Why Has Neil Diamond Been Shut Out by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
October 1st, 2009 by MikeV
Not only has he not been inducted, but on the eve of the Rock Hall’s 25th Anniversary, Diamond still has NEVER appeared on the ballot!
Jon Bream, author of Neil Diamond Is Forever: The Illustrated History of The Man and His Music, wants to tackle that ”egregious oversight” with YOU and your audience
JON BREAM WILL BE IN PHILLY – PRESS TOUR
(with Neil Diamond memorabilia!)
Friday 10/9/09
Says Bream, for 35 years the pop music critic at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
”The elitist club that runs the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame doesn’t think Neil Diamond is hip enough to even be considered for induction. I say put him on the ballot and let the voters decide.
”His credentials are more impressive and compelling than those of many inductees. He has written hits for the Monkees, Smash Mouth and many others as well as for himself. He’s scored 12 top 10 singles in the ’60s ’70s and ’80s. In this decade, he has worked with the hippest producer around, Rick Rubin, for two albums with a third in the works. His music has been widely influential, and he’s beloved by two generations of music lovers. Look at the stars that turned out to honor him at the Grammys gala in February – Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Adele, Jonas Brothers, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Cornell and even Kid Rock. At age 68, Neil satisfies his crowd better than Bob Dylan, Elton John or Rod Stewart do theirs. And they’d be envious of his 3.6 million tickets sold since 2001. Neil has been the uncrowned king of pop for five decades.
”The snobs on the Hall of Fame nominating committee finally put Kiss on the ballot this fall. I say put Neil Diamond on the ballot. I’ll vote for him and I’m sure many, many other voters will, too. See you at Neil’s induction ceremony to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
In Billboard’s ranking of music-biz moneymakers for 2008, Neil Diamond finished No. 7, with $82,174,000 – putting him ahead of such contemporary stars as Rascal Flatts, the Jonas Brothers, Coldplay and Taylor Swift. At 68, Diamond had the sixth highest grossing tour of 2008, drawing 924,052 people for 69 shows.
In his fifth decade of superstardom, Neil Diamond remains a major international star, selling out shows in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. Neil Diamond Is Forever: The Illustrated History of the Man and His Music features Neil memorabilia from at least 12 countries, including Thailand, Japan and Germany.
Neil Diamond rivals Bob Dylan and Elton John as the most consistently enduring solo artist in pop history. Dylan plays casinos, theaters and minor-league ballparks, Elton plays Vegas and tours arenas with Billy Joel; Diamond headlines arenas and festivals.
Neil is still big on the sales charts– his 2008 CD, Home Before Dark, debuted at No. 1 and his 2009 DVD, Hot August Night/NYC, debuted at No. 2.
Neil is an underrated songwriter who penned hits for Monkees (I’m a Believer), UB40 (Red Red Wine), among others, not to mention his own classics including Cherry Cherry, Song Sung Blue and Sweet Caroline. His songs have been recorded by more than 80 artists, from Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra to Dizzy Gillespie and Smash Mouth.
Neil is so respected and cool that the Foo Fighters, Jonas Brothers, Adele, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Coldplay and even Kid Rock all saluted him at the Grammy Awards gala in February 2009. That event is chronicled in the final chapter of Neil Diamond Is Forever.
Often spoofed, Neil appeared as himself in the movie Saving Silverman and on Saturday Night Live when Will Ferrell was impersonating him.
Neil cares so much about his fans that, after giving a concert at Ohio State University in 2008 during which he was suffering from laryngitis, he offered refunds the next day to anyone who wanted them. What other artist has done that? Ever?
TO BOOK JON BREAM FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS and REVIEW COPIES:
Contact:
Randy Alexander
Randex Communications
856.596.1410
randex@randexpr.com