Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond) - Episode 601

[This is an automated transcript.]

Turn up the radio and sing along. It's time for another great song. This is the great song podcasts season's greetings and welcome once again to the great song podcast. I'm Rob Allie J pain Mosher, and we're here to celebrate the greatest songs in modern music history. We're going to tell you what makes them.

Why we think they're awesome. And why you should too, JP, how are you doing today, man? I'm doing fantastic. All were back in season six. It doesn't really feel like it's been that long away for us. Cause me Rob we're actually recording this at the end of season five. I still have a little disclosure. We haven't even dropped the last episode, but we're getting ready for season six.

And guys, do we have a season? Oh boy. Oh my goodness. We've got some interviews. Teaser of all teasers. It's been a good day today. Oh my goodness. Just it's going to be a good, good season. So we both talked in the last few weeks. We'd gone back and listened to like season one, episode one, the walking in Memphis episode or something early in the first, like five or six.

And the difference. Our presentation. Yeah. We were like our first episode, if you go back and listen to it, I'm like Hey guys welcome to the total episode, which is one of our most listened to it's like completely different, the energy and everything. It's like what in the world? Thank you guys for becoming our friends and hanging along.

Yeah, six. Here we go. I mean, some of it, some of you listeners out there have legitimately become our friends. It's so weird. Like there's an actual community building around this podcast. Some of our friends actually now listen, still can't get our wives in on it. And some of them, Hey, there's a few this season that my wife has actually excited about, which is.

Rare to say. So there we go to be fair. My wife hears every episode while I edit it. So she hears bits and pieces of everyone. She's like, I don't need to listen to it again. Like she's she, she was like, I pretty much got it. I'm pretty much. But this is one that we're going to kick it off. That's got to resonate in everybody's ears.

Everybody's going to be singing along wherever you are. You're about to make a fool of yourself. We always debate what's the opener for each season. So we always try to do something a little different, but this is one, everybody's got a sing along with us because we're going to be bumped up, up and along.

So let's do it go. Let's see. And gentlemen, this is sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond.

Just makes you want to run through a brick wall,

where it be again. I can't begin to know, but then I know it's grew and straw

was in the spring and spring that came the summer.

But now I want what Neil, what do you now I do that was sweet Caroline by sweet sweet Neil, sweet Neil diamond from the 1969 album. Brother loves traveling salvation show and it actually came out as a single originally before that in May, 1960. It hit number four on the billboard hot 100 number three on the U S easy listening and cash box.

Top one, hundreds and number three, and the Australian and Canadian charts. And number one in your hearts, number one in your programs. Sweet Caroline. Sweet, sweet Caroline by Neil diamond. Parentheses never felt so good. Never, never seemed so good yet. And so a little bit about the song itself. The song is the source of the songs.

Inspiration was kind of a secret. For almost 40 years until Neil diamond revealed in a 2007 interview that its inception began with a photo of a nine year old, Carolinen Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy on a magazine cover. I believe it's the life magazine cover from September 7th, 1962. If I did my research properly, she's dressed in her riding gear that is writing like, you know, Like riding a pony.

Cause that's what she was doing. Not right. Not right. Not with a pin. That's right. She's dressed in cause D do people have writing gear? I'll put on my best glove prevents the carpal tunnel. When I dip my pin and the income must have my writing gear in place. So Caroline Kennedy dressed in her riding gear on her pony, which was named macaroni by the way, or pony macaroni pony named macaroni sounds like a band name or.

I was like a Neil diamond song. It does say, oh my God. I mean, porcupine pie, opponent in macaroni. Right. It's easy. So he said it was such an innocent, wonderful picture. I immediately felt there was a song in there. And he would write the song itself a few years. Also there's a whole other origin to the song.

But that was what we thought for a while was the origin of the song. And he sang it for Caroline Kennedy for her 50th birthday at the was it the Kennedy center that would make sense. I don't really, I can't remember now, but there was a special thing and he sang it for her. And at that point he said you know, I had always wanted her to hear it, but I never wanted to tell her before now that it was about her and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

We're at about 2014, he started changing his story a little bit from a 2014 today show interview he said I was writing a song in Memphis, Tennessee for a session and I needed a three syllable name. He said the song was about my wife at the time. Her name was Marsha and I couldn't get a Marsha rhyme key phrase here.

