From '' Witchdoctor '' Label: RCA ‎-- 9663-1-R, Mammoth Records ‎-- none Format: Vinyl, LP Country: US Released: 1989 Tracklist A1 Witchdoctor A2 Cigarette A3 Bad, Crazy Sun A4 Love '88 Written-By -- Andrea Curtis, Rich Hopkins A5 Solitary Man Written-By -- Neil Diamond B1 What Am I Supposed To Do B2 Tears Like Flesh B3 Before Our Time B4 What She Said Written-By -- Dave Slutes, Rich Hopkins Vocals, Guitar -- Dave Slutes Vocals, Drums -- Andrea Curtis Guitar -- Rich Hopkins Drums -- Bruce Halper, Diane Padilla Violin -- Mindi Marts Bass -- Mark Perrodin ------------------------ "Solitary Man" is a 1966 hit song written, composed, and originally recorded and released by Neil Diamond. History Initially released on Bang Records in April 1966, "Solitary Man" was Diamond's debut single as a recording artist having already had moderate success as a songwriter for other artists. By July, the track had become a minor hit rising to #55 on the U.S. pop singles chart. It would then be included on Diamond's first album, The Feel of Neil Diamond, released in August 1966. While nominally about young romantic failure, parts of the lyric: Don't know that I will, But until, I can find me ... I'll be, what I am — A solitary man ... Solitary man. have been closely identified with Diamond himself, as evinced by a 2008 profile in The Daily Telegraph: "This is the Solitary Man depicted on his first hit in 1966: the literate, thoughtful and melodically adventurous composer of songs that cover a vast array of moods and emotions..." Indeed, Diamond himself would tell interviewers in the 2000s, "After four years of Freudian analysis I realised I had written 'Solitary Man' about myself." "Solitary Man's" dynamic melody, matched with the melancholic universality of its lyrics, would make the song an attractive target for later interpretations. After Diamond had renewed commercial success with Uni Records at the end of the decade, Bang Records re-released "Solitary Man" as a single and it reached #21 on the U.S. pop charts in summer 1970. He originally recorded two versions of the song, as he later did with "Cherry, Cherry." One of them had his harmonic vocal track on the Chorus of the song. The other version was him singing the song alone, without his prerecorded harmony on the track. In a 2005 Rolling Stone retrospective, Dan Epstein wrote, "'Solitary Man' remains the most brilliantly efficient song in the Diamond collection. There's not a wasted word or chord in this two-and-a-half minute anthem of heartbreak and self-affirmation, which introduced the melancholy loner persona that he's repeatedly returned to throughout his career." Cover versions In 1976, T. G. Sheppard released a cover version for Hitsville Records. It went to #14 on the country music charts (Hot Country Songs) and #100 on the Hot 100. In 1966, famous Italian singer Gianni Morandi recorded a cover version titled "Se perdo anche te" ("If I lose you too"). The author of the Italian lyrics was Franco Migliacci, who was Morandi's producer at that time and who, eight years before, had written the lyrics to Domenico Modugno's international hit "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (Volare)." This song was arranged by Ennio Morricone, who at that time conducted many tunes published by the Italian RCA Victor, and was the B-Side of "C'era un ragazzo che come me amava i Beatles e i Rolling Stones" ("There was a boy who, like me, loved the Beatles and the Rolling Stones"), a song against the Vietnam War. The Tucson, Arizona alternative rock band The Sidewinders added a version of the song as the fifth track on their 1989 hit album Witchdoctor. Chris Isaak covered "Solitary Man" as the last track of his 1993 album San Francisco Days. The music video for the song was directed by Larry Clark. Johnny Cash used "Solitary Man" for the title track of his 3rd American Recordings album in 2000. The recording received a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. His recording of the song was used in the penultimate episode of Stargate Atlantis, "Vegas." The recording was also used for the opening credits of the film "Solitary Man" (2010) starring Michael Douglas. In 2004, the Finnish band HIM covered "Solitary Man" for their first compilation album, And Love Said No: The Greatest Hits 1997--2004. It was released as a single and a music video, produced by Bam Margera, was created. The band Crooked Fingers covered it on their 5 track EP of cover songs, the Reservoir Songs EP. Cliff Richard recorded Solitary Man for his 1966 EP La La La La La. Skin Flesh & Bones recorded a reggae cover of it on their 1974 7" release. Tony Carey covered Solitary Man on his album Only the Young Die Good and on the album The Boystown Tapes. Jussi Syren And The Groundbreakers recorded a bluegrass version on their album Heartagrass - An Acoustic Tribute To HIM, a tribute to fellow Finnish performers HIM Billy Joe Royal Jay and the Americans Johnny Rivers and Ólöf Arnalds.

• published: 23 Feb 2014
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