Neil Diamond

Both as a hit songwriter for other people and a leading performer himself, Neil Diamond is a phenomenal success story, with over 115m worldwide sales. Born in Boston to a Jewish family descended from Russian and Polish immigrants, he originally planned to be a doctor, but was diverted when his musical talent was noticed and he was offered a job writing songs for a publishing company. He made his own recording debut in the duo Neil & Jack with school friend Jack Packer but, although they flopped, his breakthrough as a songwriter came when The Monkees took I'm A Believer to No 1. Elvis Presley, Lulu and Cliff Richard also covered his material while Diamond had his first hit in his own right with Solitary Man in 1966. His hits through the 1970s included Cracklin' Rosie and Sweet Caroline, which have since become among the most recorded songs of all time.