I couldn't get a Marsha rhyme. He says, first of all, why did it need. Caroline doesn't run anywhere at all in the song, unless you're counting good times. Right. As a, as like a near internal rhyme, right? Yeah. Caroline, good times. But that don't even count as an internal rhyme. Right. So it didn't need a rhyme.

He didn't need a rhyme there. Second of all, second of all. Sweet Marsha, mine, sweet Marsha, fine. Whatever she has. She have a one syllable, middle name or a nickname or something, you know, you could have use make it work, bro. I'm not sure. I believe. I think his, his, I think he caught some flack. Right? I think he got some flack.

I've definitely heard some people say. It was about an, it was a picture of a nine-year-old girl. And I don't think that I literally don't think that had anything to do, but I'm just saying like, that keeps people from talking, but it changed the story. Exactly. If that people, exactly. If that story gets back to him, then maybe he goes, oh, maybe I should say it was about my wife.

We're not married anymore. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm getting older weirder.

I do. I do think that's possible. And maybe he just misspoke when he was saying I couldn't get a martial rhyme. Right. Cause, but maybe instead of Ron, he just meant syllable. Right. I couldn't make the syllables work, but yeah. The song about your wife, Doris. Yeah. Just, but no, I get it. That happens in songs all the time, but is, as a matter of fact, I heard him tell that story, a couple of different spots.

And and in one it sounded like it was a super last minute decision. Like he like on the car ride to the studio, or maybe even in the studio that he came up, came up with the name on the way there. Yeah. So. It's one of these things is all we know you listen every week. Just tell us just to be honest with us and those of you guys that are really good friends with Neil dominance to ask him that's right.

Just let us know the truth on that. So anyway, but he did say that he wrote it the night before his session, the song itself, whether whether Caroline was a part of it or not, at this point, he wrote it the night before this. Where he had a, he had a three hour session booked. This seems crazy to think.

Now he had a three-hour sessions booked and it was sort of expected that in a three hour session, you would cut three. Song an hour, isn't that wild, full day, full bit like, you know, just going in fresh and you're going to cut three songs now that has not happened on a like, period, even in your home studio.

Yeah, no, I mean, yeah. So I think that's crazy, but you know, we've talked a little bit about before this song is older than I think it to be, you know what I'm saying? Like this was 1969. And it's just, doesn't sound that old to me. I think mid seventies with this. But you know, we talked about the, like the earlier days of rock and roll, it was, you would go in and record a whole album in like four hours.

You know what I mean? It was like, here's our day to record the album. I mean, seriously, like early like Beatles records and like all those Motown, you know what I'm saying? It was just like, get in there, get your stuff done. That's why you had you have the. Vocal performances where you can hear you know, like, man, I want to say, maybe you don't want like ain't too proud to beg or something like that.

There's you hear stuff where people clip the microphone and they just lift it in. You know what I'm saying? Where it's like, they, they, what I mean by clip, I mean, they, they sing too loud and it gets in the red or the preamp. Right. And the preamp goes a little bit while they. And it gets this throaty, you know, weird thing now you don't want that ever, ever, ever.

But then they would just leave it in because they were like, it's scheduled to keep, we got four more tracks to cut and it's two o'clock that's right. That's right. We got to be out by five. Anyway, this is from a good album. Let's talk about the album is a brother loves traveling salvation show one of my favorites, tiled track.

It's a, it sounds found some resurgence lately in once upon a time in Hollywood. Did you see that Brad Pitt Leonardo DiCaprio, mark, maybe. It's the first question. Karen Quintin Tarantino film. What did you call him? And then going Quintin Tarantino the first and only one that he didn't invite bar Bob and Harvey Weinstein to participate in this one.

Oh, smart. That's exactly the amount of time. Here. But I love that play a little of the title track, just cause I like it jumped to the chorus. I think it's catchy classic and Neil

As brother loves traveling salvation show the true story of a WWF slash WWE side character, brother. Love you. Remember brother love from the eighties. He was like he hosted a talk show, quote, unquote, like in the middle of wrestling events. And he was like the stereotypical, like eighties evangelist white suit, a red shirt.

