WITH the news that Britons across the nation are being encouraged to sing Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline at street-parties to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, many have been reminded of the man behind the “uplifting, happy” melody. Sadly, in 2018 Diamond revealed that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, putting an abrupt end to his ability to tour across the world and perform.
The 81-year-old, who wrote the beloved tune Sweet Caroline initially for his second wife Marcia Murphy played publicly for around 50-years, until the debilitating disease put too much pressure on the star to continue. However, an end of touring did not mean complete retirement from music, as back in 2021 Diamond released his album Classic Diamonds, as the star maintained that his singing was “better than ever”, despite his illness. Most recently the star has been involved with creating A Beautiful Noise, the musical which will chronicle his rise to fame and include a score drawn from his own song catalogue.
Neil Diamond health: ‘It does have its challenges’ – 10 early signs of Parkinson’s
WITH the news that Britons across the nation are being encouraged to sing Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline at street-parties to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, many have been reminded of the man behind the “uplifting, happy” melody. Sadly, in 2018 Diamond revealed that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, putting an abrupt end to his ability to tour across the world and perform.
The 81-year-old, who wrote the beloved tune Sweet Caroline initially for his second wife Marcia Murphy played publicly for around 50-years, until the debilitating disease put too much pressure on the star to continue. However, an end of touring did not mean complete retirement from music, as back in 2021 Diamond released his album Classic Diamonds, as the star maintained that his singing was “better than ever”, despite his illness. Most recently the star has been involved with creating A Beautiful Noise, the musical which will chronicle his rise to fame and include a score drawn from his own song catalogue.
According to the most up-to-date news concerning Diamond’s disease, Diamond remains in good shape, and is keen to continue working on new music and exciting projects like his bio-musical.
In 2021 he said: “In a strange way, I think I’m singing better than ever.
“It’s probably because I’m not on the road singing full-out and tearing up my voice. So it’s in very good shape, which I didn’t expect.
Clearly taking good care of himself physically, Diamond went on to say that emotionally he remains “in denial” about the condition, mostly because he “feels fine”.
He added: “I don’t deal with it. I think I’m in denial or something. I feel fine.
“And it’s music—I’ve been doing it since I was a teenager. I don’t tense up when I get in front of a microphone. That’s when I loosen up and let it all hang out.
“It does have its challenges, but I’m feeling good and I feel very positive about it. I’m feeling better every day.”
Having a positive mental attitude, Diamond also has an incredibly supporting family around him including eight grandchildren who range from ages five to 22. It is this positivity that also makes the star motivated to perform live again in the future. A prospect that he knows might never come true.
He added: “I love performing. But I’ll have to deal with it. In my heart, I secretly think, Well, maybe I can do a few more shows.
“I didn’t think I would make it this far. It’s a lot of years, but I have to accept it. So I’m going to accept it.
“I know I’m lucky to reach this point. Maybe I’ll write some new songs about it. I’m just happy to be around.”
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