NEIL DIAMOND, SIMON and GARFUNKEL

Neil Diamond dragged me by the heartstrings into ''70s contemporary music. I think he touches me in the same way Sinatra did and does - his depth of emotion. He lives his songs, as did Sinatra. That's important. Diamond wrote his own songs, as well as some gems for other performers of the time. I used to play his LP "Tap Root Manuscript" over and over again, to the exclusion even of Sinatra's records. Later, when he starred in the re-make of "The Jazz Singer" I fell in love with all the songs from that film.

He says:
"You have to go out there and give a piece of yourself -- your life, your soul. And you better give the audience everything you can -- physically, emotionally, musically. Then maybe they'll accept you and give you a standing ovation at the end." (Neil Diamond)

Neil Diamond wrote so many wonderful lyrics and tunes - which to quote? This one makes me smile - he invented his own version of the past tense of the verb' to bring' in "Play Me"
You are the sun

I am the moon

You are the words

I am the tune

Play me

Song she sang to me

Song she brang to me

Words that rang in me

Rhyme that sprang from me

Warmed the night

And what was right

Became me........

So I travelled with Neil Diamond through the 1970s, with occasional diversions into Bob Dylan, and not forgetting Simon and Garfunkel. How could I ? Their songs are classic, meaningful, melodic and unforgettable. My late partner had connections with boxing. In his memory -

"In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade,

And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down

Or cut him 'til he cried out in his anger and his shame:

I am leaving, I am leaving,

But the fighter still remains

Yes he still remains......"

The cycle continues. The 1980s brought me what journalists call "a sea change" - I accidentally discovered country music.