Editing Neil Diamond (section)

===1970s===
In mid 1969, Diamond moved to Los Angeles. His sound mellowed with such songs as "[[Sweet Caroline]]" (1969), "[[Holly Holy]]" (1969), "[[Cracklin' Rosie]]" (1970) and "[[Song Sung Blue]]" (1972), the last two reaching No.&nbsp;1 on the Hot 100. "Sweet Caroline" was Diamond's first major hit after his slump. In 2007, Diamond said he had written "Sweet Caroline" for [[Caroline Kennedy]] after seeing her on the cover of ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' in an equestrian riding outfit,<ref>{{cite news |title = [Interview]<!--should replace with the actual segment name--> |publisher =CBS |work = Sunday Morning |date = November 5, 2008 }}</ref> but in 2014 he said in an interview on the ''Today'' show that it was written for his then wife, Marcia. He could not find a good rhyme with the name "Marcia" and so used the name Caroline.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/20/showbiz/music/neil-diamond-sweet-caroline/ |title = Neil Diamond reveals story behind 'Sweet Caroline'|first= Lisa Respers |last=France|publisher = CNN |date = October 20, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dawn |first1=Randee |title=Neil Diamond sparkles on TODAY, reveals 'Sweet Caroline' secret |url=https://www.today.com/toyotaconcertseries/neil-diamond-reveals-sweet-caroline-secret-today-1D80228037 |website=TODAY.com |access-date=April 7, 2022 |date=October 20, 2014}}</ref> It took him just one hour in a Memphis hotel to write and compose it. The 1971 release "[[I Am... I Said|I Am...I Said]]" was a Top 5 hit in both the US and UK and was his most intensely personal effort to date, taking over four months to complete.<ref name="jackson">{{cite book | last=Jackson | first= Laura | author-link= Lara Jackson | title = Neil Diamond: His Life, His Music, His Passion | publisher=[[ECW Press]] | year=2005 | pages = 80–81}}</ref>

In 1971, Diamond played seven sold-out concerts at the [[Greek Theater (Los Angeles)|Greek Theater]] in Los Angeles. The outdoor theater, which was noted for showcasing the best of current entertainers, added a stereo sound system for the first time. Diamond was also backed by a 35-piece string orchestra and six backing singers.<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|86}} After the first night, one leading newspaper called it "the finest concert in Greek Theater history."<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|87}}

{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|bgcolor = LightCyan|quote=I have a love-hate relationship with songwriting. I love it because it's so satisfying...when it works. I hate it because it forces you to dig inside yourself. It is without question the most difficult thing I do.<br /><br />Performing, on the other hand, is the most joyful and happiest thing I do. The bigger the audience the more anticipation, the more excitement.|source=Neil Diamond, 1977<ref name=Billboard-1977/>}}

In August 1972, he played again at the Greek, this time doing ten shows. When the show was first announced, tickets at the 5000-seat theater sold out rapidly.<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|93}} He added a quadraphonic sound system for his performance to create full surround sound. The performance of August 24, 1972, was recorded and released as the live double album ''[[Hot August Night]]''. Diamond recalled: "''Hot August Night'' captures a very special show for me. We went all out to really knock 'em dead in LA."<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|93}} Many consider it his best work; critic [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] called ''Hot August Night'' "the ultimate Neil Diamond record... [showing] Diamond the icon in full glory."<ref>{{cite web|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |first = Stephen Thomas |last = Erlewine |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hot-august-night-mw0000098473 |title=Hot August Night – Neil Diamond|website=[[AllMusic]] |date=August 24, 1972 |access-date=April 17, 2014}}</ref> The album became a classic, and was remastered in 2000 with additional selections. In Australia, which at the time was said to have the most Neil Diamond fans per capita of any country,<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|94}} the album ranked No. 1 for 29 weeks and stayed in their top 20 bestsellers for two years.<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|94}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://abc.net.au/myfavouritealbum/top100.htm |title=My Favourite Album : The Top 100 |website=Abc.net.au |access-date=April 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414184400/http://www.abc.net.au/myfavouritealbum/top100.htm |archive-date=April 14, 2014 }}</ref>

