How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond: The Behind-the-sequins Biography - Tapa dura

In this intimate portrait of Neil Diamond, the singer-songwriter behind such enduring anthems as 'Cherry, Cherry', 'Sweet Caroline', and 'America', Wild examines Diamond's singular place in the pantheon of popular music and describes how an introspective kid from Brooklyn went from being a struggling Brill Building songwriter to become a multi-platinum global superstar and the voice of a generation. Wild offers a moving and often hilarious salute to his own Jewish Elvis, one based on his numerous interviews with the Solitary Man himself. He recalls their first encounter in 1998 when they argue over a Diamond song that Wild remembers but the singer-songwriter himself does not. He reflects on his early conversations with Diamond's son, and getting to know his inner circle while producing Diamond s episode of Behind the Music. He also recounts more personal episodes that show him embarrassingly, but helplessly, obsessed with the singer. Finally, he reveals his creeping suspicion that Neil Diamond is, at last, becoming 'hip'...

David Wild is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, as well as a music and TV writer and critic. His books include 'Friends: The Official Companion' and 'Seinfeld: The Totally Unauthorized Tribute'.