Neil Diamond Working the Phones for Obama

[bigtree]

Neil Diamond ‏@NeilDiamond

Working the phones for Obama... If I call you, don't hang up. It's really me and I need you. #OFACulver pic.twitter.com/e7oquoid

[juajen]

1. Ah, this warms my heart. I love Neil Diamond.

[Skittles]

3. ditto!

[Horse with no Name]

31. I go to a lot of concerts

and I saw Neil Diamond in 81 in Dallas.

I went because I had free tickets...wasn't really a fan.

When I left that concert, I was a lifelong fan.

He is amazing.

[hamsterjill]

51. I've been to seven of his concerts!

Won't miss him! His band is incredible. They've all been together for most of the journey, and just know what one another is going to do before they do it!

So happy to see Neil out and taking action!!!

[brewens]

2. I don't care what anyone thinks, I still crank up Hot August Night every once

in awhile! The only thing wrong with that performance, he didn't do the full version of Brother Loves Traveling Salvation Show.

[FrodosPet]

4. Great performer. Jonathan Livingston Seagull was one of my favorite albums ever.

I just hope it is not true that arena employees are not allowed to talk to, or even look at him.

I had a friend who worked at the Palace of Auburn Hills complain about that several years ago.

[brewens]

9. Probably not like Buffett in the old days. Helping the crew load up and everything. Neil

is kind of tempermental I've heard. He can't be all bad though!

[ljm2002]

35. Wow, that was one of my favorite albums too...

...I used to own it on 8-track and played it in the car while whizzing around the SF Bay Area.

Ah, nothing like a little nostalgia on a Monday morning!

Oh, and it's great to see Neil Diamond phone-banking!!

[SharonAnn]

10. I got to see him at the Greek Theater in L.A. What a show!

It wsn't the original Hot August Night, but it was awfully close!

[GP6971]

14. Saw him in

66.......couldn't dance worth a shit. But loved his music more than now.

Same with Johnny Rivers.....
.

[GP6971]

13. How about

Holly Holy ? (sp)

[CrispyQ]

50. That's my fave Neil song.

I've seen him in concert several times, although the last time was a few decades ago.

The first time I was about 11. I had an older cousin who agreed to let me & a friend tag along with him & his girlfriend to the concert. The next morning we took his girlfriend to the Stapleton airport & we walked right into Neil Diamond in the terminal! My cousin & his girlfriend were incredibly composed & gracious. My friend & I were freaking out, jumping up & down, giggling & carrying on. He was very nice & asked the two of us specifically if we enjoyed the show.

He's a class act & knows how to put on a show!

[RBInMaine]

65. That's a good one. Also "Brooklyn Roads." Gotta love "Sweet Caroline" and "Cherry Cherry."

[loyalsister]

21. In 2008

That song was one of many that I thought described the feel of Obama's campaign.

[Care Acutely]

5. Very cool! I like him. Can't help it!

[cynatnite]

6. Hell, he could recite the phone book and I'd empty the bank account. n/t

[pklaz96]

7. Icing on the cake :)

Imagine picking up the phone.... - all your fans are hoping it rings - all my family and friends, all great ND fans, are voting for Obama.

[ejbr]

8. Prove it's you, Neil

Sing a few bars of "Love on the Rocks..."

[pinboy3niner]

11. "Hello again, hello. I just called to say hello..."

[Barack_America]

12. Immediately where my mind went.

[CTyankee]

37. Beautiful. Sad, tho. It brings back some memories...

[freshwest]

15. This is the one that I remember!

Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond

Where it began, I can't begin to knowing
But then I know it's growing strong
Was in the spring
Then spring became the summer
Who'd have believed you'd come along

Hands, touching hands
Reaching out, touching me, touching you

(Chorus)

Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I'd be inclined
To believe they never would
Oh no, no

Look at the night and it don't seem so lonely
We filled it up with only two
And when I hurt
Hurting runs off my shoulder
How can I hurt when I'm holding you

One, touching one
Reaching out, touching me, touching you

(Chorus)

[lexw]

16. It's Song Sung Blue...not Red. :D

[Rhiannon12866]

17. And Pat Boone is making robocalls for the Republican congressional candidate in my district...

Did the same thing for the previous Republican candidate who ran against the Democratic congressman I was working for. Most of the college kids working at campaign headquarters had no idea who he was...

[pinboy3niner]

18. Maybe Pat should have worn his leathers

[Rhiannon12866]

19. He mentioned one of his songs to identify himself...

I don't think that helps all that much...

[SomethingFishy]

46. I would love to see those "Pat Boone" Calls

followed up by calls from "Little Richard" stumping for Obama.

[1monster]

54. We got one of those the other day. My twenty-year-old son said, "OH MY GOD! EEEEWWWW

Pat Boone!" as he frantically and repeatedly hit the reduce volume button as the call was being recorded on our answering machine.

I think he wanted to disinfect the phone lines.

[lovemydog]

20. Wow, what a cool guy.

He's looking darn good too.

I love Cracklin' Rosie & many of his songs.

[AtomicKitten]

22. 1966

[AtomicKitten]

23. 1971 BBC concert.

&feature=related

[JoyBugaloo]

32. Thanks for this!!

[AtomicKitten]

39. my pleasure

Really, it was my pleasure ... I had forgotten what a dish he was in 1971.

[Surya Gayatri]

58. What a great find, AtomicKitten. Thank you, thank you

for posting this.

I've been a life-long fan since I saw him in concert here in Paris in the late 70's.

Amazing talent, beautiful man (not to mention sexy as hell!)

[Le Taz Hot]

27. My Favorite

Neil Diamond song. Not much of a fan of the later stuff but I liked his early stuff, including Last Train to Clarksville.