In the fall of 1972, Diamond performed for 20 consecutive nights at the [[Winter Garden Theater]] in New York City.<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|95}} That theater had not staged a one-man show since [[Al Jolson]] in the 1930s.<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|95}} The approximately 1,600-seat Broadway venue provided an intimate concert setting not common at the time, with every performance reportedly sold out.<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|95}} It also made Diamond the first rock-era star to headline on Broadway.<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|95}} The review in ''The New York Times'' stated:
{{blockquote|Neil Diamond's one-man show seemed, on the face of it, to be a brash idea. One-man shows have traditionally been associated with talents like [[Judy Garland]] and [[Danny Kaye]]. But Mr. Diamond is clearly a brash young man and one with both the musical track record and the performance macho to bring it off...He needn't worry about comparisons with the likes of Garland and Kaye.<ref name=Jackson/>{{rp|95}}}}

After the Winter Garden shows, Diamond announced that he needed a break, and he engaged in no live performances until 1976. He used those four years to work on the score for [[Hall Bartlett]]'s film version of [[Richard Bach]]'s ''[[Jonathan Livingston Seagull]]'' and to record two albums, ''[[Serenade (Neil Diamond album)|Serenade]]'' and ''[[Beautiful Noise]]''. He said years later, "I knew I'd come back, but I wasn't sure when. I spent one year on each of those albums...I'd been on the road six years. I had a son 2½ and I felt he needed me more than the audience did. So for four years I devoted myself to my son Jesse." He also said he needed to get back to having a private life, one where he could be anonymous.<ref name=Billboard-1977>{{cite magazine |first = Eliot |last = Tiegel |title = Neil Diamond's Emergence on All Fronts Will Make Him Recognizable Once and for All |magazine = Billboard |date = February 19, 1977 |pages = 32–33 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jkUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58 |via = Google Books |access-date = August 22, 2022 }}</ref>

In 1973, Diamond switched labels again, returning to Columbia Records for a million-dollar-advance-per-album contract (about ${{Inflation|US|1.000000|1973|r=1}}&nbsp;million per album in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{inflation-fn|US}}). His first project, released as a solo album, was the soundtrack to ''[[Jonathan Livingston Seagull (film)|Jonathan Livingston Seagull]]''. The film received hostile reviews and did poorly at the box office, and the album grossed more than the film did. Richard Bach, author of the best-selling source story, disowned the film, and he and Diamond sued Bartlett, though for differing reasons; in Bach's case, it was because he felt the film omitted too much from the original novella, whereas in Diamond's case, it was because he felt the film had butchered his score. "After 'Jonathan,'" Diamond declared, "I vowed never to get involved in a movie again unless I had complete control." Bartlett angrily responded to Diamond's lawsuit by criticizing his music as having become "too slick...and it's not as much from his heart as it used to be." Bartlett also added, "Neil is extraordinarily talented. Often his arrogance is just a cover for the lonely and insecure person underneath."<ref>{{cite news|last=Arrington |first=Carl |url=https://people.com/archive/having-survived-a-tumor-and-the-jazz-singer-neil-diamond-eases-his-life-back-into-shape-vol-17-no-13/ |title=Having Survived a Tumor and ''The Jazz Singer'', Neil Diamond Eases His Life Back into Shape |work=People|date=April 5, 1982|access-date=April 7, 2022}}</ref>

Despite the controversy surrounding the film, the soundtrack was a success, peaking at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. Diamond also won a [[Golden Globes|Golden Globe Award]] for Best Original Score and a [[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media|Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture]]. Thereafter, Diamond often included a ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull'' suite in his live performances, as he did in his 1976 ''Love at the Greek'' concert and for his show in Las Vegas that same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyBkeUmUkfI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/nyBkeUmUkfI| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Neil Diamond live (1/2) - Jonathan Livingston Seagull|date=September 25, 2011|access-date=August 18, 2018|via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Diamond returned to live shows in 1976 with an Australian tour, "The 'Thank You Australia' Concert", which was broadcast to 36 television outlets nationwide. He also again appeared at the Greek Theater in a 1976 concert, ''[[Love at the Greek]]''. An album and accompanying video/DVD of the show includes a version of "Song Sung Blue" with duets with [[Helen Reddy]] and [[Henry Winkler]], a.k.a. [[Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli]] of ''[[Happy Days]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F38csaCYws |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/7F38csaCYws| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Neil Diamond live, 1976, "Song Sung Blue"|date=June 14, 2015|access-date=August 18, 2018|via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

