Neil Diamond

Sweet Caroline

Neil Diamond is today considered one of the greatest songwriters and musicians of popular music, but his career in the early years was difficult to get off the ground. After a very unsuccessful phase, Diamond established himself from the mid-1960s, first as a songwriter and finally as a solo artist. The song 'Sweet Caroline' in 1969 was his first big hit and paved the way for numerous other successful titles.

Neil Diamond himself told two different origin stories to 'Sweet Caroline' - a song that is still unbrokenly known and loved today. On the one hand, he reported in an interview that the inspiration for the song was Caroline, the daughter of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. He had seen a picture of the 11-year-old girl in a magazine and about five years later, the song finally came about from that picture. According to another story, he was inspired to write the song by his then-wife Marsha, but needed a three-syllable name for the tune. Which of the stories is actually true is not clear - but they both persist.

'Sweet Caroline' is still extremely popular today and is one of the classics of pop songs. Many artists have covered the title since its release in 1969, including Elvis Presley or Frank Sinatra. Stefan Schwalgin created an authentic arrangement for wind orchestra, which is guaranteed to provide one or the other catchy tune for musicians and listeners.