Neil Diamond Said The Beatles Kick-Started His Career

TL;DR:

• Neil Diamond said The Beatles had a huge impact on how songwriters were treated.
• He said The Monkees changed his career as well.
• Diamond sang a medley of The Beatles’ tracks “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and “The End.”

Neil Diamond said The Beatles helped give him a career. Notably, he wrote a massive hit for a band inspired by The Beatles. In addition, he put his own spin on several Beatles songs.

Neil Diamond was able to give The Monkees his song ‘I’m a Believer’ because of The Beatles

Diamond wrote The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.” During a 2023 interview with NPR, Diamond said this came about because of his tune “Cherry, Cherry.” “And because of that hit, the people who were producing The Monkees called and said, we like ‘Cherry, Cherry,'” he said. “‘Do you have any other songs?'” He then gave them “I’m a Believer.”

Diamond was asked if The Beatles kick-started his career, since The Beatles influenced the creation of The Monkees. “Oh, yeah, no question about it,” Diamond replied. “But it was not only in the sense of The Monkees doing a couple of songs. It was in the sense that the doors began to open for songwriters who were able to sing, and I just happened to be one of them who’d been knocking around the streets for years and now, suddenly, was getting a new and fresh listening to my work.”

Diamond said The Beatles and Bob Dylan both changed the industry. “So The Beatles made an enormous change, as did Bob Dylan,” he said. “They brought the songwriter up to the front of the line and said, you know, you guys do it. And it had a devastating effect on the music publishing business in Tin Pan Alley, but it opened up many doors for people like me.”

‘I’m a Believer’ was expected to become a huge hit and it didn’t disappoint

According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, The Monkees’ supervisor, Don Kirshner, expected “I’m a Believer” to sell millions of copies. Fans ordered 1,051,280 copies of the song. This was the biggest pre-order of an RCA Records song since the heyday of Elvis Presley.

The track made The Monkees into international celebrities. After its release, Billboard published an article called “Europe’s Gripped by Monkeesteria.” The article discussed Monkees fandom in the Netherlands, England, Belgium, Germany, and France.

Neil Diamond recorded songs by The Beatles and The Monkees over the years

Diamond recorded his own version of “I’m a Believer” on his album Just for You. In addition, he’s also recorded a few Beatles tracks. Covers of “Blackbird” and “Yesterday” appeared on his album Dreams, which includes recordings of many classic songs. He’s also performed a medley of the Abbey Road tracks “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and “The End.” Notably, these songs were part of a medley on the original album.

Diamond became one of the biggest stars in the world and that might not have happened without The Beatles and The Monkees.