One of the most important American songwriters of all time, Bob Dylan changed the direction of music when he showed that musicians could write about anything they wanted and that songs did not need to be short or catchy songs. He not only opened the minds of musicians, proving that it was possible to be successful without following the demands of the industry, but also opened the minds of producers and record companies, who began accepting artists’ ideas for their songs.
Neil Diamond, one of the most successful singers and songwriters ever to come from the United States, was among the musicians who benefited from the path created by Dylan. Like him, Diamond was also covered by other artists whose songs were big hits. For decades he opined on many of his peers, including Bob Dylan.
What is Neil Diamond’s opinion on Bob Dylan?
Neil Diamond is a fan of Bob Dylan and considers him one of the important artists who changed the music business to songwriters who could perform their own songs. “In the early ’60s I was on the brink and was still roaming the streets and knocking on doors. And as that decade progressed, musical history was made with the advent of the Beatles and Bob Dylan entering the British group stage. And there was a complete change in people’s thought processes in the music world, where the songwriter suddenly came to the fore and became an important element in the music business.”
“Before that that wasn’t true. There were singers and there were songwriters and very rarely the two came together. So for me as a songwriter and as someone who wanted to sing, it was a very fertile era. I actually started singing out of sheer frustration because I couldn’t get anyone else to sing my songs. I didn’t find my voice in my music until I started recording them myself. So it was all a very exciting time for me and it Made a very deep impression. And these songs were part of that time and that era, so they made a very deep impression on me,” Neil Diamond told Darryl Sterdon in 2010.
The advice Bob Dylan gave to Neil Diamond
He eventually got a chance to meet Bob and the two have admired each other’s careers over the years. When The New Yorker once asked whether he would still perform at age sixty, Diamond remembered a piece of advice he had received from Dylan. “Maybe sixty. Between sixty-five and seventy, I’m not sure. I have to write a lot of songs now, very slow songs, very slow songs. Bob Dylan told me, ‘Don’t write songs with a lot of words. Because when you get older you have to sing a lot of words,'” Neil Diamond said in 1992.
The two got a chance to share the stage during The Band’s final show in 1978, which became the Martin Scorsese film “The Last Waltz.” As reported by Rolling Stone, there is an urban legend that after coming off the stage that night, after they performed “Dry Your Eyes”, Diamond reportedly told Dylan, “Top that!” And the folk rock musician replied: “What are you doing? Sleeping?” But when Neil later told that it was actually a joke.
“Actually, it was before we both moved on. He was playing his guitar and I came up to him and I said, ‘You know, Bob, they’re really my people.’ He looked at me questioningly.
Neil Diamond continued:
Neil Diamond said, “I said it as a joke, but I think it gave them a little boost. They did a great job. It was a good and exciting night. I was glad to be a part of it.” Dylan also recorded his own version of Neil’s “Sweet Caroline” and sent it to him personally, as described by David Wild in his 2008 book “He Is… I Say”. That recording was officially released in 2021 as part of “Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series Volume 16”.
Throughout his career, Neil also paid homage to Dylan’s work. They performed “Lay Lady Lay” live and also covered “Make You Feel My Love”, which appeared on their 2008 album “Home Before Dark”. Their biggest hit is “Sweet Caroline” and includes famous songs like “Cracklin’ Rose”, “I’m… I Said” and “Forever in Blue Jeans”.
He was also the writer of major hits such as “I’m a Believer”, made famous by The Monkees and later introduced to a new generation by Smash Mouth. In the 1990s, Urge Overkill scored a hit with their version of “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon”, featured in Quentin Tarantino’s film “Pulp Fiction”. British band UB40 also achieved major success with their interpretation of Diamond’s “Red, Red Wine”.
Bob Dylan liked Neil’s 2014 album “Melody Road”
It wasn’t just “Sweet Caroline” that Bob liked from Diamond’s discography. He also praised her 32nd studio album “Melody Road”, which was released in 2014. “Wow, Bob Dylan just called me up and said, “If a record connects with mine, this one connects too.” How cool is that about Melody Road? Thanks Bob!” Neil Diamond said on Twitter that year.
Bob Dylan had always been interested in Neil’s career and, as Rolling Stone reported in 1978, after seeing Diamond play live he decided to form a new band and sign with manager Jerry Weintraub. The magazine said, “It is said that since traveling to see Neil Diamond in Las Vegas the previous year, Dylan had been concerned about updating his concert stance. He was so impressed that he signed with Diamond’s manager, Jerry Weintraub, several weeks later.”
Interestingly, in the 2004 book “Neil Diamond: The Biography”, the musician is quoted describing artists like Dylan and Joan Baez who did not want to be controlled by music publishers. In their view, they wanted to write their own material so that they could convey the messages they wanted to convey. He said that, for this reason, “initially everyone thought Dylan was crazy.”
Dylan is one of the artists Neil still likes to listen to
Although decades have passed since Dylan started in the music business, Diamond still enjoys listening to his albums. When he was part of a Q&A session with fans in 2014, he described Bob’s music as “always interesting”. “Well, I usually go back to songs I loved as a teenager or as a young adult. I can listen to Weaver albums all day and all night. Belafonte still does that for me. Sinatra is still the greatest singer of all time.”
Neil Diamond said, “The Everly Brothers’ greatest hits take me back to being 17 years old. Then in the post-Beatles era, I can say that Bob Dylan is always interesting. The Beatles are so amazing, Simon and Garfunkel amaze me every time. Elton John made some of the greatest records in the early 1970s. If I felt like dancing, I’d put on some Michael Jackson records.”
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