One of the most important American songwriters of all time, Bob Dylan changed the course of music when he showed that musicians could write about anything they wanted and that songs did not need to be short or have catchy lyrics. He opened the minds not only of musicians, proving it was possible to succeed without following the industry\u2019s demands, but also of producers and record companies, who began to accept artists\u2019 ideas for their own songs.<\/p>\n
Neil Diamond<\/a>, one of the most successful singers and songwriters ever to come out of the United States, was among the musicians who benefited from the path Dylan helped create. Like him, Diamond was also covered by other artists who had big hits with his songs. Over the decades he gave his opinion on many of his peers, including Bob Dylan.<\/p>\n Neil Diamond is a fan of Bob Dylan and credits him as one of the important artists who changed the music business to songwriters who could perform their own songs. \u201cI was on the verge and still knocking around the streets and knocking on doors at the early part of the \u201960s. And as that decade progressed, history was made musically by the advent of Bob Dylan, the entrance on the scene of The Beatles and the British groups that came. And the whole change in the thought processes of people in the music world, where suddenly the songwriter came to the fore and became an important element in the music business.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis was not true before that. There were singers and there were songwriters and very rarely did the two come together. So it was a very fertile era for me as a songwriter and as a person who wanted to sing. I really started to sing out of sheer desperation because I couldn\u2019t get anybody else to sing my songs. I hadn\u2019t yet really found my voice in my own music until I started recording them myself. So it was all a very exciting time for me and it left a very deep impression. And these songs were part of that time and that era. So they left a very deep impression on me as well,\u201d Neil Diamond told Darryl Sterdan<\/a> in 2010.<\/p>\n He eventually had the chance to meet Bob and they have both praised each other\u2019s career over the years. When asked by The New Yorker<\/a> once if he would still be performing when he was sixty, Diamond recalled an advice he received from Dylan. \u201cMaybe sixty. Between sixty-five and seventy, I\u2019m not sure. I\u2019ll have to write a lot of ballads now, very slow ballads, very slow songs. Bob Dylan told me, \u2018Don\u2019t write songs with a lot of words in them. Because when you get older you just got to sing a lot of words,\u2019\u201d Neil Diamond said in 1992.<\/p>\n They both had the chance to share the stage in 1978 during The Band\u2019s final show, which became the Martin Scorsese film \u201cThe Last Waltz\u201d. As told by Rolling Stone<\/a>, there is an urban legend that after coming out of stage that night, when he performed \u201cDry Your Eyes\u201d, Diamond reportedly told Dylan \u201cTop that!\u201d and the Folk Rock musician replied: \u201cBy doing what? Falling asleep?\u201d But when Neil later explained that it was actually a joke.<\/p>\n \u201cActually, it was before we both went on. He was tuning his guitar and I came over to him and I said, \u2018You know, Bob, those are really my people out there.\u2019 He kind of looked at me quizzically.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI said it as a joke, but I think it spurred him a little bit. He gave a hell of a performance. It was a good night and an exciting night. I was glad to be a part of it,\u201d Neil Diamond said. Dylan also recorded his own version of Neil\u2019s \u201cSweet Caroline\u201d and sent it to him privately, as reported by David Wild in his 2008 book \u201cHe Is\u2026 I Say\u201d. That recording remained was officially released in 2021 as part of \u201cSpringtime in New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. 16\u201d.<\/p>\n Throughout his career, Neil also paid tribute to Dylan\u2019s work. He performed \u201cLay Lady Lay\u201d live and also covered \u201cMake You Feel My Love\u201d, which appeared on his 2008 album \u201cHome Before Dark\u201d. His biggest hit is \u201cSweet Caroline\u201d and has famous songs like \u201cCracklin\u2019 Rose\u201d, \u201cI am\u2026 I Said\u201d and \u201cForever in Blue Jeans\u201d.<\/p>\n He was also the author of huge hits such as \u201cI\u2019m a Believer,\u201d made famous by The Monkees and later introduced to a new generation by Smash Mouth. In the 1990s, Urge Overkill scored a hit with their version of \u201cGirl, You\u2019ll Be a Woman Soon,\u201d featured in Quentin Tarantino\u2019s film \u201cPulp Fiction\u201d. The British band UB40 also achieved major success with their interpretation of Diamond\u2019s \u201cRed, Red Wine.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t only \u201cSweet Caroline\u201d that Bob liked from Diamond\u2019s discography. He also praised his 32nd studio album \u201cMelody Road\u201d, which was released in 2014. \u201cWow, Bob Dylan just called me and said, \u201cIf any record connects with me, this one does.\u201d about Melody Road. How cool is that? Thanks Bob!\u201d Neil Diamond said on Twitter<\/a> that year.<\/p>\nWhat is Neil Diamond\u2019s opinion on Bob Dylan<\/h2>\n
The advice Bob Dylan gave to Neil Diamond<\/h3>\n
Neil Diamond continued:<\/h4>\n
Bob Dylan liked Neil\u2019s 2014 album \u201cMelody Road\u201d<\/h3>\n