At Harmon Meadow with the sounds of Neil Diamond, Secaucus Summer Concert Series opens Thursday

A Neil Diamond tribute band will kick off Secaucus' Summer Concert Series this Thursday at the Plaza Courtyard in Harmon Meadow.
Fans attending the show, which gets underway at 5:30 p.m., will be able to enjoy a variety of free food and family activities. The event is co-sponsored by Hartz Mountain Industries and the town of Secaucus, arrangers said.
Neil And The Diamonds' song list boasts all the essentials from the Diamond canon, including "Bluejeans," "Cracklin' Rosie," "Sweet Caroline," and "Coming to America."
The northern New Jersey band, A True Story, will warm up the crowd with its signature blend of modern rock, pop and metal.
While enjoying the music, Harmon Meadow restaurants and cafés will offer guests free food samples.
Participating restaurants and cafés include Houlihan's, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Cosi, Starbucks, Bazooka's and many more. Adding to the fun and festivities will be free face painting, balloon sculptures, and cotton candy.
"The Secaucus Summer Concert Series is a great chance for the residents of Secaucus and our neighbors to come out, look a show, and enjoy each others' company," said Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli. This event is free.
The concert and fun will start at 5:30 p.m. and end at 8:30 at the Plaza Courtyard at 700 Plaza Drive in Harmon Meadow.
Guests are invited to bring lawn chairs, as there will be limited seating. The rain date is Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Play Me - Neil Diamond

Stars Salute Neil Diamond At MusiCares Event

Good times never seemed so good for Neil Diamond as they did last night (Feb. 6). The pop icon was named MusiCares Person of the Year at the annual fundraiser for the charity, which helps musicians who have fallen on hard times."This is a great honor, of course," Diamond said at the event, which was held at the L.A. Convention Center and attracted a crowd of 2,200 people. "I've been writing music for a little over 50 years now, and it's hard to believe because it seems like yesterday."Diamond said he started taking guitar lessons as a child in a fit of depression after the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. His parents bought him a guitar, and paid it off over the course of 10 weeks at the price of $1 a week."It was a good investment, mom," Diamond said to his mother Rose, who was in attendance. "You made the beginning of a life for me."A host of stars paid tribute to Diamond by performing his songs. The Jonas Brothers played "Forever in Blue Jeans," Jennifer Hudson belted out "Holly Holy" and Urge Overkill did its famed cover of "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" from the "Pulp Fiction" soundtrack.A Tejano band called Los Volcanes performed "Red Red Wine," a booking Diamond joked that happened after he called band member Eddie Rodriguez by accident, when he really meant to call Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. "This is like the greatest karaoke night ever," noted host Jimmy Kimmel.Diamond closed the evening with a mini-set of his own, including a run through "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" with Faith Hill. The event was chaired by Ticketmaster Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff, Diamond's longtime business manager Marshall Gelfand and AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke.Among the items auctioned off at the benefit were a customized 2009 Acura TL which went for $55,000 and a Britney Spears London Experience, which included business class airfare to see the "Circus" tour in London, for $30,000.In addition, Diamond donated his own perfectly restored 1956 Thunderbird for the auction, and Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow bought it. He promised to take Diamond out for a ride.For Billboard.com's Grammy microsite, please click here.The complete set list:"Forever in Blue Jeans," the Jonas Brothers"Holly Holy," Jennifer Hudson"Cracklin' Rosie," Adele"Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," Urge Overkill"I'm a Believer," Coldplay"Kentucky Woman," Chris Cornell"Solitary Man," Raul Malo"Love on the Rocks," Cassandra Wilson and Terence Blanchard"Red Red Wine," Los Volcanes"Hello Again," Tim McGraw"Delirious Love," Foo Fighters"Play Me," Josh GrobanNeil Diamond set:"Cherry, Cherry""Love on the Rocks""You Don't Bring Me Flowers" with Faith Hill"Pretty Amazing Grace""America""Sweet Caroline

