"Sweet Caroline"
- Thread starter larryace
- Start date
jornthedrummer
Silver Member
Malaysia and Denmark chiming in.
The song is known, but I have never heard it covered.
The song is known, but I have never heard it covered.
Peedy
Senior Member
Like the song but I only know the Title by heart.
Two months ago we were eating in L.A. With friends at a place with a live band. I placed a ten in the jar and asked if they’d play Hey Jude. They did and the whole place sang along. Think Los Angeles - people from lots of cultures and countries all knew the lyrics.
Sorry Neil, ya gotta take a back seat.
Pete
Two months ago we were eating in L.A. With friends at a place with a live band. I placed a ten in the jar and asked if they’d play Hey Jude. They did and the whole place sang along. Think Los Angeles - people from lots of cultures and countries all knew the lyrics.
Sorry Neil, ya gotta take a back seat.
Pete
BacteriumFendYoke
Platinum Member
It's put on as a singalong at cricket matches all the time over here. Admittedly not for 'proper' matches - but pyjama matches.
danondrums
Well-known member
If the audience doesn't react that way, you're in a really bad cover band.
No Way Jose
Silver Member
That's one of those songs with a woman's name. If there is a woman with the same name in the audience then we play that song. If she is named Caroline, then we play Sweet Caroline. If her name is Carol, then we play Oh Carol by Chuck Berry. We have a number of these type songs. Audiences love it.
Absolutely - I'd put it right beside Brown Eyed Girl as one of those chestnuts that works every time.
The 'soundguy with the lame sign' is notoriously critical of everything.. equipment, song choices, clothes - you name it. We only use him once in a while - but he does an awesome job on the sound.
larryace
"Uncle Larry"
I don't actually think it's a lame song. It strikes a nerve, that melody.
It's taken on a sort of a cult status, judging from the widespread exact same reaction.
I rode my bike like 3 miles to get myself to the store so I could buy that 45 in 1969. I was what 10 and a half.
Anything that really works with the crowd...that's the target with the bar scene.
It's taken on a sort of a cult status, judging from the widespread exact same reaction.
I rode my bike like 3 miles to get myself to the store so I could buy that 45 in 1969. I was what 10 and a half.
Anything that really works with the crowd...that's the target with the bar scene.
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Here's the word pretty much from the horse's mouth (Neil's right-hand man forever.)
"We were playing the RDS in Dublin for 10 days and I heard the audience singing along in almost every song. Then came SWEET CAROLINE and they were doing the “So Goods” and the the Bops. I thought we needed that recorded so I rented a 24 trk from the U2 people and recorded a few shows.
A few years we were doing a live album and when we were mixing we heard it and turned it up, the rest is history. They now sing it all over the world at so many different kinds of sporting event. Someone said it was the most sung non royalty paid song in history."
Those Ireland shows were in 1989, so that's the first time Neil's camp noticed that people were singing those. I assume the live album he refers to brought it to the rest of the world shortly thereafter!
Bermuda
"We were playing the RDS in Dublin for 10 days and I heard the audience singing along in almost every song. Then came SWEET CAROLINE and they were doing the “So Goods” and the the Bops. I thought we needed that recorded so I rented a 24 trk from the U2 people and recorded a few shows.
A few years we were doing a live album and when we were mixing we heard it and turned it up, the rest is history. They now sing it all over the world at so many different kinds of sporting event. Someone said it was the most sung non royalty paid song in history."
Those Ireland shows were in 1989, so that's the first time Neil's camp noticed that people were singing those. I assume the live album he refers to brought it to the rest of the world shortly thereafter!
Bermuda
I am not sure it started here but this is played in the bottom of the 8th inning of every Red Sox game and has been a tradition since 1997. It was first only played if the Sox were winning but then changed to every game as a rallying cry for when they got up to bat in the inning to boost the spirits. It's much better than the wave in my opinion.
Absolutely. His melodies and lyrics rocked well, when you listen past the production. Urge Overkill did a rockin' version of Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon, and Andy & The Rattlesnakes (L.A. band who's still together) recorded an edgy cover of Solitary Man in 1980, and it was great. Granted there aren't a lot of commercial Diamond covers, but most of his songs would translate well. UB40's Red Red Wine reggae cover is also worth mentioning.
But a number of his own recordings were quite heavy, given that he's best-known for the early folk/rock (Cherry Cherry, etc) and soon after was having hits with Play Me, Song Sung Blue and other more mature sounding tracks. There was no shortage of heavy drumming by Dennis St John, and rockin guitars from my brother, who recorded and toured with Neil from 1971-87. Those just didn't get much radio play, while You Don't Bring Me Flowers was topping the charts. Here's some trivia about that one: both Neil and Barbra Streisand had their own recording of the song before they did the duet. So, 3 versions by 2 artists.
Bermuda
ineedaclutch
Platinum Member
Texas-sized 10-4. Similar thing with "Family Tradition".
The "so good" story came straight from Sam Cole, Neil's guy as long as I can remember (since sometime in the '70s.) I checked with my brother on that, and he said it had started after he stopped touring with Neil in 1987, which seems to have been confirmed by Sam.
Hadn't heard any stories about Neil's personality though, I ran into him once at his studio in the '80s and he was nice enough. It probably didn't hurt that I was with people he knew.
Bermuda