Lots of songs by U2 on today’s playlist, as group member The Edge celebrates a birthday today.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (12-31-20)
Inspired by the December 31 birthdays of Donna Summer, The Replacements‘ Paul Westerberg, John Denver, The Guess Who’s Burton Cummings, Urge Overkill’s Nash Kato, Psy, and Sabrina Johnston.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (8-23-20)
Inspired by the August 23 birthdays of The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, The Drifters’ Rudy Lewis, Andrew Rannells, Happy Mondays/Black Grape’s Shaun Ryder, Rick Springfield, Edwyn Collins, Gene Kelly and Tex Williams.
“https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3C4Rb9b71SzKhrdDVJHHs3”
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (4-12-20)
Inspired by the April 12 birthdays of David Cassidy, Saint Etienne’s Sarah Cracknell, Herbie Hancock, Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray, Steppenwolf’s John Kay, Mellow Man Ace, Everclear’s Art Alexakis, Pat Travers, Tiny Tim, Hot Butter’s Stan Free and Get Wet’s Sherri Beachfront.
Ten Facts About Neil Diamond
1) “Sweet Caroline” has been played during every Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park since 2002. Over the past couple of years it has been played in tribute to the city of Boston and those directly affected by the Boston Marathon bombings.
2) The Monkees’ cover of Diamond’s “I’m a Believer” was the biggest hit of 1966 in the US. It remained at #1 for seven weeks. The Monkees also had a hit with Diamond’s “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You.” Other hit versions of Diamond compositions include UB40’s “Red Red Wine,” Deep Purple’s “Kentucky Woman” and Jay & the Americans’ “Sunday and Me.”
3) In 1977 Diamond released a solo version of a song he wrote entitled “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” Shortly after, Barbra Streisand released her version of the song. An employee at a Kentucky radio station spliced the two versions together, creating a virtual duet. An official release of a duet version by Columbia Records, for whom both artists recorded, resulted in a #1 record. It was produced by Bob Gaudio of the Four Seasons.
4) “Solitary Man” was Diamond’s first charting single as a performer. In 2005 Rolling Stone magazine called it Diamond’s best, saying “There’s not a wasted word or chord in this two-and-a-half minute anthem of heartbreak and self-affirmation, which introduced the melancholy loner persona that he’s repeatedly returned to throughout his career.”
5) He starred in the 1980 version of the film The Jazz Singer, for which he was a nominee for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and the winner of the Razzie for Worst Actor. The film’s soundtrack became Diamond’s best-selling album and spawned three top ten singles: “Love on the Rocks,” “Hello Again” and bad song I love “America.”
6) “Cracklin’ Rosie” is slang used by a Canadian Indian tribe for a bottle of wine. The tribe had more men than women, so the men that didn’t get a girl got with Cracklin’ Rosie. The song “Cracklin’ Rosie” became Diamond’s first #1 single as a performer.
7) “Heartlight” was inspired by the film E.T., The Extraterrestrial.
8) Urge Overkill’s version of Diamond’s “Girl, You‘ll Be a Woman Soon” became a hit on the Modern Rock chart due to its inclusion in Quentin Tarantino’s film Pulp Fiction. Diamond initially withheld the right for Tarantino to use the song in the film as he found the script too violent.
9) In the mid-sixties Diamond was working on a song he called “Money Money.” The head of his record label, Bert Berns, and songwriter Jeff Barry convinced him to change the title to something more teen-friendly. The result became Diamond’s first top ten single as a performer, “Cherry, Cherry.”
10) It took Diamond four months to write “I Am…I Said,” my favorite song about hearing-impaired furniture.
Today Diamond turns 74. Here is your Diamond Day soundtrack.
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