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1966 – black 1967 – black 1968 – black 1969 – dark brown, dark red, dark blue, lighter blue Finally, in late 1970, in Corvallis, Oregon, white. Rolling Stone – September 23, 1976

In 1971, 18 months before his MCA contract was up, Neil declared himself ready for renegotiations and got offers of $4 million –$400,000 per album for ten albums–from Warner Bros. and Columbia Records. He took Columbia, which recouped its entire advance with his first two albums. Rolling Stone – September 23, 1976

Neil made a $50,000-per-album, five-album deal with MCA’s Uni Records in 1967. Later that year, when the Steve Miller Blues Band and Quicksilver Messenger Service got a similar deal from Capitol Records, the rock press got all crazy. Few had noticed Neil’s deal. Rolling Stone – September 23, 1976

In the early days when Neil was peddling his songs in Tin Pan Alley, he allotted himself 35 cents a day for a meal: a 23-cent Hoagie, a Coke, and a two-cent piece of candy from Woolworth’s. Rocky Mountain News – September 19, 1976

Only 10 units short of graduation, Neil quit NYU to write for Sunbeam Music for $50 a week for 16 weeks. Sunbeam kicked him out of his cubicle when the 16 weeks were up, but by then he’d begun singing his own songs for demo purposes, and he got a one-record deal from Columbia Records. He prompted the single with his first public appearances, lipsynchng the song at hops and…

When Neil Diamond changed record companies the first time, the first song he wrote was “Brooklyn Roads.” Juke Magazine – Date Unknown

At lunch one day at the MGM’s delicatessen restaurant, the manager told Neil the hotel was willing to permanently reserve a $750-a-day suite for his use and would name it the Neil Diamond Suite in his honor. That didn’t seem to stir the entertainer. So he added a tennis court. ” It will be the Neil Diamond tennis court,” he added enthusiastically. Neil was unenthused. “We’ll get you your own…

More than 100,000 people lined up in their cars at the Greek as well as at three ticket agencies in L.A. Some 37,000 tickets were sold in under two hours. Detroit Free Press – August 14, 1976

The original title of the “Beautiful Noise” album was “Street Life.”

“Sabre Dance” was originally titled “Dancing Sabres,” and was written as a ballet piece for an NBC-TV special. The Plain Dealer – July 30, 1976