His face was always super red. Slick back here. And he was his, he was be like,

he would always host a talk show and talk, you know, talk to the wrestlers or whatever. Well, killer drum fill in that too. Let's talk about the band. Let's do what? It's time to make the band. Boom.

all right, we're going to meet the band that played on sweet Caroline by Neil diamond. I'm on, I'm gonna start by talking about the arranger the guy that did some arrangements, strings and horns. Don't always talk about them, but his name is. Yeah. Yeah. He was a ranger, Texas ranger heads, famous Texas Rangers.

Julio Franco was a Walker. Ruben Sierra Walker, Texas ranger. There you go. Chuck Norris. Now a ranger strings and horns got him. Charles Calello maybe it's colonial. . E L L O Kaleo, Kaleo, maybe good old Charles. He was in the Frankie Valli group, the four lovers before it transitioned into the four seasons.

So he was with Frankie Valli before they became the four seasons. That's cool. I didn't know that it was a thing, I didn't know. There was somebody pre four seasons, another four lovers or levers nicknamed Hitman, great nickname and a good sense. So I was thinking Hitman hit me in, I don't really know any famous hippie.

I don't want to thought I would. I was like, oh, I'll just list some famous hitmen here. And only one I could think of was Irishman, Rafer, righto. And I just know him just from a movie. But I can't really think of any famous Hitman I can think of. Okay. Yeah, all monitor fictitious, except for now, if you want to go Brett, the Hitman Hart, right?

Some more wrestling. We're really going wrestling deep on this. Or like what's his name? Dead shot from suicide squad will Smith's character and suicide squad. But in terms of like what most of them are fiction. Hitman. So I just looked up the most notorious is a guy named Richard Kuklinski AKA the Iceman over 200 killings.

And there was a movie called the Iceman with Michael Shannon and. Winona Ryder. It came out in 2012. It's about him, not Val Kilmer, right? Not Iceman. Chump man. Yeah. Yeah. And not not Arnold Schwartzenegger. Oh, let's kick some ice. Not that guy, but anyway, Charles, the Hitman did the arrangement, strings and horns on drums guy named gene. Chrisman this guy, my goodness. 67 Aretha Franklin album. I never loved a man. The way I loved you guys, a 67 68 king Curtis sweet soul. 69 dusty Springfield and BJ Thomas projects, 70 Elvis Presley, 71, John prawns, first album self-titled in 71. He also did crystal Gale, Don McLean played with him, but most notably the drummer for Billy Vera and the beaders at this moment.

Wow. This is before when we interviewed Billy Vera, we weren't really doing a full on meet the band section. I don't think I'd have to go back and listen through, but Jane played drums with Billy Vera in the beta. So good job, Jean man. On base, the guy that played bass on respect again, Tommy Cogbill. So if you want to go back and revisit the episode that we did on a Reetha from season five, I believe you can hear more accolades, but somebody I failed to mention that he played bass.

Billy Vera and the Beaters. Wow. So your half the beaters played on this. This is awesome. So they're called the Memphis boys rhythm section Todd in a couple of days, but I'm on guitar, Reggie young, this guy's a legend played guitar on always on my mind by willingness. Other king Curtis stuff played with Delbert McClinton guitar on Elvis's suspicious minds and hooked on a feeling by BJ Thomas teaser of all tasers.

First band was called Eddie bond and the Stompers. Okay. That's a terrible, terrible name, but they opened. Johnny Cash. Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison. Wow. Okay. So, and you know, a lot of times openers at that time would actually back the backing band for the headliner. So his band would back a lot of those back, Johnny Cash back, Carl Perkins back Roy Orbison.

So was pretty neat. Yeah. His next band, the band after that was called bill black combo, the bill black combo. So good, but I guarantee you, they would never be asked by the band they opened for, to accompany them because they were the primary opener for the Beatles on their first us tour, the primary opener for the Beatles on their first us tour, bill black combo.

So there you go, Reggie. Wow. It's harness. Go get it. Reggie, go do it, buddy. I'm on keyboards. Bobby Emmons played keys on in the ghetto by Elvis. Nailed it. And son of a preacher man by dusty Springfield, man, just probably do an episode of possibility. I love this song. We'll talk about Bobby again, some more on that episode.

