Hey, Camp Lovers!
For our Celebrities at Summer Camp blog posts, I like to tell you about other people—famous people—who also love summer camp! Well, today’s blog post is a special one for a man who has been said by some to be America’s greatest singer/songwriter—Mr. Neil Diamond.
Neil went to Surprise Lake Camp (SLC—also attended by Gene Simmons from the 1980’s hairband Kiss), located in the mountains of Cold Spring, New York. A beautiful place that works hard to make sure that every summer is at least as fun as the last. They’ve been doing it since 1902.
When he first started his career as a singer/songwriter in 1962, Neil was less known as a performer and better known as a songwriter. A common misnomer is that he didn’t perform his earlier music—just wrote songs that he sold to other performers. However, he always had intended to be a performer, his music simply became famous first by other bands and performers that covered his music.
Among other musical performers, The Monkees are known for using a number of Neil’s songs such as “I’m a Believer” and “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You.” But by the later 60’s he was gaining stardom not only recognized as a songwriter anymore but also as a performer.
Neil shined all throughout the 70’s with such brilliant songs like “Sweet Caroline,” “Song Sung Blue,” and “Holly Holy.” Neil has sold over 125 million records the world over. The man is thought to have become the third-most famous and successful singer/songwriter, ceded only to the ultra-famous Barbara Streisand and Elton John.
Today, Neil continues making music and released a CD of new material in 2010. He still tours pretty frequently and loves his fans! That’s pretty awesome! As always, thanks for reading, Folks.
- John