Although Saturday was not a winning night on the field for the Boston Red Sox, baseball fans were treated to a treat from Neil Diamond, who gave a rare live performance of “Sweet Caroline.”
Diamond stopped concert touring in 2018 after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease†
This post-retirement performance marks Diamond’s first performance at Fenway Park since 2013. He then played the song as the Red Sox played their first home game since the Boston Marathon bombing.
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In a video shared by Fox Sports: MLB On Twitter, Diamond enthusiastically sings along to his classic while wearing a black and red Boston Red Sox letterman jacket. Watch his smashing performance above.
The native New Yorker and “Sweet Caroline” have become symbols of Boston over the years, as the Red Sox play the number in the eighth inning of every home game at Fenway Park.
The 25-year ritual has led to a revival of the 1969 single, with other sports teams taking up a similar practice, including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, who sing “Sweet Caroline” during every game at the stadium.
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After announcing Diamond’s retirement in 2018, he made it clear that he would “remain active in writing, recording and other projects for a long time to come”.
Diamond has rarely made live appearances since then.
Broadway actor Will Swenson, who will play a young version of Diamond in A Beautiful Noise, the Neil Diamond Musicalwas also present, singing loudly and proudly next to his muse.
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The musical about the life of Diamond is currently in pre-production and will premiere on Broadway later this fall.
According to the Boston Heraldthe show uses two dozen songs from the singer’s 60-year catalog to outline his career and early life, including “Cracklin’ Rosie, “Song Sung Blue,” “America,” “Cherry, Cherry” and “You Don” t Bring me flowers.’
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