On Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" is as popular today as it was in 1969, the year he recorded it and sang it on the entertainment circuit, including this performance on the Ed Sullivan Show on November 30, 1969.
On this Throwback Thursday we go back 53 years to watch a young Neil Diamond caress the lyrics of his most popular song.
In a 2007 interview, Diamond stated the inspiration for his song was John F. Kennedy's daughter, Caroline, who was eleven years old at the time it was released. Diamond sang the song for her at her 50th birthday celebration in 2007. On December 21, 2011, in an interview on CBS's The Early Show, Diamond said that a magazine cover photo of Caroline as a young child on a horse with her parents created an image in his mind, and the rest of the song came together about five years after seeing the picture.
However, in 2014 Diamond said the song was about his then-wife Marsha, but he needed a three-syllable name to fit the melody. The song has proven to be enduringly popular and, as of November 2014, has sold over two million digital downloads in the United States.
The song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week ending August 16, 1969, and was certified gold by the RIAA on August 18, 1969, for sales of one million singles."Sweet Caroline" was also the first of fifty-eight entries on the US Easy Listening chart, peaking at #3.
In the autumn of 1969, Diamond performed "Sweet Caroline" on several television shows. It later reached No. 8 on the UK singles chart in March 1971.
In July 2021, "Sweet Caroline" re-entered the UK Singles Chart again 50 years after its first UK release, following its use by England supporters during Euro 2020. It re-entered the chart at No. 48 on the week ending 15 July and a week later it rose to No. 20.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Diamond changed some of the lyrics to "Hands ... washing hands ... don't touch me ... I won't touch you."
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