Neil Diamond created a music gem called “Sweet Caroline”
Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond popularized the song Sweet Caroline which has become a go-to karaoke song for people in his generation and even the younger ones.
Neil created this song in his hotel room in Memphis in 1969. Based on the article in Mental Floss, this was on the eve of his recording session at American Sound Studio. By that time, he already had several hit songs that established his name in the music industry such as “Cherry Cherry” and “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon”. He also wrote “I’m a Believer” and this made the Monkees No. 1 in late 1966.
Who is Caroline? Neil revealed back in 2017 that the song was inspired by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of John F. Kennedy. He saw her in a magazine in the early ‘60s.
“It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony. It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there,” the singer-songwriter shared. For many years, he kept this information.
Niel only revealed the song’s inspiration during Kennedy’s 50th birthday celebration in 2007. “I’m happy to have gotten it off my chest and to have expressed it to Caroline. I thought she might be embarrassed, but she seemed to be struck by it and really, really happy,” he said.
However, said in an interview in 2014 that the song was for his wife Marsha. He explained that since his wife name’s did not fit the three-syllable measure, he used Caroline Kennedy’s name and it fitted and so, it became Sweet Caroline.
When it was released in 1969, it rose to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Eventually, other famous singers covered Neil Diamond’s hit song such as Elvis Presley, soul great Bobby Womack, Roy Orbison, and Frank Sinatra.
The song became a classic and is still being introduced to the younger generation. However, back then, Neil Diamond had no idea it would become a well-loved track by many. Tommy Cogbill, a bass player at American Sound Studio, revealed, “Neil didn’t like the song at all. I actually remember him not liking it and not wanting it to be a single.”
Meanwhile, one of the classic songs that has gained popularity in this generation is Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.