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 t...