[AtomicKitten]

28. His first song recorded and my favorite too.

It's also @ 3:45 in the 1971 concert I posted above. Lost interest when he went to Vegas, but good lord I forgot how he made my knees weak. Damn.

[Frank Cannon]

66. You're thinking of "I'm a Believer"

Clarksville was a Boyce and Hart tune, one of The Monkees' biggest hits.

Neil wrote a lot of great songs for The Monkees, including "I'm a Believer" (which Neil also recorded), "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", and "Look Out, Here Comes Tomorrow" (one of my all-time favorites).

[Le Taz Hot]

68. Yes I am

and thanks for the correction. 50 years was a LONG time ago.

[Frank Cannon]

69. My God, it has been that long.

Holy crap!

[1monster]

55. That was my introduction to Neil Diamond and I've loved all of his music since...

I think other than "Be" from Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, my favorite is Brooklyn Roads.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

61. One of the all-time great pop tunes

[outsideworld]

24. Love him

[AtomicKitten]

25. Here's the article that goes with that pic.

Iconic balladeers Neil Diamond and Burt Bacharach made a visit to the Obama campaign's Culver City call center Sunday to surprise the phone bank volunteers with an impromptu concert.

link: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/neil-diamond-burt-bacharach-sing-386316

"They wanted to do something to thank the volunteers," said Solomon, who helped organize the singers' visit with friend Chuck Lorre. "It was like the '60s or something. Everyone was singing along. It was amazing."

Solomon said he was scheduled to fly back to campaign headquarters in Chicago on Sunday, but he decided to change his flight when Bacharach mentioned that he wanted to do something special for the Obama volunteers. Bacharach made a quick call to his friend Diamond, and soon they were on their way to the westside phone bank, set up on a large soundstage at the Culver Studios.

After the sing-along, Diamond decided to stay to make a few phone calls for campaign. He tweeted: "Working the phones for Obama... If I call you, don't hang up. It's really me and I need you."

About 150 volunteers were at the call center when the Bacharach and Diamond arrived. They also took to Twitter to express their excitement.

"As if making calls for @barackobama wasn't rewarding enough…@neildiamond & #burtbacharach sang us out! #ofaculver," wrote volunteer Erica Rich.

[bigtree]

29. thanks, AtomicKitten!

[AtomicKitten]

38. you're welcome

I stumbled across the article while reading elsewhere.

[stlsaxman]

26. Never liked his music- but it LOVE this guy!

[VWolf]

30. I heard he specifically asked

to call women named Caroline.

Bah-bah-bah ....

[louis-t]

33. That's not Neil Di.....

Oh, wait, yes it is!

[Jake2413]

34. I am I said...is the best

Saw him in 1966 at Forrest Hills NY in a thunder storm what a great show.

[hibbing]

36. a convert

Hey,
Thanks for the info, good to see him doing this. I always thought he was kind of dorky, but with age comes wisdom, and I have always respected and admired songwriters. I consider myself a fan now, even though some of his songs are kind of cheesy.

Peace

[Hatchling]

40. I already voted.

But man, I would love a GOTV call from Neil. I bounce! when I hear his music.

[Swede Atlanta]

41. Thank you Neil!!!!

Love your music, have seen you several times in concert but this is about our nation's future. Go Obama!!!!

[harun]

42. Game over

[FailureToCommunicate]

43. The African songs on the second half of Tap Root Manuscript!!

Long before Paul Simon discovered the music of South Africa!


Thank you Neil Diamond for helping out on the campaign...
and thanks for so much great music over the years!

[Frank Cannon]

67. That whole album was brilliant.

But that "African Suite" was absolutely ingenious. Haunting and magical.

Yeah, Neil was there first and he did it better.

[Arugula Latte]

44. "Hello, is this Rosie? Sorry, Rosie, you're cracklin' on me..."

[classof56]

52. Ah, yes--Cracklin' Rosie Get on Board. Love that one!

Also You've Got the Way to Move Me, Cherry always get me moving--and I'm ancient!

Good for Neil!

OBAMA/BIDEN 2012

[ananda]

45. Kewl!

..

[kenziemom06]

47. Big fan of Neil's!

I've been a fan since the Beautiful Noise album, have seen him in concert too many times to count, and love that he supports our President!

1 more day 'til 4 more years!

[BumRushDaShow]

48. Yay Neil!

Just a Solitary Man making a big difference!

[CrispyQ]

49. Fuckin' A!

I have loved him since I was a girl of seven.

[SoapBox]

53. Cool!

[Cha]

56. Now all of a sudden.. I Love Neil Diamond! Where is he..workin' those phones?

Thanks bigtree!

[Waiting For Everyman]

57. "Be"

He is such a good writer. It's so cool that he would get involved himself and do this.

[llmart]

62. I LOVE that song!

Thanks for posting it. The visuals are beautiful also.

I've had a crush on this man for a long time. I played his albums over and over (yeah, I know, I'm old). Now I like him even more!

[vduhr]

59. Far.....

We've been travelling far
Without a home
But not without a star

Free
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream

On the boats and on the planes
They're coming to America

[David Zephyr]

60. bigtree, you are amazing! great pic!

The best.

[katmille]

63. I'm an "old white woman" (about Neil's age) and I LOVE this.

[RBInMaine]

64. LOVE IT ! It remember listening to Neil's LP's as a kid in the 70's. Great singer/songwriter.

[Supersedeas]

70. One of the nicest guys in the world

[newspeak]

71. have a story about neil diamond

it was in the seventies, my hubby worked for the telephone company in las vegas. went to neil's home to work on the phones. neil was talking on the phone when his little daughter came in to talk to daddy. neil told the person on the other end of the phone something important had come up and he'd get back with him/her.

hubby thought that was such a great thing. he gave hubby one of his albums, that we still have to this day.