NEIL DIAMOND I Still Have Great Days

THE PERFORMER HAS COME TO TERMS WITH HIS ILLNESS, HIS CHOICES AND HIS LEGACY

- NEIL DIAMOND

Last December, the audience at the opening night of Broadway’s A Beautiful Noise, the musical based on Neil Diamond’s life and music, received the ultimate treat. The beloved singer-songwriter appeared in the theater and led the cast and audience in singing a verse of his signature song, “Sweet Caroline.” The cheering and applause were thunderous and continued for several minutes. “I felt it,” Neil said of the love in the building.

In 2018, Neil, 82, who enjoyed 10 number-one singles, including “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Song Sung Blue” and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and who sold more than 130 million albums, announced that he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder, and was retiring from touring. “Okay, so this is the hand that God’s given me, and I have to make the best of it, and so I am,” Neil says. “I’ve come to accept what limitations I have and still have great days.”

Retiring from touring has been a difficult adjustment for the performer, who thrived in the spotlight. “It’s the high point of an entertainer’s career when you get up on stage and go in front of your audience, particularly people who have been loyal and loving to you for years,” he said in 2018. But the unpredictability of Parkinson’s symptoms makes a commitment to long months on the road impossible. “It’s hard to travel,” musician Tom Hensley, who has played keyboards and piano in Neil’s touring band since 1975, explains to