Before Neil Diamond became a household name, he spent years working in the background of the music business. He was writing songs, trying to get other artists to record them, and hoping that one day his own name would receive the same attention as the performers singing his words.
In 1966, that long struggle finally began to change.
Diamond had grown up in Brooklyn and developed a passion for songwriting while he was young. After attending New York University for a time, he began pursuing music professionally and eventually found work as a songwriter in New York’s famous Brill Building scene.
It was a competitive world.
Young writers were expected to constantly produce new material, hoping that publishers would hear something they liked. A good song could open doors, but a rejected song could disappear without anyone remembering it.
Diamond kept writing anyway.
At this stage, he was not living like a future superstar. He was trying to make enough money from songwriting to survive. His financial situation was difficult, and he often had to take whatever work the music business offered.
But his talent was beginning to attract attention.
Other performers started recording songs Diamond had written, giving him his first real indication that his songwriting could connect with audiences.
Then came the song that changed his position in the industry.
“I’m a Believer.”
Diamond had written the song, but it was recorded by The Monkees in 1966. Their version became a massive hit, eventually reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Suddenly, a song written by Neil Diamond was being heard everywhere.
There was just one problem.
The public was hearing The Monkees, not Neil Diamond.
For Diamond, however, the success was still enormously important. It demonstrated that his songwriting could produce a major commercial hit and gave him credibility that would help him move forward as a recording artist.
He had already been recording his own songs, but the transition from songwriter to star was not immediate.
Diamond continued developing his own sound and performing under his own name. Songs such as “Solitary Man” and “Cherry, Cherry” gradually established him as more than the man behind other people’s hits.
By the late 1960s, his situation was beginning to change dramatically.
He was no longer simply trying to sell songs to other singers.
He was becoming a singer-songwriter with an audience of his own.
Then came the 1970s, when Diamond’s career exploded. He began producing hit after hit and eventually became known for enormous concerts, devoted fans, and songs that would remain popular for decades.
“Sweet Caroline” would become one of his most recognizable recordings, while songs such as “Cracklin’ Rosie” and “Song Sung Blue” further established his status as a major star.
But none of that was guaranteed in 1966.
At the time, Diamond was still a young songwriter trying to survive in an industry that was full of competition. His work was already reaching millions through other performers, but his own face was still largely unknown.
The irony is striking.
One of the songs that helped launch Diamond’s career as a songwriter was performed by another group. Yet that success gave him the confidence and credibility to continue pursuing his own career in front of the microphone.
The songwriter eventually became the star.
And the young man who had once struggled to make a living would go on to fill arenas around the world.
In 1966, Neil Diamond was still waiting for his own breakthrough. “I’m a Believer” gave the industry a reason to pay attention to the songwriter behind the hit—and helped set the stage for the superstar he would become.