And on vocals guy named nail domino tin number Woodlands, sweet Caroline, not one of them, but number four, right? It got close. Number four on the hot 100, number three on the easy listening chart. Yep. Had a, had 10 other number ones though. This guy's a legend on the fencing team. Did you see that growing up?

That's right. So he said in an interview that his, a buddy of his in school was like, literally the. Fencer in the country. And so Scouts would come to see him for fencing scholarship. And and while they were there, his friend said, Hey, you should check out my friend, Neil. He's pretty good too. So he ends up getting a fencing, scholarship, Neil diamond fencing, scholarship, crazy got his first guitar at 16 when he went to surprise lake summer camp, summer camp for Jewish kids.

And that's where he met Pete Seeger, the guy that does where all the flowers go on. If I had a hammer, he came and performed and he was like, man, I'm hooked on that guy. And they met, they became friends. And from there. There's definite Pete Seeger. Tie-ins all the way through. It's sometimes referred to as Jewish, Elvis, Jewish Elvis.

So that's awesome. That Jewish Elvis. So I started looking, do you know, Elvis, maternal great grandma. Nancy burden was actually Jewish. Oh, so a long way around this, but that thus making Elvis. Actually Jewish quarter, quarter Jewish. If you go to the Elvis museum in the bedroom, how two bedroom, half of his birthplace, birthplace and Mississippi, it's now curable.

There is a. When you go in, oh, I'm the original Jewish Elvis. I feel like Adam Sandler should have told me this.

we say what we say?

back to back to Neil diamond. The song Heartlight in 1992 was based on. Did you ever know that? Hold up, wait, I'm going to get there. So now he wrote that song with Carol Bayer, Sager and Burt Bacharach. After all three of them went to the movie together. This was what year? 82, 82. I'm sorry. I thought you said seven years.

82. So, so they went to the movies and they watched this movie and they're like, let's go write a song. I want to write a song about that. Wow. So the three of them, after going to the movies to get. Went and sat down and wrote Heartlight. That's crazy. I got to go listen to it. They paid universal studios, $25,000 to do a song on ETA, like to, for just real is to have this song as inspired we're together, collectively to get, and they didn't want to get sued.

They're like we just went and watched your movie. It's awesome. Here's $25,000. Can we write a. That like that's bananas. That is crazy. Nobody does that. No, but anyway, good job, Neil Carol and Burt Bacharach. So put on your heart light. There you go, man. Yeah, that's what I've got on Neil. I know you said you had a band section, a couple of notes a little bit on, on Neil.

Couple further notes on Neil. He also grew up like same neighborhoods, same high school, I think with Neil Sedaka. Oh yeah. They're like good friends, all grown up, you know, the two, the two needs and that's, by the way, Neil, Leslie diamond is his real name. Neil diamond is not a stage name. He almost changed his name.

Have you heard, did you see the story? Okay. So when he was about to release his first. He has his management or the label I think is more accurate, was like, you got to pick a name. Right. And whether it's your name or something else, you got to pick a name so that we know what we're going to put on all the.

And so he came very close. This is true story. He came very close to changing his name to one of two other options. Okay. The, the first was he wanted something that was biblical and strong, that conveyed strength. And so he almost went with Noah Kaminsky. I kid you not, he was. Noah Kaminsky, if he does Kamensky is that close enough to commit that it becomes a white sock?

So instead of a red Sox, wow. Maybe so. Who knows, who knows what even happens if he's Noah Kaminsky and then the other name, believe it or not is even better than that one. He was this close and he wanted something to be. The other option they came up with was something that was just cool and rock and roll.

You know what I mean? Cavalier, a devil may care and rock and roll. So he was this close to being called ice cherry. No. Cherry that would have been spelled by, by my research that would have been spelled C H a R R Y, but pronounce like grenades. And of course he later had a song called cherry cherry. Yeah.

So he's like, you know, that would have been interesting. A guy named ice, cherry singing a song called cherry cherry, but yeah, he ended up just going with his own name. It fits like Neil diamond. He, yes. Neil diamond. Exactly. He looks and sounds, especially like in the seventies when he was like chess, they're hanging out everywhere, but the cool, like the cover he looks and sounds exactly like kneel down is who he is.

It's awesome. By the way, I found that story on YouTube, I was digging around and there was an old clip from the tonight show with Johnny. And I thought, oh, I've really found something here. I've really, you know, I've really unearthed something that's going to be yeah. Give me a second. You are correct, sir?

