FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about Ladies and Gentlemen Mr Neil Diamond
Quiz about Ladies and Gentlemen Mr Neil Diamond

Ladies and Gentlemen: Mr. Neil Diamond Quiz


Neil Diamond has been entertaining us for decades with his distinctive voice and style, but how much do you actually know about the man and his music? What do you say, let's find out, shall we?

A multiple-choice quiz by paulmallon. Estimated time: 5 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Music Trivia
  6. »
  7. Music D-G
  8. »
  9. Neil Diamond

Author
paulmallon
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
346,970
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
636
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 208 (7/10), toddruby96 (5/10), Guest 164 (10/10).
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. OK, I hate to be mundane, but we have to start somewhere, so let's start at the beginning. When and where was Neil born? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. From what high school did Neil graduate? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Next it was off to college and he decided to enroll in pre-medical studies at New York University (N.Y.U.). He was granted a scholarship to attend due to his outstanding achievements in which sport? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Much of Neil's early success came as a song-writer including such tunes as "Sunday and Me", a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Charts for "Jay and the Americans" (1965). In 1966 he wrote four songs, "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", "I'm a Believer", "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)" and "Love to All" which were released by a popular band of that time.
Can you name that talented and popular group?

Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. It was "Westward Ho" for Neil who moved to Los Angeles in 1970. Between 1969 and 1972 Neil released such hits as "Holly Holy" (1969), "Sweet Caroline" (1969), "Cracklin' Rosie" (1970) and "Song Sung Blue" (1972).
"Sweet Caroline" still enjoys numerous plays as it has been adopted as the unofficial song of a major sports team that has played the song since at least 1997 at a specific time at every home game. What long time sports franchise revs up the fans by playing it, and at what venue?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Neil wrote and performed many songs in 1966, and one was given the distinction of being selected for the honor of "Pop Song of the Year."
Can you pick it out from the following choices?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Everybody has to start their career somewhere, somehow as somebody. When Neil signed his first recording contract with the "Duel" label in 1960, under what moniker was it billed?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. "The Jazz Singer", a 1980 remake of the Al Jolson classic movie (1927) featured Neil along with Lawrence Olivier and Lucy and Desi's kid, Lucie Arnaz. To say it was not a huge success would be an understatement, but despite the film's lack of box office appeal, three of the songs from the soundtrack became "Top 10" singles. Which of the following was NOT one of them? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. You know how sometimes you get a song that just comes creeping into your brain and you can't stop humming, singing or thinking abut it for days? Well that's how I've been lately about what has become my all time favorite Neil Diamond tune.
It's been around quite a while but only when I got a C.D. recently and heard it again and really listened to the words and the great musical background did it cause me to become mesmerized.
I'm now going to give you a verse from it, let's see if you can name that tune:

"It's the sound of the cars
On their furious flights
But there's even romance
In the way that they dance
To the beat of the lights"
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In 1984 Neil was recognized with a very special honor. Can you pick which of the following it was?
Just to be clear, at one point in his career he has been honored in all the ways mentioned, but which one was in 1984?

Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Most Recent Scores
Mar 08 2024 : Guest 208: 7/10
Mar 04 2024 : toddruby96: 5/10
Feb 08 2024 : Guest 164: 10/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. OK, I hate to be mundane, but we have to start somewhere, so let's start at the beginning. When and where was Neil born?

Answer: 1941 in New York

Singer, song-writer, actor, musician, Neil Leslie Diamond made his debut in Brooklyn, NY on January 24, 1941 to parents of Russian and Polish descent. As a child he changed schools nine times, was quite shy and introverted and had difficulty making friends easily, so he got much of his enjoyment from watching the singing cowboy heroes from his favorite early TV westerns.

Interesting fact: When he turned 16, with his interest in music growing, he asked for and received his first guitar as a birthday present.
2. From what high school did Neil graduate?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln H.S.

While in the first high school he attended, Erasmus High, he sang in a 100 member glee club that also included a young girl singer you may have heard about named Barbra Streisand. Later he collaborated with Alan and Marilyn Bergman on "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" which had originally been a 45 second theme song for a forgettable TV show called "All That Glitters" (1977). He would release it as a solo on his 1977 album "I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight". Babs would sing it on her 1977 "Songbird" album and again in a duet with Neil on his CD "The Very Best of Neil Diamond" (2011).

Interesting fact: Ms. Streisand also sang it at the 1979 Grammy Awards.
3. Next it was off to college and he decided to enroll in pre-medical studies at New York University (N.Y.U.). He was granted a scholarship to attend due to his outstanding achievements in which sport?

Answer: Fencing

I kid you not, when he was at Lincoln High he enjoyed playing on the school's fencing team and his specialty in saber earned him the ticket to N.Y.U.
He enrolled in pre-med because his grandmother had died of cancer and he wanted to try to find a cure. However, when he was a senior, a music publisher made him, as they say in N.Y. "an offer he couldn't refuse": $50 a week for song-writing, and so he dropped out of college with just six months to go until graduation.

Interesting fact: He was a member of N.Y.U.'s N.C.A.A championship fencing team in 1960.
4. Much of Neil's early success came as a song-writer including such tunes as "Sunday and Me", a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Charts for "Jay and the Americans" (1965). In 1966 he wrote four songs, "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", "I'm a Believer", "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)" and "Love to All" which were released by a popular band of that time. Can you name that talented and popular group?

