Sweet Caroline
A Reason To Smile
BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY
Neil Diamond’s name has become synonymous with feel-good easy rock. It all began one hot August night. Well, ten, actually.
In August 1972, Diamond headlined ten sold-out shows at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. One of those performances, 54 years ago on Monday, was recorded and released as the double album, “Hot August Night.”
“‘Hot August Night’ captures a very special show for me. We went all out to really knock ‘em dead in LA,” Diamond recalled of his best-selling album.
It spent months near the top of the U.S. charts and became a cultural milestone for his career. It, of course, contained Diamond’s massive global sing-along hit, “Sweet Caroline.”
The enduring love song that became a worldwide phenomenon was released in 1969. His 1972 performance at The Greek is not available online, but as you can imagine there are many to choose from, including this one at The Greek in 2012. Please feel free to sing along… ba, ba, ba.
Over the years, Diamond revealed the two-pronged inspiration of “Sweet Caroline.” The emotional lyrics are about his then-wife, Marcia. But he points to a charming magazine photo of Caroline Kennedy with her pony, Macaroni, flanked by her parents, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, as the reason he chose her name for the song.
“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.”
To Caroline Kennedy’s delight, at her 50th birthday, the singer serenaded her with her namesake song.
NYA Thanks Dan Rather and Team Steady!