Yes. That's it? Yes. Thank you for coming by. Yeah, that was good. You may have won the publishers. I can't do it. All right. I lost it. I lost. Oh, that's all like, you know what, raise your hand online. If you even know who it is. And the fact that me and Rob were like, yes, we know who it is. And yes, when he said he did a good impersonate.

Cause if you're under 30, there's no way you know who ed McMahon is no way. Okay. Anyway, so I found, I found this Edmund man. We should probably explain now was Johnny Carson. Who's this? Yeah. So anyway, I found this clip on YouTube. And I thought I've really found something here. This is a gym, you know what I mean?

And really unearthed on there, unearth the finger. And so then in further research, I also found that he said this in the last few years on the tonight show with Jimmy Fallon. And on a Reddit AMA session and probably everywhere he's ever been in his life. So whatever, it's probably the first thing he tells people when he meets him, you know, Hey, how you doing Neil diamond?

You know, I was almost ice sharing, you know what I mean? Like, but to me it felt like I really found something important. It seems like he's pretty forthright with that story. I think he kind of loves telling you that's one of his favorite stories. That's good. Yeah. Other songs by Neil diamond, we heard a little of a brother love song sung blue, Holly, Holly, crackling, Rosie.

And I'm like, man, those are all names of girls. Names of girls maybe just went. He just went every hotel room we went to he's like, let me find a picture of a girl and I'm going to just save it for later. Right? When I'm inspired to write a song, it's compiling girls' names, love on the rocks from the jazz singer.

I never saw the jazz singer. I saw parts of it. Those would be all out there that have seen it. I just know what you think and if we should watch it he did rewrite sweet Caroline in COVID. Have you seen that? Oh, yes. Don't touch me. I won't touch you wash. Yes. You think he should have saying sweet core in tine?

Ooh, no problem. One thing that I would probably, or COVID one nine. I was oh, I liked that. I was trying to think of a good one. If I was going to rewrite it, I like the COVID one. That's pretty good quarantined. Would've worked also. Yeah, those were both very solid. I can come up with. He should have called you on that for sure.

Nailed it. We should've called you. It's all right. Great job on the remix, but you missed a good opportunity. Yeah, he's got over 70 top 100 songs. He's one of the, he's one of the top selling artists of all time. It's like 120 550 million albums. 37, top 40 singles, 16 top 10 albums. I think he already said it's just, just.

I want to talk a little bit about, unless you got more on Neil, I got to move on to some theory and some other notes. I want to talk a little bit about some theory and just some stuff about the song that makes it great. Right. I've got a few, few things about this song that make it so. You know, this song is, is 51 years old.

And and it's still as beloved, if not more than it ever has been. You know what I'm saying? It hasn't run its course yet, which is insane to think. Cause it's kind of a catchy song, you know what I mean? It's not, not riff heavy. It's yeah. It's not riff heavy and it's not so iconic in its subject matter.

It's a love song. It's just a fun, you know, running through the field, holding hands kind of love song. So to think that it has had this kind of staying power is really, you know, whatever. So I just started thinking about some of the stuff about it that I like musically that I think has helped it endure.

So one of the things, one of the things I noticed about it was that there's tons of little musical hooks all throughout the song. Right? Of course, you've got the little, the intro

and so we've got that little thing happening and it stacks, right.

right. Okay. So it's got that whole little thing going for it. That happens two or three times a, this. And then it's got the bump bumps in the verse, right? The little, the beautiful, it's two notes on guitar, guitar players take note that's right. Guitar players, who would be, if you were, if you're like, okay, let's play sweet Caroline.

And you're going to go, dang, Tanka, Jenkins, Jenkins, Jenkins playing all six strings. And you're going to strum. No stop. You're doing too much. All it takes. Well bump, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Well, bump two notes. Every two measures, right? And it's an iconic guitar part and it really helps. Like, I don't know if it drives the song, but it keeps interest.

You know what I'm saying? It gives room for the vocal to carry the song. It highlights, the vocal puts the vocal right out front and the. Good job, Reggie young. Yeah. Good job Reggie. No wonder he got to play with all everybody. He's like, they're like he won't step on your toes. He'll give you your space.

Seriously. Yeah. And then of course there's the the horn line on the chorus. Th that's the iconic bump up. You know what I mean? One thing I love about this too, if you listen to, I believe the original release, the single in may of 1969 was in. And the version on brother loves traveling salvation show.

Is it stereo? So if you, if you listen to of course Mahnomen. Basically, we just one speaker, everything is in the middle. You still hear it in both ears, but everything is occupying the same space. Stereo opened up a whole other world. Yeah. Being able to pan pull things to the left and right. And so you hear it like we've, and I'm sure we've talked about this when we talked about the Beatles and whatnot that, you know, a lot of times especially early on, you might have.

The vocals all on one side and the instruments all on the other side, that kind of thing, like really hard panning. What use it now to do more is to simulate sort of a stage layout. If, when you're mixing a song, you think about sort of, if this was a live performance, where would the guitars be? Where would the vocals be?

Where would the drums be? You know what I mean? And that, and you're, you're sort of setting a stage and using use pan to set things left and right. And you use stuff like reverb and delay to send things forward and backwards in the mix. In this case, there's a lot of heavy strings going on in sections and there's a lot of heavy horns going on in sections.

And what they did was they split those hard left and right. So you've got strings hard, left all the way in the left side. And you've got horns all the way in the right side. So it's like, one's on opposite sides of the stage. And for you guys, if you're in the audience exactly. Hear your horn, same deal is dead center.

Right. And you've got strings over. Yeah. And horns over here and they're not competing with each other and getting in the way you can still hear everything clearly in the center. That's supposed to be. And so yeah, it does create, and it gives it that store that sort of big Neil diamond stage show feel even just from the audio.

You know what I mean? It's really cool. And there's so much going on. It's like, I'm surrounded by just NOI and I wanna say noise, but there's so much going on in each ear, which if those of y'all that sing the bop, bop, bop. So we're talking about that's the feeling you want everybody collectively together.

So I'm glad you said that because one of the things that I wanted to talk about on this is how. The interlude is before the last set of courses. Okay. I want to, I want to listen to this, so we're going to do a chorus and then it comes down to basically for the intro again, the Bomba, right? Okay. I want to play it and then we're going to break it down ever so slightly.

okay. Now I'm going to tell you what's happening and then we're going to listen to it again. Okay. And I want you to listen for everything that's happening. So here's what we've got. First. We've got the intro melody that we talked about bone by bone with the base hopping on the phone. Boom. Boom, boom. Okay.

And the

right. Okay. And then you've got these pizzicato strings plucking on the left side. Bump, bump, bump. You've got a trombone on the right side, bleeding on count three. That's going, wow. Okay. And it's right. Every, every alternate measure. Wow. And then on the left side again, you've got these tremolo strings that are, that are hitting off beats on count two and four.

So you've got trombones on 3, 1, 2 bar, and then you've got these tremolos strings. One. Okay. All while the, the, the countermelody is growing in dynamics and adding harmonies to itself. Okay. So let's take a listen one more time. Listen for all those things, listen for the intro. Melody, the strings plucking the trombone plat black on countless.

The tremolo strings on two and four all while it's building back at Charles conducting, just pointing everywhere. That's right. Intro melody, strings, trombone, tremolo strings right here, one,

all that together, back into the chorus. It gives such great tension, such great tension. Going back into the big sing along chorus. Great job, Robin break down on that, you know, enjoy that season opener season one, we got to talk about things. We got to talk about baseball. Yeah. Let's talk about baseball for a bit.

Okay. So this has been played in the middle of the eighth inning at every game at Fenway park where the Boston red Sox play since the year 2002. Crazy. Alright. So me and Rob were both baseball fans. I like to play games. So here's a game, 2002 Boston red Sox. I'm going to give you five. Players. And you tell me where they, on the 2002 Boston red Sox team, 2000 to 2002, I'm going to name five players.

Okay. And you just tell me if you think they were on the 2002, a Boston red Sox, tanker Nomar. Garciaparra yes. Shortstop hit cleanup. Very good. Pedro Martinez 2002, I think so. Yes. He's there ACE. Good job. Okay. Ricky Henderson. Was, he didn't start to have a team with Ricky Henderson and he didn't start, he played 72 games.

He had 2 23 that year. Wow. Terrible. That must have been his, you know, but he got to be a part of that team, Patrick Ewing and a Sonic's Jersey kind of year there to trot Nixon. Yeah. Yeah. And Jason. I don't think he was there yet. Yes. All five. Oh, is there, okay. Yes. The thing about Jason Varitek was a catcher that led off.

Okay. How many catchers can you name that have led off? Oh my gosh, none. I, I had a hard time doing that myself. So there's a guy named Jason Kendall played for the pirates. He led off more games than any other prior to the year, 2007, other than him a catcher to lead off more than Jason Varitek is Craig.

In 89 with 17 games, he led off video and Rodriguez led all 14 Tums as a feature. And Tim McCarthy. Let off non Toms in 1972, Tim McCarver. So there you go. A little, a little baseball trip, a little red Sox trivia for you guys. I have been to Fenway. It's awesome. I actually got my picture made with the bullpen cop, Steve Horgan.

Y'all number, Tory hunter, the Winnie Tory hunter didn't make the catch or whatever, and there's the cop shoot over the fence. Tory hunter. I can't stand that guy. He's like your job. I saw an interview with him. He's like, your job is to serve and protect and you didn't even catch me. You were more concerned about celebrating the whole.

Wow. Yeah, that happened. And in the next year, in 2013, I saw that cop. I was like, that is the bullpen cop. And we took a picture with both of our arms in the air together. I'm not posted on the, on the right songs and the great people who love them. Great. I was like, that is bullpen cop, dude. That's hilarious.

He loved that. I knew him that he's like, yeah, that kid knows me. It's like a picture. I was like, you're the bullpen cop. Yeah, this is one of those all time. Great sing alongs. I almost called this in our opener, the white people's national Anthem. It's on a bunch of playlist of stuff, like songs to get your white friends hype.

And like I'm saying, it's just a great, like you, I mean, you play this thing in a wedding, you play this thing. It's the karaoke jam. Yeah. 'cause you can S you can still sing the song pretty well. If you've got a couple belts in you, you know what I'm saying? Like you can talk, it course it does not matter one.

And the crowd hammered, Rob bringing, it gives you some Neil diamond. This, I think everybody gets a little bit loose in the hips when they play slate. Caroline's right, man. As long as you get to the chorus, man, people do not care and you'll have support. You'll have vocal support. I tried to do some research on the red Sox connection to see if I could find out when the bomb bomb bomb started and the so good.

So good. So good. Cause neither of those things, I mean, one is a horn thing, you know what I mean? But to see when those started and it just seems like it just, it just kind of happened. I don't know. Now at red Sox games, when they get to the bump bump bump, they actually lower the. On the track playing.

So the crowd comes out really loud, but but I think it just happened organically, maybe a little bit also in the Neil's live performances is very interactive with crowds. I've come to a conclusion by the way, in, in sort of getting into Neil diamond. I've never been like a big Neil diamond guy other than, you know, this song and knowing several others, but, but not a big, you know, fun.

But I've concluded. Tell me if I'm wrong here. That Neil diamond is the pop Jimmy. That's not awful. Is that, I mean, it's, it's, it's a little bit shocking. A little bit schmaltzy, right? Cute. Devoted followers, loyal followers. That's right. You've got your parrot heads and then you've got your diamond faces bef buffets buffet, buffers, buffers.

Yeah. Buffett tiers. It's so I just wonder, like you're, you're you're, you know, you're It just seems a similar kind of vibe to me. Right. That's true. And then each have other hit, but they have their one, like this is the new Arkansas. And then Margaritaville is obviously the Jimmy Buffett song. Right. So you got the iconic tune and then you've got a lot of true fans that love.

They're like, why is pencil thin mustache? Not in your top 10 of all times. Yes, exactly. It's a cheeseburger in paradise, but I'm waiting for it. I'm waiting to hear margarita. I'm not leaving until you're going to close with sweet Caroline and you're going to close with Margaritaville. Interestingly enough, that concert I watched of him on the today show where he was doing the interview.

He led with sweet Caroline for Haley opened with it. I figured you're going to lose people after that. I'm this guy don't forget. I know I'm older. It was like 2014. So he's like, don't let the beard in the short hair fool, you I'm the guy with the hips and the old jacket, you know? Okay. I've got a great story.

