Neil Diamond Sells Music Catalog to Universal Music Group

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Neil Diamond sold his song catalog to Universal Music Group. The pact includes rights to all recordings from the artist’s career, 110 unreleased tracks and an unreleased album.

Link to tweet

Neil Diamond Sells Music Catalog to Universal Music Group
Singer’s deal is latest in a string of artists selling their work, as value of royalty revenue from music rights climbs

[highplainsdem]

1. More and more of a trend as artists get older. In this case, the sale was for an

undisclosed sum. (Undisclosed so far, anyway.)

[underpants]

2. Who's the greatest performer in the world?

Years ago my best friends parents went to see him in Norfolk (I think it was Norfolk). 80’s - 90’s time.

We are sitting around his house when his folks get home.
His dad walks in, sees the guys there, and asks WHO’S THE GREATEST PERFORMER IN THE WORLD?
One answer: Sammy Davis Jr
NO
Sinatra
NO
NEIL DIAMOND. He went off for 20 minutes about how great of a show it was.

[Pobeka]

5. I've heard this over and over. An incredible live performer.

I wish I could have seen him live.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. CBS broadcast "Hot August Night" a few years back. Suitably, on a hot night in August.

I thought, "I'll just watch a few minutes of this."

Nope. It was great. Terrific show.

It's out there. You can find it. I'd love to have the DVD.

Edited: after looking around at YouTube, I think the one I saw was a much later remake of the original. I know I wasn't watching a performance from 1972. So I saw "Hot August Night II," or whatever. It's still worth viewing.

In my opinion, he wrote the best pop tune of the whole 1960s: "I'm a Believer."

I guess Micky's the last one, isn't he?

The Monkees - I'm A Beliver (Original Video HD)
126,003 views Sep 17, 2013

Solrac Etnevic
927K subscribers

(P)(C) RCA Victor (USA) 1966

[oregonjen]

3. He's ill with Parkinson's and has stopped performing

I went to two concerts of his, taking my mom who is a huge fan. Such a great singer, had the audience in the palm of his hand.

[SWBTATTReg]

4. I'm sad to hear of Neil D's physical condition ... my favorite artist by a long shot, I have

all of his records. He'll live forever, I think, in the music that so many of us love and cherish. Even now as I'm responding to this post, I can hear his music running through my mind w/o any prompting.

[highplainsdem]

7. Sad that he's too ill to do any more touring. He did perform at a benefit concert

in Vegas a couple of years ago, two years after the diagnosis, and I believe he's still writing and recording. Golden Earring's lead guitarist, George Kooymans, had to give up doing concerts after he was diagnosed with ALS, and the band split up as a result, a year ago.

My mom was a Neil Diamond fan, too. When she was in a nursing home the last year and a half of her life, and not happy with most of the music she'd hear there, I bought CDs of Neil Diamond's greatest hits (and CDs of her other favorites -- Johnny Cash, Elton John, Roy Orbison, the Beach Boys, Elvis, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and big band music as well, especially Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller), and the nursing home staff would play those instead in the cafeteria during meal time.

I'll never forget Michael Dukakis entering to Neil Diamond's "America" at the 1988 convention. Video here:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4710867/user-clip-dukakis-enters-america