Neil Diamond

Earlier today, I went to check something on my post about Neil Diamond – and found I hadn’t written one. While everyone will acknowledge that Diamond tends to be just a little bit on the Cheez Whiz side of the music continuum, there’s no denying his ability to write and sing good, catchy pop music.

No denying his accomplishments, either. He’s the third-most successful Adult Contemporary artist of all time, trailing only Barbara Streisand and Elton John. And he’s sold over 115 million records worldwide. Here are his hits that made the Top 10:

• “Cherry, Cherry” (#6, 1966)
• “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman, Soon” (#10, 1967)
• “Sweet Caroline” (#4, 1969)
• “Holly Holy” (#6, 1969)
• “Cracklin’ Rosie” (#1, 1970)
• “I Am…I Said” (#4, 1971)
• “Song Sung Blue” (#1, 1972)
• “Longfellow Serenade” (#5, 1974)
• “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (#1, 1978)
• “Love on the Rocks” (#2, 1980)
• “Hello Again” (#6, 1981)
• “America” (#8, 1981)
• “Heartlight” (#5, 1982)

As you can see, that’s a long, successful career. Diamond is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. That’s some pretty good Cheez Whiz right there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfbOHebiBgw