"Sweet Caroline" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Neil Diamond and officially released on September 16, 1969,[1] as a single with the title "Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)". It was arranged by Charles Calello,[2] and recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

The song reached #4 on the Billboard chart and eventually went platinum for sales of one million singles.[3]

In the autumn of 1969, Diamond performed "Sweet Caroline" on several television shows. It later reached #8 on the UK singles chart in 1971.

In a 2007 interview, Diamond revealed the inspiration for his song was John F. Kennedy's daughter, Caroline, who was eleven years old at the time it was released.[4][5] Diamond sang the song to her at her 50th birthday celebration in 2007.[6] However, in a 2014 interview, he revealed that the song was not, in fact, named after Kennedy. Instead, Diamond was originally going to name the song after his wife Marsha, but later decided that he wanted a three-syllable name and chose Caroline. Thus the song was not named after any specific person named Caroline.[7]

On December 21, 2011, in an interview on CBS's The Early Show, Diamond said that a magazine cover photo of Caroline Kennedy as a young child on a horse with her parents[8] in the background created an image in his mind, and the rest of the song came together about five years after seeing the picture.

The song has proven to be enduringly popular, and as of November 2014 has sold over two million digital downloads in the United States.[9]

Versions

There are three distinct mixes of this song. The original mono 45 mix had a louder orchestra and glockenspiel compared to the stereo version on the Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show LP. The third version was a remix found only on the initial CD release of Diamond's His 12 Greatest Hits.[10] This version has the orchestra mixed down and has the background vocals mixed up. It has a longer fade as well. A live version of the song is on his "Hot August Night" LP.
Use

"Sweet Caroline" has been played at Fenway Park, home of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox, since at least 1997,[citation needed] and in the middle of the eighth inning at every game since 2002.[11] On opening night of the 2010 season at Fenway Park, the song was performed by Diamond himself.

On April 16, 2013, the day after the Boston Marathon bombings, the New York Yankees—longtime Red Sox rivals—announced they would play the song during their home game, preceded by a moment of silence, as a tribute to the victims.[12] On Saturday, April 20, 2013, during the 8th inning of the Red Sox-Kansas City game in Fenway Park, Neil Diamond led the crowd in a rendition of the song. The song was sung at sporting events across the country after the Boston Marathon bombings, in efforts to show solidarity with those affected by the tragedy. It was also played right before the start of the Hamburg Marathon in Hamburg, Germany, on Sunday, April 21, 2013, subsequent to a minute of silence.[13] The song was also played before the start of the Stockholm Marathon in Stockholm, Sweden, on Saturday, June 1, 2013, as a tribute to those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings.

On Thursday, April 25, 2013, "Sweet Caroline" was played following a tribute to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings during the NFL Draft. Diamond has announced that he will donate all royalties from sales of the song since the marathon bombings to the One Fund Boston to help the people most affected by the bombings.[14] Diamond said that sales of the song surged nearly 600 percent in the week after the bombings, to 19,000 copies, up from 2,800 the week before.[15]

On July 16, 2013, Neil Diamond performed the song at Citi Field in Flushing, NY at baseball's mid-summer classic.

The University of Pittsburgh also has a long-standing tradition of singing the song at their home football games.[16] Pitt students have made it "Pitt-centric" by replacing the repeating phrase "So good" of the original song with "Go Pitt" and the "Ba ba ba" of the original with, "Let's Go Pitt."

West Virginia Mountaineer fans have, in keeping with their rivalry with Pitt, adopted a similar singing to Pitt, but instead of "Let's go Pitt" chant "Eat Sh** Pitt" and instead of "Go Pitt" chant "Eat Sh**, making a "WVU-centric" version of the song.

The Carolina Panthers of the NFL play it after every victory at home games.

Super League team Castleford Tigers use the song as their club anthem.

AFL team Sydney Swans play the song at quarter time over the PA at their home games.

Has been used for years by The Hamilton Tiger Cats. Played at every game and is the "Theme Song" of the Ticat Super Fans The Box J Boys.

Is also played by the Calgary Stampeders at every game.

"Sweet Caroline" has been played at the Madejski Stadium, the home of Reading FC, since midway through the 2014/2015 season. It is played before kick off, at half time or after full time.
Cover versions

Pierre Lalonde in 1969 made a French cover of this song as "Caroline".
Andy Williams released a version in 1969 on his album, Get Together with Andy Williams.
Soft-voiced pop singer Larry Santos covered his tune on his second Evolution Records album, "Mornin' Sun".
Bobby Womack covered this song in his 1972 album Understanding.
Frank Sinatra recorded a big band cover of "Sweet Caroline" for his 1974 LP Some Nice Things I've Missed. Neil Diamond has stated this is one of his favorite covers.[17]
Julio Iglesias covered this song in Spanish as "Dulce Carolina" on his 1972 album Por una mujer.
Waylon Jennings performed a version on his 1977 album Ol' Waylon.
Claude Gray in 1986 released a cover version. It peaked at #77 on the Billboard country charts, making it his last charted single to date.
The third full-length release from the punk band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, entitled "Have a Ball", released July 29, 1997, features a punk-rock cover of "Sweet Caroline".
In November 2001, Dustin the Turkey took the song to number one on the Irish Singles Chart.
Elvis Presley covered it in 1970.[18]
Roy Orbison covered it in 1973 from Live on Australiean television in 1973.[19]
David Archuleta performed the song during the Final Five American Idol Episode on April 29, 2008 and later recorded a studio version.
On July 7-8th 2006, the Dave Matthews Band performed a cover of the song at their 2-day concert at Fenway Park which was released on his album "Live Trax Vol. 6: Fenway Park".[20]
In 2009, Mark Salling covered the song on the Fox TV show Glee.
In 2009, South African singer Steve Hofmeyr covered the song on his album, Tribute.[21]

References

Chilton, Martin. "Neil Diamond: 'didn't like Sweet Caroline'". Retrieved September 19, 2015.
Calello, Charles. "Calello's Billboard Magazine Top 100". Retrieved June 13, 2015.
"Neil Diamond" (biography). Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
Glaister, Dan (November 21, 2007). "Neil Diamond reveals secret of Sweet Caroline". The Guardian (London). Retrieved June 13, 2015.
Beggy, Carol; Shanahan, Mark (November 21, 2007). "'Sweet Caroline' revealed". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 15, 2008.
Cohen, Sandy (November 20, 2007). "Neil Diamond reveals inspiration for his smash hit 'Sweet Caroline': Caroline Kennedy". Associated Press.
www.cnn.com/2014/10/20/showbiz/music/neil-diamond-sweet-caroline/
"1962 covers", Life, 2 neat magazines, "7-Sep-1962, Caroline Kennedy on her pony".
Appel, Rich (November 26, 2014). "Revisionist History, Part 5: Bon Jovi's 'Prayer' Answered, 'Caroline' Is Sweeter Than 'Sugar'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
"Neil Diamond Album Overview Part 4: 1981-2003 The Compilation-Mania Years". Retrieved June 13, 2015.
Vosk, Stephanie (May 29, 2005). "Another mystery of the Diamond, explained at last". The Boston Globe.
"Yankees Twitter". New York Yankees. April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
"15,000 expected at Hamburg Marathon". TheLocal. April 20, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
"Neil Diamond to Donate 'Sweet Caroline' Royalties to Boston Bombing Charity". The New York Times. April 25, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
"Neil Diamond to Donate 'Sweet Caroline' Royalties to Boston Charity". The Hollywood Reporter. April 25, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
"How 'Sweet Caroline' became the Pitt fans' singalong". Old.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
"Singer/songwriter Neil Diamond here, AMA!". Reddit. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
"Elvis Presley - Sweet Caroline (1970)". YouTube. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
"Roy Orbison: "Sweet Caroline" from Live in Australia".
davematthewsband.com/music/dmb-live-trax-vol-6-fenway-park. Missing or empty |title= (help)

"Tribute". Last.fm. Retrieved October 17, 2014.

External links
www.metrolyrics.com/sweet-caroline-lyrics-neil-diamond.html