Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actor. With 38 songs in the Top 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts, he has sold more than 130 million albums worldwide.

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, he will be honored by The Recording Academy with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. On the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, he has had ten 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”, and “Heartlight”. In January 2018 it was announced that Diamond would receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

Today he announced to his fans that he has Parkinson’s disease and no longer has the capability to do concert tours. His fans did not complain. They were smarter than that, they donated the cost of tickets to his shows to research to find better treatments and perhaps a cure for Parkinson’s disease. His fans honored what he has taught them through his music.

Neil is one of my favorite singers, and I will always cherish the music he created and presented. I wish him the best as he deals with this condition.