she nearly cried when he walked out on stage, she was so thrilled. I’m pretty sure we can work through this somehow. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/38 "2002-12-04T15:16:39Z")
Another Neil Diamond fan checking in here, although I think life would have been just fine if he’d not cut a single record in the past 30 years, when he’s mostly done “Heartlight”-style tripe. But up until about 1972, he was _something_. I want to second the plaudits for “Solitary Man,” “Cracklin’ Rosie,” and “I’m a Believer,” and add “Holly Holy,” a Pentecostal faith-healing turned into a rock song, to the list. Also “Brooklyn Roads,” where Neil’s childhood recollections overlap with my own: _Teacher’d say “He’s just not trying got a good head if he’d apply it but you know yourself he’s always somewhere else…”_ That was me, alright. Hell, it still _is_. But fortunately, I have my bosses fooled. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936/39 "2002-12-04T16:02:24Z")
I’m partial to “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” myself. “Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies.” One summer, I was haunted by the dulcet notes of “America,” following me wherever I went. For a good solid week, I heard Neil sing of liberty and that flag unfurled in movie theaters, elevators, and on the radio. Shane MacGowan’s cover of “Cracklin’ Rosie” is pretty catchy, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-diamond-has-fans/139936.md?page=1)