Neil Diamond’s 'Sweet Caroline': The Song That Shocked the Woman It Was About

Neil Diamond was a shy kid who got mixed up with a rough crowd, and came dangerously close to being shot in the left eye during a street fight. He quit the gang after that and had to choose between a guitar and a sword… You see he was a master at fencing, winning nationals and earning a scholarship to NYU… Then he dropped out of college to pursue his real dream of being a singer/ songwriter- living below the poverty level for years. making it on 35 cents a day. But he persevered… one day he saw a picture of a girl. It was on the cover of a magazine and a song title came into his head.He tucked it away… One night he was writing a song he knew would be big but he needed a 3 syllable girl’s name and he remembered the magazine. the 60s and 70s classic Sweet Caroline was born! and he wrote it in minutes… it became a singalong classic. the 3 syllable girl’s name would become one of the most popular baby names of the next few decades and fans would add their own lyrics to the song including good times never seemed so Good… so good…so good. so good and bum bum bum making it one of the greatest participation songs ever. The story is coming up next! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .