Neil Diamond, one of the biggest influences of pop music, just retired from touring. Diamond is among the most relevant artists in the history of music. He revealed the reason he’s retiring is due to a sad diagnosis. The musician announced this Monday he suffers from Parkinson’s disease.
Diamond, who will turn 77 this Wednesday, shared his recent diagnosis in a statement on his website. He announced the cancellation of his tour dates scheduled for March in Australia and New Zealand.
“It is with great reluctance and disillusionment that I announce my retirement from concert tours”. The situation has made it difficult to travel and act on a large scale. But it will allow Diamond to continue writing, recording, and development of new projects.
One success after another
Many may think that Diamond is his stage name, but no, it’s his real name. He began his career as a composer in the early 60s. Writing huge hits, including “I’m Believer”. Which was at the top of the lists Billboard in 1966 for weeks.
At the same time, he was recording some of his compositions as demos for record producers. That year, after the success of “I’m Believer”, Diamond continued to compose hits such as “Solitary Man”. It reached the middle of the Billboard charts and was followed by “Cherry, Cherry”, a hit that topped the charts, This was a boost to reach some of the most successful solo recording races of the time.
The melodies that Diamond elaborated with great care, dominated the charts for the next decade. He composed one success after another. Some of them were “Sweet Caroline”, “Cracklin ‘Rosie”, “Song Sung Blue”, “He’s not heavy, it’s my brother”, “I am, I said”, “Play with me”, “Longfellow’s Serenade” and “Always in Blue Jeans”, along with “Don’t bring me flowers”, a No. 1 duo with Barbra Streisand.
Collapse that leads to three successes
For 1979, Diamond suffered from a collapse on stage, giving a show in San Francisco. It was discovered that he suffered from a tumor in his spine. After a few weeks of rehabilitation, he returned with a busy schedule that brought more success and the movie “The Jazz Singer”, a version of the classic Al Jolson. Although the film was severely criticized, it had three Top 10 hits: “Love on the Rocks”, “Hello Again” and “America”.
In 1982, came “Heartlight” his last successful hit. It reached number 5 on the US charts. He has remained an iconic figure for 35 years spent in his career, appearing for crowds that reach 100,000 people in the arenas around the world.
2017 start of a new tour
Their tour began on the 50th anniversary in April 2017. The dates of New Zealand and Australia had to be canceled on Monday.
“I am devastated and sad to hear the news of Neil’s illness and his retirement from the tour,” said Paul Dainty, president of TEG Dainty, organizer of the March concerts.
“He is one of the greatest artists in the world. We and his thousands and thousands of fans here will miss seeing him descend,” said the organizer.