After Dinner Speakers: Neil Diamond, Linda Barker, BB King

b. 24 January 1941, Brooklyn, New York, USA. With a career as a pop hitmaker stretching across three decades, Diamond has veered between straightforward pop, a progressive singer-songwriter style and middle-of-the-road balladry. He attended the same high school as Neil Sedaka and Bobby Feldman of the Strangeloves and began songwriting as a young teenager. He made his first records in 1960 for local label Duel with Jack Packer as Neil And Jack. After college, Diamond became a full-time songwriter in 1962, recording unsuccessfully for CBS Records before "Sunday And Me", produced by Leiber And Stoller for Jay And The Americans, brought his first success as a composer in 1965. The following year, Diamond made a third attempt at a recording career, joining Bert Berns' Bang label. With Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich as producers, he released "Solitary Man" before the catchy "Cherry Cherry" entered the US Top 10. In 1967 the Monkees had multi-million-sellers with Diamond's memorable "I'm A Believer" and "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" (with chord changes not unlike "Cherry Cherry"). Like his own 1967 hit, "Thank The Lord For The Night", these songs combined a gospel feel with a memorable pop melody. In the same year, Diamond also showed his mastery of the country-tinged ballad with "Kentucky Woman". After a legal dispute with Bang, Diamond signed to MCA Records' Uni label, moving from New York to Los Angeles. After a failed attempt at a progressive rock album (Velvet Gloves And Spit) he began to record in Memphis and came up with a series of catchy, and simple hits, including "Sweet Caroline" (1969), "Holly Holy" and two number 1s, "Cracklin Rosie" (1970) and "Song Sung Blue" (1972). At the same time, Diamond was extending his range with the semi-concept album Tap Root Manuscript (on which Hollywood arranger Marty Paich orchestrated African themes) and the confessional ballad, "I Am ... I Said", a Top 10 single on both sides of the Atlantic. He was also much in demand for live shows and his dynamic act was captured on Hot August Night. Soon after its release, Diamond announced a temporary retirement from live appearances, and spent the next three years concentrating on writing and recording. He moved into film work, winning a Grammy award for the soundtrack of Jonathan Livingston Seagull to which his long-time arranger Lee Holdridge also contributed. Beautiful Noise (on his new label, CBS Records) was a tribute to the Brill Building songwriting world of the 50s and 60s. It cost nearly half a million dollars to make and was produced by Robbie Robertson. Diamond also appeared at The Last Waltz, the star-studded tribute movie to the Band. In 1978, he recorded his first duet since 1960 and his biggest hit single. The wistful "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" had previously been recorded solo by both Diamond and Barbra Streisand but after a disc jockey had spliced the tracks together, producer Bob Gaudio brought the pair together for the definitive version which headed the US chart. Now at the peak of his success, Diamond accepted his first film acting role in a remake of The Jazz Singer. The film was undistinguished although Diamond's performance was credible. The soundtrack album sold a million, in part because of "America", a rousing, patriotic Diamond composition which he later performed at the Statue Of Liberty centenary celebrations. During the 80s, he increasingly co-wrote songs with Gilbert Bécaud, David Foster and above all Carole Bayer Sager and Burt Bacharach. They collaborated on the ballad "Heartlight" (1982), inspired by the movie E.T. The next year, UB40 revived one of his earliest songs, "Red Red Wine" and had a UK number 1. There were also disputes with CBS, which insisted on changes to two of Diamond's proposed albums, bringing in Maurice White to produce Headed For The Future. However, "The Best Years Of Our Lives", written by Diamond alone, showed a return to the form of the 70s while he worked on his 1991 album with leading contemporary producers Don Was and Peter Asher. Diamond's track record speaks volumes: almost 60 hits in the USA, over 30 charting albums and one of the Top 20 most successful artists ever in the USA. His success in the UK is comparable, with 26 charting albums and a fiercely loyal fanbase. In 1993 he released one of his finest records in a long time, Up On The Roof. His interpretation of songs by the great songwriters of the Brill Building was an outstanding tribute. His 1996 release Tennessee Moon was a complete departure from the safe limits of AOR pop; easily his most interesting album in years, it scaled the country music charts and introduced a totally new audience to Diamond. What was all the more remarkable was that his voice has the timbre of a natural country singer; maybe he should have entered this territory years ago.