On Saturday (6.18) Neil Diamond made a rare live post-retirement appearance to sing “Sweet Caroline” during the Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park.
The legendary singer/songwriter had previously performed his hit song at the ball park in 2010 and again in 2013, days after the Boston Marathon bombing, but Saturday was his first time back at the ball park since retiring from touring in 2018 due to his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
Despite the Red Sox being down 10-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals, fans rapturously sang along with Diamond on “Sweet Caroline,” which has been an 8th inning anthem at Fenway Park since 1997.
Over the past 25 years, the Red Sox tradition has been an 8th inning anthem at Fenway Park since 1997 which led to a resurgence of the 1969 single. It has since inspired other cultural moments — including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers who also added “Sweet Caroline” singalongs to their in-stadium playlists. Jennifer Lopez sang it as part of the Vax Live concert in 2021, and earlier this month, the British people voted to have “Sweet Caroline” sung by Rod Stewart at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
As NESN noted, Diamond’s Fenway appearance was to celebrate the opening of his new musical Neil Diamond: A Beautiful Noise at Boston’s Emerson Colonial for a six-week residency, after which the show will move to Broadway this fall following a lengthy pandemic delay. At Fenway, Diamond was accompanied by actor Will Swenson, who stars in A Beautiful Noise.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: slgckgc