Dave Cash (12-9-74)
Opens with “Cracklin’ Rosie”
DC All right, still number 1 in my ——- if you don’t mind.
Neil Diamond and “Cracklin’ Rosie” and today as promoed, as promised, Neil
Diamond Live with ——– Welcome to El Capital.
ND Thank you very much, nice to be here.
DC Hey, how long you over for?
ND Well actually I’ll just be over for a few more days. I’ve been in town for a few days and
I did the Shirley Bassey Christmas Special last night and it’ll be shown I think
sometime toward the end of the month, which is a terrific function, wonderful, and I’ll
be heading back to Los Angeles on Wednesday.
DC Oh. Lucky person you … sunshine
ND Yeah, I hear it’s very warm right now.
DC When you going to be in concert here?
ND I think in the spring I’d like to do some concerts now. I’ve been working putting
together a new show and uh, it’s been exciting, a very spectacular thing so I think in
the springtime I’ll come to Britain.
DC Good, I’ll tell you what we did. We got twelve albums out, just about or thereabouts,
and right as the program was going on the air I said to Neil , you do it. I’m just going to
play “Cracklin’ Rosie” at the beginning and you pick out the rest of the songs because
you’ve got so many that we haven’t got time to run through them all. The first one you
did was “Longfellow Serenade”. Is that because it’s new or because it’s special?
ND Well I guess it was the first thing that came to mind, but I like the song.
DC Here we go.
“Longfellow Serenade” plays.
DC – All right —— Neil Diamond and “Longfellow Serenade”. We’ll be back with Neil
right after the break.
Break
DC Thank you. Thirteen minutes past 12:00 and Neil Diamond is our guest today and Neil,
you were a reluctant performer from what I gather from around, though I’ve never
talked to you before. You started out strictly as a writer at the beginning of your career.
ND Yes, originally I started as a writer and then started performing on stage about ten years
ago but, uh, I find it was very difficult to make any kind of you know, kind of
semblance of a normal existence constantly traveling and uh working and so I decided
that every couple of years I’d take a break and concentrate on writing and that’s what
I’ve done. It’s worked out very well.
DC You had a, uh, of course every song really is related to a different person in a different
way. I happen to like “Cracklin Rosie” and that’s that. But uh, out of all your songs
you’ve written what are the ones that have meant something to you?
ND Well they all have a meaning one way or the other you know but, uh, generally the songs
that are the most meaningful and most important to me are the ones that I do in concert.
It just kind of, it just tends to work out that way. It’s difficult to uh, to be objective about
my own music you know.
DC Um, yeah must be.
ND Very hard.
DC What about “Play Me”?
ND That is one of my absolute favorites.
DC Just because it’s a good song.
ND Because it’s a good song, because it’s a romantic thing and uh, and it’s kind of special.
DC What the world needs now is more romance.
ND Yeah.
“Play Me” and “Rosemary’s Wine” play
DC Neil Diamond and “Rosemary’s Wine” preceded by “Play Me”. More of Neil after the
break.
….. after 12:00 and Neil we’re going to play one of the songs that you didn’t right and that’s
“Mr. Bojangles” by Jerry Jeff Walker. What kind of percentage in concert do you do of
your own songs and other writer’s songs?
ND Well occasionally I’ll include other songs. I may do three or four outside songs from
other writers but a lot depends on ———— really fine song like “Bojangles”, which
is a great song —
DC Do you like Jerry Jeff Walker, do you know him?
ND Yes I know Jerry Jeff and he’s a wonderful guy.
DC Is he as much of a rambler as people make him out to be?
ND Well, he’s uh, he’s kind of a rambler. He’s uh, actually he’s living in a small town in
Texas and uh works with small bands and plays small clubs and uh, ——- guy.
DC I got ahold of his record company about a month or so ago and I said ” Could you ———
(quote from record company) “I’m sorry, we can’t find him. We have no idea where he is.”
ND Yeah, that’s Jerry Jeff.
DC He writes some beautiful songs. Here’s one of them.
DC 23 past 12 on COD. Bojangles.
Bojangles clip
DC Lovely, Neil Diamond and Jerry Jeff Walker’s classic of “Mr. Bojangles” . 26 ½
minutes now past 12:00 and time for us to go into the other studio and talk to some
contestants and give away some money and prizes and maybe both, who knows? And
Neil, thank you very much for coming in.
ND Oh, my pleasure. Thanks for asking.
DC And I hope you enjoy your Christmas in the sun ——
ND Ah yes, I’m planning on enjoying it very much. I’ll be swimming for Christmas day.
DC Oh, I just can’t take that. You know what it’s like here on Christmas? We don’t even get
snow.
ND Really? Just the cold.
DC Cold, rain, rain and more rain.
ND You play “White Christmas” enough, some times it works.
DC I hope so, wouldn’t that be nice? One more from Neil. “I’ve Been This Way Before”
Thank you very much once again Neil. Have a nice Christmas.
ND Thank you