Almost Hits: Neil Diamond - Solitary Man (1966 & 1970)

Before "Sweet Caroline" became a fixture at Fenway Park prior to the Red Sox batting in the bottom of the eighth inning, and before he littered the landscape with "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" along with Barbra Streisand in 1978 - followed by "Forever In Blue Jeans" the next year - Neil Diamond was considered one of mainstream music's cooler dudes. As proof, Robbie Robertson, an elite member of rock's royalty, produced his 1976 LP, Beautiful Noise. Diamond was also one of the featured artists on The Last Waltz, a film directed by Martin Scorsese that became The Band's outstanding farewell to the world.

Before that, many of Diamond's hit singles rocked, and the ones that didn't contained quite a bit of lyrical substance and musical complexity. One of those, "Solitary Man," is among his most memorable.

This excellent single was Diamond's first one to chart in America. It was released twice, but it didn't crack the top 20 either time. In the summer of 1966 it peaked at #55. Upon its re-release in 1970, the record fared much better but still only climbed to #21. The song also appeared on his debut album, The Feel of Neil Diamond.

"Solitary Man" is the story of a lonely man and is a very personal song. In 2006 Diamond told British journalist, Peter Paphides, "After four years of Freudian analysis, I realized I had written 'Solitary Man' about myself." Diamond sings, "Don't know that I will, But until I can find me, A girl who'll stay and won't play games behind me, I'll be what I am - a solitary man." The original record also contained the lines, "Then Sue came along, Loved me strong that's what I thought, Me and Sue, that died too," but by the time Diamond performed it live he changed the lyrics to "Then you came along, Loved me strong that's what I thought, Me and you, that died too."

I have a personal memory regarding "Solitary Man." One of my good friends during my high school days had recently been dumped by his girlfriend named Sue while the new single was just beginning its climb up the charts. He couldn't listen to it, and for months if a DJ played the song my friends and I had to change the radio station immediately. The good news is everything eventually worked out fine for my buddy. He married a British girl while stationed in the UK with the United States Air Force and moved there permanently.

"Solitary Man" is a brief record that packs a lot into its two minutes and twenty-eight seconds, and that was very typical of Diamond at this stage in his career. I've read in several places that it's the song most associated with the legendary star, but tell that to baseball fans in Boston and you'll probably get an argument.

Below is the studio version followed by a 1971 live BBC performance with the updated lyrics.

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Almost Hits is an occasional exploration into songs that failed to reach the top 20 on the American Billboard Hot 100. Many have become classics despite what their chart position may indicate.

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