Neil Diamond’s 1966 debut album The Feel Of Neil Diamond reaches its 60th anniversary this week, arriving at a fitting moment for Australian audiences as A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical begins its Melbourne season at the Princess Theatre.
by Paul Cashmere
The Feel Of Neil Diamond, released in August 1966, introduced Neil Diamond as a recording artist with a collection that already contained three of his earliest significant singles, “Solitary Man”, “Cherry, Cherry” and “Oh No No”. Sixty years later, those songs remain central to the story of an artist whose catalogue is now being revisited on the Melbourne stage through A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, which began its Australian season at the Princess Theatre on August 5.
The anniversary provides a reminder of how early Diamond’s recording career established the songwriting identity that would underpin one of the longest commercial careers in popular music. The album was issued by Bang Records in the United States, London Records in the United Kingdom and Stateside Records in Australia.
The timing is particularly relevant in Australia, where Diamond developed a substantial audience across several decades. A Beautiful Noise, which dramatises his life and career through his songs, opened in Melbourne last week and is scheduled to continue at the Princess Theatre through October 25. The production places songs from across Diamond’s career into a theatrical narrative, while The Feel Of Neil Diamond represents the beginning of that recorded catalogue.
The album was produced by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, with Artie Butler serving as arranger and conductor. Barry and Greenwich continued their professional partnership after divorcing the previous year, working on recordings that helped establish Diamond at Bang.
The first single, “Solitary Man”, had been recorded in January 1966 and became Diamond’s debut single as a recording artist. It reached No. 55 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song would later become one of his most enduring compositions, receiving prominent interpretations from artists including Johnny Cash and Chris Isaak.
“Cherry, Cherry” followed and became Diamond’s first major hit, reaching No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in October 1966. The recording was initially conceived as a demo and was arranged by Butler and produced by Barry and Greenwich. The record also featured Greenwich prominently in the backing vocals.
The third of the album’s early hits, “Oh No No”, reached No. 16. Together, the three singles gave the debut album a stronger commercial profile than might normally be expected from a first release.
The album cover has its own piece of Diamond history. The photograph was taken beneath the Brooklyn Bridge by Diamond’s first cousin, Len Rapoport, when Rapoport was 17. The credit appeared as Leonard Linton, using Rapoport’s middle name. Later Diamond publications and album credits returned to Leonard Rapoport.
The original album has never received a standalone CD release. Its complete contents were subsequently included on The Bang Years 1966-1968, which also collects material from Diamond’s second album, Just For You.
The Australian edition of The Feel Of Neil Diamond was also distinctive, containing two additional tracks, “The Boat That I Row” and “Thank The Lord For The Night Time”, beyond the standard 12-song sequence.
The album documents Diamond at the beginning of a career that would eventually encompass an extensive catalogue of studio and live recordings. Its importance is not based solely on hindsight. Within its 12 tracks are the early building blocks of the songwriting and performance style that would develop considerably over the following decade.
“Solitary Man” in particular became closely associated with Diamond’s public identity. The song’s portrait of a man moving through failed relationships established a theme that would recur throughout his writing. Diamond later acknowledged that the song had a deeply personal connection to his own experiences.
The subsequent trajectory of “Solitary Man” also demonstrates the durability of Diamond’s songwriting. Bang Records reissued the single in 1970 after Diamond had established himself with Uni Records, and the new release reached No. 21 on the US pop chart and No. 6 on the Easy Listening chart.
Diamond’s catalogue would soon expand beyond the confines of his early Bang recordings. His later success included major albums such as Tap Root Manuscript, the live Hot August Night and the studio releases that produced international standards including “Sweet Caroline”, “Cracklin’ Rosie”, “I Am… I Said” and “Song Sung Blue”.
Australia became an important part of that story. Diamond first toured the country in 1976 and returned for major tours in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2005, 2011 and 2015. Hot August Night became particularly significant in Australia, spending 29 weeks at No. 1 on the Australian album chart. Noise11 has previously documented Diamond’s long touring relationship with Australian audiences.
That history gives the Melbourne production of A Beautiful Noise a direct connection to the audience Diamond built in Australia over five decades. The musical began performances at the Princess Theatre on August 5, with Will Swenson portraying Diamond in the Australian production.
https://abeautifulnoisethemusical.com
The 60th anniversary of The Feel Of Neil Diamond therefore comes with Diamond’s earliest recordings being heard in a new theatrical context. The debut album itself remains a snapshot of 1966, before the scale of Diamond’s career could have been anticipated, but the songs at its centre would become permanent parts of his musical legacy.
The Feel Of Neil Diamond Tracklisting
“Solitary Man”
“Red Rubber Ball”
“La Bamba”
“Do It”
“Hanky Panky”
“Monday, Monday”
“New Orleans”
“Someday Baby”
“Oh No No”
“I’ll Come Running”
“Love To Love”
“Cherry, Cherry”
Australian edition additional tracks: “The Boat That I Row” and “Thank The Lord For The Night Time”.
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical continues at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre before transferring to Sydney’s Lyric Theatre from November.
Dates
Until 9 November 2026, Melbourne, Princess Theatre
From 14 November 2026, Sydney, Lyric Theatre
https://theneildiamondmusical.com.au
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