Answer: The Monkees

Although Neil had originally written and recorded those tunes with the intention of releasing them himself they were sold to and released by The Monkees first.

Interesting fact: Another song that he wrote and sang, "Kentucky Woman" (1966) was recorded by the U.K group, Deep Purple (1968).
5. It was "Westward Ho" for Neil who moved to Los Angeles in 1970. Between 1969 and 1972 Neil released such hits as "Holly Holy" (1969), "Sweet Caroline" (1969), "Cracklin' Rosie" (1970) and "Song Sung Blue" (1972). "Sweet Caroline" still enjoys numerous plays as it has been adopted as the unofficial song of a major sports team that has played the song since at least 1997 at a specific time at every home game. What long time sports franchise revs up the fans by playing it, and at what venue?

Answer: Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park

I suspect many of you knew that Red Sox Nation enjoys that exhilarating song as the unofficial middle of the 8th inning anthem, but did you know that it was a picture of Caroline Kennedy on the cover of "Life" magazine which inspired him to write it?
That photo created an image in his mind and he wrote the song about five years after seeing the shot of young Caroline in full equestrian gear astride a horse, with her parents in the background. He said he did the writing and composing in just about an hour while in a hotel room in Memphis, TN.
Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley have also recorded it.

Interesting fact: Neil sang "Sweet Caroline" to Caroline Kennedy via satellite in 1997 at the celebration of her 50th birthday and it was on that occasion, after all the years, he revealed that she had been the inspiration for what he calls the most important song of his career.
The song has since gone platinum with sales of over a million copies.
6. Neil wrote and performed many songs in 1966, and one was given the distinction of being selected for the honor of "Pop Song of the Year." Can you pick it out from the following choices?

Answer: I'm a Believer

"I'm a Believer" was recorded by The Monkees with Mickey Dolenz as the lead vocalist. For seven consecutive weeks starting December 31, 1966, it hit the number one spot on the U.S. "Billboard Hot 100 Chart".

Interesting fact: It was the best selling record for the year of 1967.
7. Everybody has to start their career somewhere, somehow as somebody. When Neil signed his first recording contract with the "Duel" label in 1960, under what moniker was it billed?

Answer: Neil and Jack

Neil and a high school buddy, Jack Packer (A.K.A. Jack Parker) comprised a duo known for obvious reasons as Neil and Jack, a duo that was envisioned as being an Everly Brothers type act. While they didn't quite (!) reach the heights of Phil and Don they did manage to record a couple of forgettable tunes: "You Are My Love At Last" and "Till You've Tried Love" both in 1962.
He signed his next contract (this time as a solo act) with the slightly better known "Columbia Records" in 1962 and although his "Clown Town" (1963) received a highly favorable review from "Billboard" magazine it turned out to be a commercial failure.

Interesting fact: In the "what have you done for me lately" category, it was only very shortly thereafter that he was dropped by the Columbia label with whom he would later sign a long term contract.
8. "The Jazz Singer", a 1980 remake of the Al Jolson classic movie (1927) featured Neil along with Lawrence Olivier and Lucy and Desi's kid, Lucie Arnaz. To say it was not a huge success would be an understatement, but despite the film's lack of box office appeal, three of the songs from the soundtrack became "Top 10" singles. Which of the following was NOT one of them?

Answer: I Am...I Said

"I Am...I Said" was written by Diamond and he released it as a single in March 1971. It reached number four on the U.S. Pop Singles Chart by May and it was later included in his album, "Stones" released in November, 1971. It also provided him with his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.

Interesting fact: For his role in "The Jazz Singer" (that of Yussel Rabinovitch) he became the first winner of the Razzie Award for worst actor to also receive a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for the same role.
9. You know how sometimes you get a song that just comes creeping into your brain and you can't stop humming, singing or thinking abut it for days? Well that's how I've been lately about what has become my all time favorite Neil Diamond tune. It's been around quite a while but only when I got a C.D. recently and heard it again and really listened to the words and the great musical background did it cause me to become mesmerized. I'm now going to give you a verse from it, let's see if you can name that tune: "It's the sound of the cars On their furious flights But there's even romance In the way that they dance To the beat of the lights"

Answer: Beautiful Noise

"Beautiful Noise" was from the album of the same name released in 1976 by Columbia Records. It's a concept song that is an homage to, and his emergence from, the Brooklyn streets where he spent his early youth.

Interesting fact: "Beautiful Noise" and the other three songs listed above are all on the great twenty three track C.D. "The Very Best of Neil Diamond" (2011).
10. In 1984 Neil was recognized with a very special honor. Can you pick which of the following it was? Just to be clear, at one point in his career he has been honored in all the ways mentioned, but which one was in 1984?

Answer: Induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Neil's 1984 induction into to the Songwriters Hall of Fame was the first of these awards to come his way.
The second one came in 2000 when he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award.
The most coveted recognition of his career came in 2011 when the museum by the lake in Cleveland, Ohio better known as The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomed Neil as a member of this elite club.
His induction into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame came in 2008.

Interesting fact: When Neil was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame another co-inductee that day was one of his old high school glee club members, Barbra Streisand.
Source: Author paulmallon

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ralzzz before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
3/28/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us