Super Diamond the next best thing to real Neil

Believe it or not, there was really a time when Neil Diamond wasn't super-cool.
American songwriters one of the great -- "I'm a Believer," "Cracklin' Rosie," "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," "Solitary Man," "Kentucky Woman," "Song Sung Blue," "I Am ... I Said" and, yes, "Sweet Caroline" -- two decades ago Diamond was nothing more than what your parents liked.
Which makes Randy Cordero a bit of a trailblazer.
Sixteen years ago, Cordero and some friends in the San Francisco Bay area formed what was to become the Diamond tribute band Super Diamond. The group, for which Cordero is the lead singer, plays nothing but Diamond songs and will do so this Friday at the 9:30 Club.
"He had all these great songs I grew up with that no one paid attention to," Cordero said during a recent phone interview. "I thought this would be fun to do in a club setting. I expected more boos than cheers."
The fact that it wasn't the cool thing to do to cover Diamond was partly why Cordero started the group.
"The Beatles have a bunch of great songs, but there's a lot of people who do them," said Cordero, who can do a solid Diamond impersonation. "It wasn't safe. The tide has really changed since I started doing it."
In current years, the 68 year old Diamond has recorded two critically acclaimed, Rick Rubin produced albums that went gold and has sold out arenas across the country. The plot of the 2001 film "Saving Silverman" includes a Diamond cover band, and Diamond makes a cameo in the film. But Cordero doesn't attribute Diamond's resurgence to his band's early allegiance to the star.
"I wouldn't take any credit for that," he said. "We're not any more than a club band.
"It's a tribute to Neil Diamond, not us," Cordero added.
A Super Diamond show feels like a party and promises all the hits.
Diamond himself has endorsed Super Diamond, even sitting in with the band once at a show, something Cordero will never forget.
"It was surreal," he said. "It was great. We didn't have to rehearse. He knew the songs."

The album that made Diamond a music gem, long play

Loyal creature fan Neil Diamond . Under attack, it will hold its lovingly worn copy of Hot August Night high, shielding itself from the stinging rain of musical snobbery.
For every critic who accuses Diamond of padding out his canon with pretentious, overblown fluff, there's a supporter who will point to the statistics that prove him to be one of soft rock's most successful acts, perhaps failing to realise that the evidence supports both positions.
YouTube subscriber shutterbugk8 states pithily: Neil Diamond, musical genius, the Mozart of our time.
Again, the comparison arguably swings two ways.
Live double album Hot August Night (1972) marked Diamond's coming of age as a performer. Recorded during a 10 date stint at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, it captured the moment the one-time-anonymous Brill Building songwriter became big arena showman, confidently counting off his back catalogue of hits while toying with spontaneity.
Not for nothing was Diamond dubbed the Jewish Elvis. The album's orchestral prologue built glorious tension before the core instruments made their entry, Vegas-style, kicking off a rousing rendition of Crunchy Granola Suite, with Diamond punctuating his vocals with a "Good Lord!" here and a "Dig!" there. It was spine tingling stuff, this homage to a breakfast cereal.
Diamond flicked effortlessly between growling rocker and crooning balladeer, delivering astutely arranged readings of his quirky repertoire. The odd vocal glitch only added to the immediacy and trueness of the recording, which held the listener in thrall in the same way it did the audience in the arena and the tree people on the hill.
The top drawer numbers were all there Solitary Man; Cherry Cherry; Sweet Caroline; Red, Red Wine; Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon; and Cracklin Rosie among them. So were the clangers. Porcupine Pie, anyone?
But by the time Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show wound to its feverish climax, more than a few unbelievers had been converted.

For Fans On Halloween, Surreal Neil Sings

Local Neil Diamond tribute band Super Diamond brings a full set of earnest AM radio hits from the 1970s to stage, delighting the group's campy, nostalgic fan base. Singer Randy Cordero started playing around with Neil Diamond covers back in the late '80s. San Francisco when he moved and started performing his uncanny imitation as "the Surreal Neil" in local clubs, the idea of a full band tribute to Diamond soon started to take shape.
Cordero and company have become one of the most in demand cover bands in the country over the course of the last decade, selling out venues on both coasts. The act was even tabbed to play the premiere party for 'Saving Silverman,' the Jason Biggs/Jack Black comedy that prominently featured Diamond's music. The celebration culminated with the real Neil sharing the stage with the band.
Super Diamond gives die hard Neil fans a fix when they're jonesing for the real thing, providing the right mix of emotive camp and affectionate tribute. While the Halloween weekend is sure to bring out a variety of costurmes from attendees, but bellbottoms, platforms and period attire are recommended. Knights of Monte Carlo open the show.

The Chanukah Song for A Cherry Cherry Christmas Neil Diamond sings

'Cherry Cherry Christmas' Neil Diamond's newly released Christmas CD, includes Adam Sandler's original 'The Chanukah Song '. Although not as comedic as Sandler's version, Diamond finishes the album with taste by including all Sandler's favorite personalities.
Neil Diamond's see the artical A Cherry Cherry Christmas CD Includes Sandler's The Chanukah Song for the rest of the story and a complete playlist.