I respect the work of the great Neil Diamond.  He was already a legend in the 1970’s and kept gaining popularity.  He is what every artist wishes to be, both authentic and original.  The best compliment you can pay to any singer is that he has his own sound.  Kudos Neil Diamond, nothing but respect.

Sweet Caroline is one of the big Diamond tunes.  It’s a catchy song with a cool melody and has one of those easy to sing with tones.  The song was released in 1969 and I can still remember the hit from my elementary school days.  The origin of Sweet Caroline came from Diamond’s affection for Caroline Kennedy after seeing her in an equestrian outfit on the cover of Life Magazine.  He wrote and composed the song in about an hour in a Memphis hotel room.

I am confused, however, on when Sweet Caroline became a sports anthem.  There is no mention of sport whatsoever in the song about a girl named Caroline.  Maybe Caroline was a good right fielder in the forties when Diamond was growing up.  So good they called her Sweet Caroline.  Maybe not.

I can accept that maybe in the Carolinas, the song would be better understood as a timeout filler and the kids could go nuts.  Is it that big of a deal to go Ba-Ba-Ba while shaking your arm in the air three times?  I am lost on this whole movement.

Maybe Neil Diamond can issue his whole catalog to sports usage.  Here are some examples of better suited songs and where they might be used.

•  He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother – WWE’s Mark Henry can use this as his new entrance song.
• Song Sung Blue – Even sounds like Sweet Caroline a bit if you lift the lyrics.  Duke could use it.
• You Don’t Bring Me Flowers – Would be a heck of a backround song while showing Tiger Woods putting in slow motion to promote the Masters.

I could go on and on.  The Mets, Red Sox, New York Rangers, Boston College, and Pitt are all using the song.  Diamond performed it live at the Red Sox home opener against the Yankees Sunday night.  Mitch Miller would have been proud, but Simon Cowell would have ribbed Diamond and said his performance was pitchy and self-indulgent.

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