He began wearing colorful beaded shirts in concert, originally so that everyone in the audience could see him without binoculars.<ref>{{cite AV media |title = An Audience With Neil Diamond |date = May 31, 2008 |publisher = ITV1 }}</ref> [[Bill Frank Whitten|Bill Whitten]] designed and made the shirts for Diamond from the 1970s until approximately 2007.<ref>{{cite news|author= |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3673084/Neil-Diamond-the-hurt-the-dirt-the-shirts.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3673084/Neil-Diamond-the-hurt-the-dirt-the-shirts.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Neil Diamond: the hurt, the dirt, the shirts |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date= May 3, 2008|access-date=April 17, 2014 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 1974, Diamond released the album ''Serenade'', from which "[[Longfellow Serenade]]" and "I've Been This Way Before" were issued as singles. The latter had been intended for the ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull'' score, but Diamond had completed it too late for inclusion. That same year he appeared on a TV special for [[Shirley Bassey]] and sang a duet with her.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axH_nNprRSg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/axH_nNprRSg| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Shirley Bassey & Neil Diamond – Play Me / Diamond – Sweet Caroline / Longfellow Serenade (1974 TV)|date=March 19, 2011|access-date=March 15, 2017|via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[File:Neil Diamond Aladdin Theater For the Performing Arts 1976.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Diamond performing on opening night of the Theater For the Performing Arts at the [[Aladdin Hotel & Casino]], on July 2, 1976.]]

In 1976, he released ''Beautiful Noise'', produced by [[Robbie Robertson]] of [[The Band]]. On Thanksgiving 1976, Diamond made an appearance at The Band's farewell concert, ''[[The Last Waltz]]'', performing "Dry Your Eyes", which he wrote jointly with Robertson, and which had appeared on ''Beautiful Noise''. He also joined the rest of the performers onstage at the end in a rendition of [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[I Shall Be Released]]".

Diamond was paid $650,000 (about ${{Inflation|US|.650000|1976|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{inflation-fn|US}}) by the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, to open its new $10 million Theater For the Performing Arts on July 2, 1976. The show played through July 5 and drew sold-out crowds at the 7,500-seat theater. A "who's who" of Hollywood attended opening night, ranging from [[Elizabeth Taylor]] to [[Chevy Chase]], and Diamond walked out on stage to a standing ovation. He opened the show with a story about an ex-girlfriend who dumped him before he became successful. His lead-in line to the first song of the evening was, "You may have dumped me a bit too soon, baby, because look who's standing here tonight."

He performed at [[Woburn Abbey]] on July 2, 1977, to an audience of 55,000 British fans. The concert and interviews were taped by film director [[William Friedkin]], who used six cameras to capture the performance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdsa_-WPZIQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Pdsa_-WPZIQ| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Neil Diamond enters the stage to 55000 screaming fans at Woburn Abbey in 1977|date=June 30, 2013|access-date=August 18, 2018|via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 1977, Diamond released ''[[I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight]]'', including "[[You Don't Bring Me Flowers]]", for which he composed the music and on the writing of whose lyrics he collaborated with [[Alan Bergman]] and [[Marilyn Bergman]]. Barbra Streisand covered the song on her album ''[[Songbird (Barbra Streisand album)|Songbird]]'', and later, a Diamond-Streisand duet was recorded, spurred by the success of radio mash-ups. That version hit No. 1 in 1978, his third song to top the Hot 100. They appeared unannounced at the 1980 [[Grammy awards]] ceremony, where they performed the song to a surprised and rapturous audience.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpyduY49CE0| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207205151/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpyduY49CE0| archive-date=December 7, 2015 | url-status=dead|title=YouTube|via=[[YouTube]]|access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref>

His last 1970s album was ''[[September Morn (album)|September Morn]]'', which included a new version of "I'm a Believer". It and "[[Red Red Wine]]" are his best-known original songs made more famous by other artists. In February 1979, the uptempo "Forever in Blue Jeans", co-written and jointly composed with his guitarist, Richard Bennett, was released as a single from ''You Don't Bring Me Flowers'', Diamond's album from the previous year.<ref>Diamond had originally titled that particular album ''The American Popular Song'', but he changed its title after his and Streisand's duet, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", charted.</ref>

In 1979, Diamond collapsed on stage in San Francisco and was taken to the hospital, where he endured a 12-hour operation to remove what turned out to be a tumor on his spine.<ref name="juke/ref">{{cite magazine |magazine = [[Juke Magazine]] |date = June 9, 1983 }}</ref> He said he had been losing feeling in his right leg "for a number of years but ignored it". When he collapsed, he had no strength in either leg.<ref name="juke/ref"/> He underwent a long rehabilitation process just before starting principal photography on his film ''[[The Jazz Singer (1980 film)|The Jazz Singer]]'' (1980).<ref name="entertainment.timesonline.co.uk"/> He was so convinced he was going to die that he wrote farewell letters to his friends.<ref name="juke/ref"/>