Only a handful of musicians have sold more records than Neil Diamond. He ranks with Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Madonna in terms of commercial, unit-moving success. That’s because he’s been actively performing and recording since the mid-1960s. While he started off as a pop songwriter, Diamond realized he had a knack for singing his own songs. Millions agreed, making classics out of Diamond’s many hit songs, like “Sweet Caroline,” Solitary Man,” “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “America,” and “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon.”
While he hasn’t had a chart-topper in a while, Neil Diamond has continued to release albums in multiple styles of music and relentlessly tour to perform his beloved catalog for several generations of fans. He’s in his late 70s now, and winding down a long, lucrative, and unlikely career, so here’s a look into the colorful life of the man who’s got the way to move you and groove you, the king of soft rock, the “Jewish Elvis” himself, Neil Diamond.
This should come as no surprise, but one of Neil Diamond’s main extracurricular activities in high school was singing in the chorus, along with 99 other performers who did not grow up to be Neil Diamond. He was a well-rounded kid, though, balancing the arts with the athletics. He was a fencer, and apparently so good with an epee that he won a scholarship to study at New York University and be on the school’s top-shelf fencing squad.
While Diamond studied at NYU (he was pre-med, focusing on biology and chemistry), the fencing team did very well. The school won two national championships and three intercollegiate titles with the United States Fencing Association. “We had the greatest fencing team in the country,” Diamond is quoted as saying in “Neil Diamond: His Life, His Music, His Passion.” However, Diamond didn’t lose sight of the team. “I was proud to be the ninth man on a nine-man team.”
