Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career that began in the 1960s. Diamond has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists of all time. He is the third most successful adult contemporary artist on the Billboard charts behind Elton John and one-time duet partner Barbra Streisand. His songs have been covered internationally by many performers from various musical genres.
Diamond was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Additionally, he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 and in 2011 was an honoree at Kennedy Center. On the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, he has had eleven No. 1 singles: "Cracklin' Rosie", "Song Sung Blue", "Longfellow Serenade", "I've Been This Way Before", "If You Know What I Mean", "Desiree", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", "America", "Yesterday's Songs", "Heartlight" and "I'm a Believer". "Sweet Caroline" is played frequently at sporting events, and has become an anthem for the Boston Red Sox.
Neil Diamond is a Cree filmmaker based in Montreal, Quebec, born and raised in Waskaganish, Quebec. Working with Rezolution Pictures, Diamond has directed the documentary films Reel Injun, The Last Explorer, One More River, Heavy Metal: A Mining Disaster in Northern Quebec and Cree Spoken Here, along with three seasons of DAB IYIYUU, a series for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network about Cree elders.
In the 2008 docudrama The Last Explorer, Diamond explored the story of his great-uncle George Elson, a Cree guide who helped to map Labrador as part of an ill-fated 1903 expedition with Leonidas Hubbard and Dillon Wallace, and a return voyage in 1905 with Hubbard's widow Mina Hubbard.
As of April 2011, Diamond is developing a project with Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk about the 18th conflict between Cree and Inuit, which lasted almost a century.
Reel Injun was inspired by Diamond's own experiences as a child in Waskaganish, where he and other Native children would play cowboys and Indians after local screenings of Westerns in their remote community. Diamond remembers that although the children were in fact "Indians," they all wanted to be the cowboys. Afterwards, when he was old enough to move south to study, he would be questioned by non-Native people about whether his people lived in teepees and rode horses, causing Diamond to realize that their preconceptions about Native people were also derived from movies.
12 Songs is the twenty-sixth studio album by Neil Diamond, released in 2005. It was his first album of all-original, all-new material since 2001's Three Chord Opera. It was produced by Rick Rubin and is often erroneously cited as the first Diamond album since the Bang Records era to feature the artist playing acoustic guitar; in truth he played guitar on his Uni/MCA output and his Columbia output, possibly uncredited on most, if not all, albums.
The working title for the album was self-titled. The original pressing of the album was copy-protected using Sony's controversial XCP technology.
Initial work on the album began after Diamond had concluded his tour behind Three Chord Opera in 2002. Retreating to his Colorado cabin, Diamond found himself temporarily snowed in, and started to pass the time away by working on new material.
Not long afterward, Diamond met Rick Rubin. Rubin expressed interest in working with Diamond, and the two got together several times at each other's homes before ever going into the recording studio.
Manchild can refer to:
An archaic, derogatory term for an adult male; also to describe for a man that is physically an adult, but mentally/emotionally immature.
Shyheim (born Shyheim Dionel Franklin in New York, New York) is an American rapper and actor affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. He was associated with a group called G.P. Wu and then began collaborating with Wu-Tang Records affiliated groups Killarmy and Sunz of Man.
Shyheim was born in Staten Island New York and raised there as a child. He spent time living with Wu-Tang Clan member and cousin Ghostface Killah in the Stapleton Houses. He became affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan and released his first single, "On and On," in 1993. He gained fans and won accolades for his Virgin Records debut, AKA the Rugged Child. It included the hit single "On and On", and the album rose to #7 on the US Billboard R&B chart.
He released another album in 1996, The Lost Generation, which featured members of G.P. Wu and Brooklyn Zu. He also shared the stage with the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, and Big Daddy Kane at Madison Square Garden, for a live freestyle session. His prestige also landed him an appearance on Big Daddy Kane's "Show & Prove," which featured Ol' Dirty Bastard, Sauce Money, Big Scoob and Jay-Z. Shyheim landed a video appearance in TLC's "Waterfalls". His roles in films included Original Gangstas, In Too Deep, and The Preacher's Wife and he also starred in the television show The Parent Hood.
Raw Like Sushi is the debut album of singer Neneh Cherry, released 2 May 1989 on Virgin Records.
An early version of "Buffalo Stance" appeared on the B-side of the Morgan McVey single "Looking Good Diving". The single was not successful; however the B-side was re-recorded with Tim Simenon of Bomb the Bass fame and "Buffalo Stance" was born, becoming a worldwide hit reaching #3 in the UK, #3 in the Billboard Hot 100 and even reached #1 for two weeks in the Netherlands. The album also contained the #8 US (and #20 UK) hit "Kisses on the Wind" and the #5 UK hit "Manchild" (did not chart in the US).
The lyrics on the album are sometimes autobiographical, talking about school years. They are also influenced by Neneh's motherhood. Others speak of women allegedly trying to steal a man from another woman. All players and programmers are credited in this album, however Cameron McVey, Cherry's husband, appears as Booga Bear. Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja co-wrote "Manchild", and fellow member Andrew Vowles aka DJ Mushroom performs on "Kisses on the Wind", "The Next Generation" and "So Here I Come". "My Bitch" is a vocal duet with Gilly G.
Where I am, what I am
You're the only reason
Held me up, filled my cup,
Had the faith in me and love....
Owe it all to you, knowin' we're in love
There's nothing I can't do
And I'm not afraid to lose my way
'Cause if I walk a crooked street
You're there to lead me home
I've been through bad times
And some times worse
And till I met you 'happy' was just a word
But that all changed the day you came
Now if I walk a crooked street
You're there to lead me home
[Guitar instrumental]
And I'm not afraid to lose my way
'Cause if I walk a crooked street
You're there to lead me home
If I walk a crooked street