I've got a great story about this by the way. Oh, this is cool. And we don't have time to talk about it, but I was watching the 2014 concert and I happened to catch that. One of Neil's guitarists was playing a guitar that I truly love the line six, very go. And that's a guitar that is like, he was playing a very ax body with a fender neck.

Okay. But a very ax was this cool. I got to play one for a few years and it was awesome. It has these electronics in it that simulates in detail, the sound of these classic guitars in each little play banjo pickup position. That's right. It'll do, it'll do it. It does crazy stuff. Line six, God bless you for that invention.

I will have another very ex day. I love it. It was in like lake Placid blue. You want to sponsor us? We'll each take a very absolute. Absolutely. So anyway, okay. Unrelated. But I had to give that a shout out, cause we haven't got to talk about that guitar before. I don't think so. Anyway. Okay. Neil was on the tonight show late in Johnny Carson's run.

I told you that I'd seen some interview and he said that he had not done a talk show in 20 years. At that point, this was like 1991. Maybe 92 was very in, at the very end of Johnny Carson's run. But he said it was because the last time he had done one, he'd had a major malfunction and had, and had kind of shied from doing talk shows since.

He started playing the song on his guitar and then the band joined them shortly after right here. He opened it just with, with an acoustic one problem. His K-pop was on the wrong front. Oh no. He was a half step away from the rest of the band. And he said he panicked when they, when they came in, they were a half step off, you know, and his total disaster train wreck, he said he panicked and couldn't figure out what to do.

And his band couldn't exactly like meet him on the fly. All of them. This is before the days where your band had an MD with a mic and somebody's ears that could have gone, Hey, we're a, half-step flat, everybody raise it. You know what I mean? That's that kind of thing. And so they played the whole song. He said they played the whole song in two keys now, of course, you know, To find that clip couldn't find it.

I couldn't find it. It made me sad. So while I couldn't find the actual clip though, I can't give you an example that is equally horrifying. This is a clip from a, a Christian worship leader who bless his heart, posted this after it happened. And it has blessed my life for over a decade now this is take a listen to the band kicking in at the first pre-chorus.

This is a Chris Tomlin song called holy is the Lord and they, and the band comes in on the pre-chorus when he says and together we saying they're supposed to come in on a two major chord. Okay. The band is supposed to come in on two major court. So check this out. I don't know who this is, or I would give them credit.

It's just been sort of lost to legend at this point, but I'm checking. This is why you always check your cable.

We stand and I've heard this, you've heard this, right? Maybe it's the best in headphones. Listen in headphones. If you can.

We have.

oh yeah, man. Always always, always make sure your cable is in the right position or just play without one man. Just, you know, what if you're supposed to be in D flat, just play a D flat bar chord. It's fine. So that is what happened to Neil diamond. That was not Neil diamond, but that was an example, right.

Way to do that example of what it would've sounded like. Absolutely. You know what I think that's going to be, I think we're going to close every episode from now on with that, with just that clip to gather we. I love it so much. That's great guys. Thank you all so much. Season one. We're in season six, episode one, season one episode, one, we're back in it guys called blam cup Howell.

Neil diamond loves you. The Jewish Elvis blesses you, you know ice. Does double guns at you and the Fenway park? No Kaminski, no Kaminski. I don't know what he does. He builds a big boat and saves your family. That's awesome. All right. Oh, I got one of the notes, one of the notes. Okay. When this song gets sunlight, obviously we've talked about the crowds, do the pop pop and the so good.

It got me thinking, how, what, what other songs have received that treatment from fans that do that? Do that add things in that aren't there originally. Can you think of it, the family tradition by Hank Williams, do you drank to get drunk or you blow smoke to get, huh? Yeah. And then it goes on from there and then there's something is there, is there something that gets edited Margaritaville also about the salt shaker?

I guess I can't, I don't know if you got any though, let us know, hit us up on Twitter and Instagram at great song pod. Join the Facebook group at great songs and the great people who love them greatly find us there, or just go to facebook.com/groups/great song pod as all. You can find archives merge and more@greatsongpodcast.com.

And we will be back next week because it's season six and we are just getting started. We'll be back next week with another great song until then. I'm Rob JP. Go listen to some music.